The search for a distinctive dance language

Under their season's theme, ‘À la flamande’, Opera Ballet Vlaanderen explores the multifaceted roots of Flemish identity and how they have given rise to an art form that is as distinctive as it is internationally acclaimed – an art form that remains very much alive. The choreographer and associate artist of Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, talks about her sources of inspiration, the artists who have influenced her, and how she developed her own movement language as a young dancer.

Piet De Volder: Anne Teresa, in the early 1980s your career as a dancer, choreographer and artistic director took off at a remarkable pace.

Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker: In 1980, I created my first choreography, Asch. I was 20 years old at the time. This was followed in 1982 by Fase, Four Movements to the Music of Steve Reich. A year later, the Rosas company was founded, making its debut with Rosas danst Rosas. I remain its artistic director to this day. It all happened incredibly quickly. Back then, I was less concerned with establishing myself as a choreographer. I’ve always seen myself more as a dancer than as a choreographer. Above all, I was driven by the desire to develop my own dance language. In doing so, I approached my work in a very unique, unmistakable way. From the very beginning, music was my most important partner in this process. I was fortunate to be surrounded by brilliant artists, such as Thierry De Mey, who is not only a filmmaker but also a composer and musician. Through him and many others, I remained closely connected to film, theatre, literature and the visual arts. These perspectives have enriched me enormously.

They are regarded as some of the pioneers of the ‘Flemish Wave’, the movement for renewal in dance and theatre during the 1980s and 1990s. Choreographers and theatre makers such as Wim Vandekeybus, Alain Platel, Jan Fabre and Ivo van Hove are also associated with this movement. Did you feel connected to these artists back then?

To be honest: no. That had a lot to do with the timing of the so-called ‘Flemish Wave’, though. Wim Vandekeybus made his debut in 1987 with What the Body Does Not Remember. I didn’t discover Alain Platel’s work until much later. His iconic production Bernadetje, for example, dates from 1996. In 1982 – the year Fase was staged – Jan Fabre made his breakthrough as a performance artist with the marathon performance Het is theater zoals te verwachten en te voorzien was.

So, as far as you’re aware, the ‘Flemish Wave’ wasn’t an artistic community?

That’s certainly not how I experienced it. Nevertheless, I felt part of a community in Brussels. This avant-garde scene was shaped, amongst others, by the Schaamte collective and Maatschappij Discordia. It was the early days of the Kaaitheater, with Hugo De Greef as the driving force. Alongside Fabre and Rosas, the programme also featured Jan Decorte and the choreographer Steve Paxton. What united us in dance and theatre was the fact that we worked outside the established cultural scene. There were other venues in Brussels where one could experience the international theatre avant-garde. Alongside the Kaaitheater, there were the Halles de Schaerbeek, where I saw Tadeusz Kantor’s Die tote Klasse (Dodenklas), and the Théâtre 140. Bob Wilson and the Wooster Group came to Brussels, and it was during this time that I discovered the work of Pina Bausch at La Monnaie, which I still deeply admire to this day. Her work, rooted in the tradition of German Expressionism, differed fundamentally from American dance. It was also around this time that I became acquainted with the work of William Forsythe.

You began your career with training in classical dance.

My intensive dance training was initially firmly rooted in classical ballet. I was very fortunate that my mother supported and encouraged me so much, and that I was surrounded by inspiring teachers. At the dance school in Wemmel, which my mother had founded, she invited Lieve Curias from the Antwerp Ballet School. She taught us not only classical ballet, but also modern dance, improvisation and jazz dance. She also took us to see performances by the Ballet van Vlaanderen and Maurice Béjart’s Ballet du XXe Siècle.

You later studied at the Mudra School in Brussels, Maurice Béjart’s legendary dance school.

I studied there for two years. Mudra shared its studios with the Ballet du XXe Siècle. I was able to witness some extraordinary dancers there, including Jorge Donn, Suzanne Farrell and Rita Poelvoorde. The desire for training that went beyond classical ballet, as well as my interest in modern and postmodern dance, eventually led me to New York and the Tisch School of the Arts. I was particularly fascinated by American choreographers such as Trisha Brown, Steve Paxton and Lucinda Childs. That was the point at which I decided to cover the mirror. In classical ballet, you train in front of a mirror and move within a strictly prescribed movement vocabulary. When I stopped doing that, I began to trust my instincts and, step by step, develop my own dance language. That’s how Violin Phase, my first solo, came about, followed by Come Out and Piano Phase. Together with Clapping Music, these choreographies became Fase: Four Movements to the Music of Steve Reich. I wasn’t just rather headstrong, but also a real workaholic.