On 12 November 2023, the monumental cavern imagined by artist JR and enveloping the façade of the Palais Garnier came to life during ‘Chiroptera’. This performance by 154 dancers was the result of a collaboration between JR, choreographer Damien Jalet and composer Thomas Bangalter.

In November 2023, two months after presenting Act I of his ‘Return to the Cave’ project on the façade of the Opéra national de Paris, JR invited the public to discover the second part of the project, a contemporary retelling of Plato's myth. The curtain enveloping the façade of the Palais Garnier rose to make way for Chiroptera, the fruit of JR's collaboration with choreographer Damien Jalet and composer Thomas Bangalter.

On the Place de l'Opéra, 25,000 spectators converged to watch the performance by the Étoile dancer Amandine Albisson, projecting her imposing, anthropomorphic shadow into the cave, and 153 other dancers performing on scaffolding perched thirty metres high. Thus revealed, the cavern becomes a shelter protecting its residents from the violence of the world. It is only by questioning our own perspective that we can grasp the true meaning of the cavern, and thus discover a path to enlightenment.

JR, Damien Jalet & Thomas Bangalter: Chiroptera

With the exceptional participation of Amandine Albisson, Étoile dancer with the Opéra national de Paris

Costumes: CHANEL

Production: Social animals

Production: Social animals ; Réalisation: Louise Narboni ; Chorégraphie: Damien Jalet ; Composition: Thomas Bangalter ; Production: JRSA ; Pays: France ; Année: 2024