About the piece

All in Jest is an exploration. A journey free of all preconceived ideas, in search of that which in itself can lead to smiles–without thought, discourse or imagination being called upon. Only the body and its movement come into play here.This purely formal search for the laughable gesture immediately raises the question of the norm, and the difference: an aesthetic question, but also a social and philosophical one, since it brings into play our representations of what is normal and what we, the group, can tolerate as difference.

The small community of the strange, gathered on the stage thus, questions the meaning we give to our existence.Wandering in a world whose logic is shifted and reversed, these offbeat characters carry out acts whose stakes escape us. But they do so with a form of certainty–either that these acts have a purpose, or that their authors are not looking for any other than the fact of being there, and of living all the possibilities of this present.To be in the world without imagining that we master it.

About the company

About the Company

For over twenty years, Christian and François Ben Aïm have been building a body of work rich in poetry and rigor, shaped by brotherly connection and singularity. 

After a multidisciplinary training that combined dance, physical theater, and circus arts, each followed his own path as a performer before the two brothers reunited in 1997. Since then, they have created more than thirty pieces together, drawing inspiration from literary, musical, and visual sources, and weaving various artistic disciplines into their work: Right in the heart (2006), The Lightness of Storm (2014), Burn, rebellious hearts (2017), Mirages — boreal souls (2018), All in jest (2021), and Tender Anger (2025), among others.

Characterized by uncompromising energy, the Ben Aïm brothers’ dance offers more than a statement, it invites an experience, a “journey” the performer undertakes before our eyes, lived each time with the sincerity of a fully present body and spirit. 

Through a subtle play of empathy and contagion, the choreographers draw us into a world where nothing is fixed, where everything is open to poetic and sensitive questioning, where truths blur and are continually reimagined, a world we are invited to explore together. Through performances, workshops, and international collaborations, the company continue to share a choreographic approach rooted in dialogue, empathy, and openness to the world.