Philippe Decouflé . Compagnie DCA

Are there any large-scale festivities drawing near in the French republic? If so, Philippe Decouflé is never far from the action. He is France's unofficial, unconventional, against-the-grain master of ceremonies. He has been at home on deSingel's large stage since 1986 and on each occasion he gives substance to your sweetest dreams. His culture is that of the comic strip, the musical comedy, cabaret and Oskar Schlemmer, the choreographer of the Bauhaus. He is fascinated by geometric shapes, lines and volumes. Alwin Nikolaïs introduced him to the importance of light and costume and thanks to Merce Cunningham he learnt the basic rules of optics and motion. Using Tex Avery and Groucho Marx as models, he cultivated the comic effect of repetition and shaky balance. 'Sombrero', somewhere between salsa and western, takes its rhythm from the original music of Brian Eno.