About the Work

Le Bleu Déchirant du Ciel / The Tearing Blue of the Sky examines our complex relationship with the news and its emotional weight. Through The Story of Gaby, the show brings a deeply personal perspective to global events, following a young girl as she navigates the trauma of forced migration—balancing tragedy with the resilience of childhood.

Concept & Choreography: Caroline Brethenoux / El Human Animal
Performers: Caroline Brethenoux, Eran Bugge, Alex Toedtli
Set Design & Videography: Julie Flechoux
Voices: Solal Toedtli, Lukas Toedtli

After a successful preview of the introduction to The Tearing Blue of the Sky in September 2024—presented during KAFRA Collective’s season at Spark Festival New York—Caroline Brethenoux has been expanding the original 12-minute duet into a full 35-minute piece. This creative development has brought together multidisciplinary collaborators, united in bringing to life a deeply idiosyncratic story of migration through the lens of a child. The work seeks to craft an experience that invites the audience to reassess their own relationship with the world—and the way they engage with the news.

Caroline's work will be presented on Saturday, April 26th at 7:30pm and Sunday, April 27th at 3pm at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center (LPAC). This production is part of Mare Nostrum Element's Emerging Choreographer Series 2025. Ticket Link Here!

Photo by Caroline Brethenoux, performer Eran Bugge

Mission & Artist Statement

Carrying the weight of her family’s story—her mother fleeing Algeria for France as a young girl—Caroline has long been drawn to the complex and often silenced narratives of forced migration, particularly through the eyes of children.

In the wake of the conflict in Ukraine, Caroline found new inspiration in the story of Gaby, one of her dance mentors, who shared a stream of consciousness—a raw recollection of her own childhood escape from Central Europe to the other side of the world. In Gaby’s voice, Caroline recognized the same blend of tragedy, innocence, and resilience she had heard in her mother’s stories.

“The Tearing Blue of The Sky” is a poignant investigation into those memories—an attempt to bring Gaby’s childhood to life through movement—while inviting reflection on how we, as a society, consume and emotionally process the news. This work seeks to reawaken empathy and human connection in the face of distant headlines, through the lens of a child’s gaze.

Photo by Ryan Prado, performers Alex Toedtli & Caroline Brethenoux

What Your Funds Will Support

Caroline is seeking your support to bring her mission to life. Your generous donations will directly support:

Studio rentals for rehearsals and performances
Fair compensation for collaborating artists
Community outreach: the expansion of The Tearing Blue of the Sky into free storytelling events in schools and community-based organizations—creating space to reflect on conflict, migration, and the quiet power of resilience.

Every contribution, no matter the size, makes a meaningful difference. You are helping keep this work alive, growing, and accessible to those who need it most.

Thank you for your generosity—and for believing in the healing power of the arts.

Choreographer: Caroline Brethenoux

Photography by Alice Chacon

Caroline Brethenoux is a French choreographer and performer based in New York City. A self-taught dancer, she has trained internationally in contemporary dance with Nathalie Pubellier and Sophie Daviet (Paris), Lai Tak-Wai and Bruce Wong (Hong Kong), Barbara Fritsche (Madrid), and Jennifer Archibald (New York).

Caroline began her professional career with Complutum Contemporary Dance Company and DaDaDanza Project in Madrid, later collaborating as a dancer and choreographer with Projects in Movement and Company Contexte in Paris. In New York, she has performed with Eryc Taylor Dance Company, Mare Nostrum Elements Dance Theatre Company, BalaSole Dance Company, Arch Dance, and a number of independent choreographers.

She is the co-founder of KAFRA, a collective launched in 2020 with Francesca Antonacci, where dancers, visual artists, and composers create interdisciplinary performance works. Her choreography has been presented at The Shed, The Chain Theatre, Dixon Place, LPAC, Green Space Bloom Festival, The Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater, The Current Sessions, The Dance Gallery Festival, MOD (Hong Kong), and UDLAP (Mexico), among others.

