Jean Abreu: A Thread, Southbank Centre

British-Brazilian choreographer Jean Abreu’s delicate yet emotional work is part-dance and part-installation and has already fascinated audiences nationwide.

Devised in collaboration with sculptor Elisa Bracher, A Thread is an ambitious piece that reflects humanity’s perpetual search for equilibrium and belonging. Abreu translates the abstract nature of Bracher’s geometric set designs into extremely physical movement, exploring notions of balance and tension within the body and mind.



Five virtuoso international dance artists engage with objects – trolleys, weights, cables, sheets of lead and one huge leaden ball – which become the foundations of a labyrinth that they construct themselves and must then navigate.

Weaving in and out, the dancers walk, balance, carry, cover, take risks and work together in a heroic attempt to find balance. their efforts accompanied by a specially-commissioned soundscape. Harmony is the aim, even if the game they play to get there is more like a giant jigsaw puzzle.

A Thread contains echoes of Greek mythological characters like Sisyphus (who is condemned to push a boulder uphill for all eternity), or Theseus (who follows a thread to escape the Minotaur’s labyrinth).

Expect palpable tension as a danced dialogue between bodies and materials opens up, revealing the relationship between individuals and the physical space they occupy