focus rencontre

Discussion with Céline du Chéné, author of the book *Cabarets*  
in conversation with Magali Le Mens (art historian, researcher, and co-author of “Allures dissidentes”) and Gaëlle Nydegger (Ph.D. candidate, author of a dissertation on queer spaces in French-speaking Switzerland in the early 20th century)

cabaret!

Every year, cabaret takes center stage at the festival. An art form with many dimensions and virtues, it is now an intrinsic part of queer cultures, forming an integral part of Everybody’s Perfect. But at a time when artistic queer cabaret is enjoying mainstream success, what remains of its subversive essence, its political charge, and its transgression of normative sexual codes—in short, its very essence?

In a fascinating three-way dialogue, in conversation with Céline du Chéné, this event explores the history of cabaret—its emergence as a space permeable to political events, fueled by repression; its performers in search of refuge and places of total freedom; and their sartorial expressions, sources of audacity, irreverence, and creativity. And for which audiences? Here and elsewhere.  

Céline du Chéné 
A French columnist, producer, and author, she contributes to the program Mauvais genres on France Culture. A specialist in the underworld, she explores cabarets, the performing arts of the night, and subversive performances, and regularly performs at the cabaret La Barbichette. Her works explore the strange, eroticism, and marginalized female figures.