Beneath the Smile of Sisyphus

A dance about rebellion, repression, and the cost of civility | Created by Charles Ball

We are expected to smile beneath the weight of our burdens—yet something stirs deeper. Society demands obedience, but beneath the mask of civility, darker forces begin to press back. When the primal won’t stay buried, we discover that some things are heavier than the boulders we push.

Created by Charles Ball, Beneath the Smile of Sisyphus explores the tensions that arise when animal instinct collides with the absurdity of modern life. Through visceral dance-theatre, mythic imagery and raw physicality expose the quiet violence of conformity—and ask: is the struggle noble, or merely polite?

Special thanks: Dead Puppet Society’s THE DPS LAB 2025
Studio1 | The Princess Theatre
Images by Dean Hanson