A DJ console, flashing colourful lights and a dance floor usually come with one expectation — loud music. But at Rotary Bala Bhavan in Kochi, where French artist Bertrand Devendeville recently presented his silent disco as part of Fête de la Musique 2026, the speakers were missing.
Instead, the audience was handed wireless headphones and invited to become part of an unusual musical experiment.
The event, organised by the French Institute in India in association with Alliance Française de Cochin and Boho Movement, headed by dancer Paris Laxmi, was part of bAlllAd, the French artist’s long-running project that brings music, movement and audience participation together.
The name itself is a play on words. In French, une balade means a casual walk or stroll, while une ballade refers to a song or poem that tells a story. “I added an extra ‘l’ to create bAlllAd, combining the ideas of walking, music and shared experience,” Bertrand explains.
His interest in participatory performance goes back to his years as a member of a rock band. The turning point, he says, came not while he was on stage, but afterwards.
“We used to play outdoors and record the show,” he says. “When I listened afterwards, I realised it was not only the band. There was the audience singing, and there were the sounds of the street. I liked that.”
Those recordings made him think differently about performance. The crowd was not simply watching the concert; they were participating as well. The sounds of passing traffic, conversations and spontaneous singing became as important as the music itself.
After the band split up, Bertrand began experimenting on his own, around 11 years ago. “Using a microphone, a smartphone and a looping device, he layered together beatboxing, songs, spoken word and recordings gathered from the places where he performed. Over time, these experiments evolved into bAlllAd, where audiences were active participants,” he explains.
The silent disco, which he has taken across several countries and six Indian cities this month, grew out of the same idea. Rather than asking everyone to listen to the same thing, it offers multiple ways of taking part.
In Kochi, participants could switch between three channels: French music, Indian songs and karaoke. Some spent the evening dancing to tracks such as ‘Rowdy Baby’ or ‘Monica’, while others settled on classics by Bill Withers and Eric Clapton, on the karaoke channel. Bertrand serenaded with a rendition of La Vie en Rose.
What makes the event unusual was that all of this happens in the same room. “But not everyone was hearing the same soundtrack. The singer, the dancer and the listener occupied the same space while experiencing it differently.” he says.
“Even the karaoke is silent, only those with headphones can listen to it. Apart from that the only sounds in the space are of laughter or occasionally of a chorus being sung a little too loudly.”
This, he adds, creates a curious sight — a crowded dance floor without the loud volume usually associated with one.
Bertrand believes the format gives people the freedom to engage in their own way. “There is no pressure to dance, sing or perform. They can join in when they feel comfortable,” he says.
That approach, he feels, works particularly well in public spaces. His performances have taken place across various spaces, inside halls, on rooftops, in parks and on city streets, where the surroundings become part of the work itself.
“Public space is where people naturally come together,” he says.
“With bAlllAd, I hope to create moments where the boundaries between artist, audience and passer-by disappear.”
The India tour has reinforced that idea for him. Every city, he says, brings its own atmosphere. “India is big, so it’s not the same if you are in Kolkata or in Goa,” he says. “In Goa, there is fresh air from the sea. Kolkata has complete city vibes. But all the people I have met are so nice and ready to try something new.”
That willingness to experiment was visible in Kochi. People arrived in groups, cautiously trying out the coloured channels and watching the dance floor.
As the evening progressed, the hesitation faded. Everyone danced without inhibition, karaoke singers took the microphone and strangers joined one another on the floor. Rocking it solo, a granny went wild with ‘Rowdy Baby’ and ‘Ethu Moodu’.
“That’s what I am talking about,” exclaims Bertrand. He, however, adds that it is not just about the number of people dancing — it’s in the moments of connection the format creates.
“I love seeing people smile and enjoy themselves,” he says. “It is my antidepressant. Seeing my audience happy, dancing and connecting with each other keeps me going.”
Bertrand’s silent disco offers an unusual paradox, in a time when music has become limited to personal playlists. Here everyone listens alone, yet the experience is collective.