KLAP opened in 2011 and was conceived as a venue entirely dedicated to dance, to choreographic creation and to exchanges between dance and the community at large. Since KLAP opened, there are about a hundred companies that come work here every year.

KPAP is a complex with three spaces: a small studio of approximately 135m2 particularly devoted to educational activities, to workshops or to rehearsals for projects that don’t require a large space, or to moments of exploration and research.

There is a large studio of 270m2 with a dance space of 12x17m plus rows of seats for about one hundred people.

Finally, there is the third space which is the heart of KLAP Maison pour la danse, a performance space that features a very large stage of 15x15m. We can accommodate about 240 people during performances.

In this large space rehearsals for premieres take place, but also and more importantly, residencies for finalizing staging and lighting. At the end of these residencies, when lighting, staging and scenography are created, companies present either a preview or a world premiere.

The idea for KLAP was to find a name that was easy to remember and international. KLAP is the filmmaker’s Clap at the beginning of a scene, and KLAP is also, of course, the term used for applause, when the public has seen the final result and pays tribute to the work that has been done. Between the two, there is the entire creative act, in other words, someone can come to the Maison pour la danse and begin to dream, imagine, put processes in motion and share all this until the premiere: the encounter with the public.

Life at KLAP revolves around 4 poles of utmost importance that are however highlighted at different times in the season in the form of a festival. The first event, Question de danse, is a festival of artistic creation where works in progress can be seen, as well as world premieres of works in residence at KLAP for finalization and lighting design.

A second event takes place a little later that is primarily concerned with educational activities and with the relationship to the world at large. This festival is called festivAnges and is dedicated to dance for children and young people. It hosts performances intended for different age groups, from preschool to university students. 2500 children and young people discover the world of dance through the Maison de la danse.

The third event is dedicated to the choreographic culture and is called + de danse à Marseille. The idea is to illustrate how a gesture, although fleeting, comes from a personal story or from a larger context, the story of an art in society.

The fourth element is our relationship to the neighbourhood. This requires a rather delicate approach, which is done through participative projects, through numerous workshops and presentations of work done with children from neighbouring schools, for example.