The Shakespearean drama Hamlet is presented as a grand-scale ballet at the Auditorio

Robert Lepage’s production, choreographed by Guillaume Côté, will be on stage on Saturday and Sunday

This weekend, the Auditorio de Tenerife will present two performances of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, a ballet interpretation of Shakespeare’s drama directed by Robert Lepage and choreographed by Guillaume Côté, regarded as one of the world’s finest dancers, who will appear as Hamlet. As part of MAPAS 2026, the production will be shown in the Symphony Hall on Saturday 4 July at 7.30 p.m. and Sunday 5 July at 6 p.m.

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, a production by Ex Machina and Côté Danse, draws the audience into a world of illusion and appearance, where ghosts and humans coexist in a minimalist stage design. Light, shadows and transparency are essential elements. In this metaphorical reading of Shakespeare’s work, nine dancers, choreographed by Guillaume Côté, trace the thin boundary between reality and absence through the labyrinths of the mind and the movement of the body.

For Lepage, ‘Hamlet is undoubtedly the longest and deepest play in the Shakespearean repertoire. But when we strip away the words, the skeleton still remains and the meaning doesn’t disappear. We note with astonishment how the work exists beyond the literary’. The director adds that ‘Dance generates breath, energy, and gestures that can reveal hidden meanings concealed by the lyricism of the text. Dance gives the characters bodies, muscles, flesh’.

On the production at the Auditorio, Robert Lepage points out that ‘the show brings together artists from different dance backgrounds. It is therefore composed of classical, contemporary and even street-dance-inspired lines, which replace the language levels usually characteristic of social classes’, and he adds that ‘through the body, the work is embodied, literally. It becomes three-dimensional, magnifying passion, violence, sensuality and is able to tell the story of this brilliant reflection on existence and the vagaries of indecision in a remarkable way’.

Guillaume Côté, meanwhile, emphasises that, ‘as we breathe life into Shakespeare’s timeless masterpiece through the language of dance, audiences are invited to immerse themselves in the profound themes and enduring relevance of Hamlet in our contemporary world. Our journey in crafting this performance has led us to discover the universal struggles of power dynamics, betrayal, and inner conflict that still resonate deeply in today’s society’.

Côté Danse burst onto the Canadian dance scene in 2021 through the collaboration between Choreographer Guillaume Côté and Producers Etienne Lavigne and Anisa Tejpar. Since then, they have actively presented a range of original works and immersive dance experiences.

Under the artistic direction of Guillaume Côté, Côté Danse establishes a unique vision combining classical dance knowledge with captivating geometries and intense human connections. Their style is characterised by contemporary lines, sleek contours, and refined athleticism, creating a distinct and dynamic aesthetic.

Led by artistic director Robert Lepage, Ex Machina creates, produces and disseminates multidisciplinary artistic works, most often theatrical. The company brings together creators from several fields of activity and offers a broad range of artistic productions: original plays written and performed solo or collectively, plays based on existing texts, productions in which various disciplines (dance, music, museology) mingle with theatre, operas and multimedia productions featuring a predominantly technological dimension. Ex Machina develops the majority of its shows in Quebec City, then presents them widely in Quebec, Canada and elsewhere in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Oceania.

Tickets cost 15 euros, and tickets for under-30s are priced at 5 euros, with usual discounts for students, unemployed people and large families, among others. Tickets can be purchased on the website www.auditoriodetenerife.com, at the box office Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and by telephone on 902 317 327 during the same hours. Auditorio de Tenerife also offers a partial pass, which gives access to three of the performances scheduled as part of MAPAS 26 for €39.