Caroline is a certified Gyrokinesis® and Gyrotonic® teacher. She holds a philosophy degree from La Sorbonne and is a graduate of HEC Paris. In addition to her work in dance, she is a strategist in advertising and consumer research. She is honored to share her newest work, The Tearing Blue of the Sky, developed with support from LPAC and Mare Nostrum Elements.

Performer: Eran Bugge

Photography by Bill Wadman

Eran Bugge (she/her) is from Oviedo, Florida where she began her dance training at the Orlando Ballet School. She went on to study at the Hartt School of the University of Hartford under the direction of Peggy Lyman, graduating Summa Cum Laude with a B.F.A. in ballet pedagogy.

She joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company in 2005 and danced there for 19 years. She had the experience of creating 25 new dances with Mr. Taylor, and performed over 100 roles in 79 of his works. She has danced feature roles in many of his masterpieces including Piazzolla Caldera, Company B, the White Duet from Roses, and the role originated by Kate Johnson in Sunset. She has toured the world to perform and teach with highlights including China, Italy, Turkey, Norway, and Israel as well as performing for the Queen of Thailand in Bangkok, and in the Odeon of Herodes Atticus at the Acropolis in Athens.

During her tenure at Taylor, Ms. Bugge was also featured in new work by Pam Tanowitz, Kyle Abraham, Larry Keigwin, and Doug Varone, among others, and historic masterworks by Martha Graham and Ulysses Dove. She was honored to represent the Paul Taylor company on the cover of Dance Magazine in August 2022. Before joining the Taylor company, she was a member of Full Force Dance Theatre and the Adam Miller Dance Project. She was proud to receive the 2012 Hartt School Alumni Award.

Eran has been on faculty at Adelphi University and the University of Hartford and has staged Paul Taylor's works at Pace University and the Hartt School.

Performer: Alex Toedtli

Alex Toedtli is a bilingual creative director, copywriter, and storyteller with over 15 years of experience crafting compelling narratives across advertising, mass media, and entertainment. He has developed award-winning campaigns for iconic brands, bringing a unique voice and vision to each project.

Alexander’s passion for storytelling extends beyond the page. He has performed as an actor in both short and feature-length films and has lent his voice as a Voice-over artist for a variety of brands. Whether through words, visuals, or performance, his work is rooted in a commitment to stories that captivate, engage, and inspire.

Designer: Julie Fléchoux

Photography courtesy of Julie Fléchoux

Julie Fléchoux is a designer with a passion for crafting immersive, multi-sensory environments that bring stories to life through space, movement, and emotion.

As a Creative Director with over a decade of experience designing for museums and experiential spaces, her work explores the intersection of narrative, technology, and spatial design—always with the audience's emotional journey at its core. Julie draws on her background in 3D and motion graphics, as well as her early career as a freelance illustrator across London, Tokyo, and Paris, to shape environments that are as visually rich as they are conceptually layered.

About Mare Nostrum Elements

Mare Nostrum Elements (MNE) is a non-profit arts organization based in Queens, NY. Each year, MNE produces the Emerging Choreographer Series (ECS), an intensive crash-course in self-producing; offering rehearsal space, compensation, career development consultations, and professional mentorship to selected choreographers.

In 2024, MNE started a new program to deepen our support for the NYC dance community and uplift our Emerging Choreographer Series (ECS) alumni. ECS 2025 marks the second year of this program, supporting alumni choreographers by pairing them with presenting venues and providing them resources to produce 30-40 minutes of work in a split-bill format. Caroline's work was selected to be a part of ECS 2025 at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center.

Mare Nostrum Elements, Inc. is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) organization. All contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

The Tearing Blue of the Sky by Caroline Brethenoux

By Mare Nostrum Elements, INC

The Tearing Blue of the Sky by Caroline Brethenoux

Presented by Mare Nostrum Elements' Emerging Choreographer Series 2025