You’ve changed
Abstract
The matrix of “You’ve changed” is movement, or more precisely a choreography unfolding as an unpredictable but integrated system without a central directing agent. Which means that the dancers are at each moment responsible for inventing and performing their own movement material, as well as initiating and developing all group structures. As in a chain reaction, this improvised choreography formed the base for the creation of a video, then a music (composed by Dick van der Harst for a three-person ‘rock band’ and three female singers), then another music, then new improvised movement, then lights, all these proposals finally answering each other on stage. Here, in other words, a self-structuring choreography becomes the structure on which everything else is built : the individual creative decision-making, with its imperfections too, as the foundation stone for a highly complex and polyphonic piece. One could perceive here a longing for form in times where form is – perhaps rightly so – distrusted for its authoritarian and simplifying arbitrariness. Hauert does not design form but sets up processes that have an inherent will to form.
Presentation
With its complex network of movements intricately linked through time and space, Thomas Hauert’s choreographic language could be seen as pursuing the tradition of abstract dance. However, it is entirely through improvisation that this strongly polyphonic ‘writing’ comes to life on stage. Hauert’s work is remarkable for its ability to weave order out of disorder, form out of formlessness, and community out of distinct individuals, all the while taking advantage of the tension and attention offered by improvisation. The choreography acts as a microcosm in which individuals must constantly negotiate between their own freedom and their determination to relate to others.
The matrix of “You’ve changed” is movement, or more precisely a choreography unfolding as an unpredictable but integrated system without a central directing agent. Which means that the dancers are at each moment responsible for inventing and performing their own movement material, as well as initiating and developing all group structures. They must adapt their individual roles within a group constellation whose mechanics are constantly changing.
As in a chain reaction, this improvised choreography formed the base for the creation of a video, then a music, then another music, then new improvised movement, then lights, all these proposals finally answering each other on stage. Here, in other words, a self-structuring choreography becomes the structure on which everything else is built : the individual creative decision-making, with its imperfections too, as the foundation stone for a highly complex and polyphonic piece. One could perceive here a longing for form in times where form is – perhaps rightly so – distrusted for its authoritarian and simplifying arbitrariness. Hauert does not design form but sets up processes that have an inherent will to form. Form always emerges, often surprisingly, but never quite gets completed.
Hauert nourishes a deep interest for the complex relationship between music and dance. But this time, he reversed the traditional dance-to-music order by asking Dick van der Harst – artist in residence at LOD and famous a.o. for collaborations with Belgian directors Alain Platel and Eric De Volder – to create an original composition based on a dance – filtered through video. Written for a three-person ‘rock band’ and three female singers, this music served in turn as material for Peter Van Hoesen, who interpreted it by digital means to create electronic tracks. The two musical worlds, the analog and the digital, are connected to each other and, somehow, to the movement on stage – by a process of mutual influence.
Credits
concept and direction: Thomas Hauert / dance created and presented by: Thomas Hauert, Fabián Barba, Liz Kinoshita, Albert Quesada, Gabriel Schenker, Theodossia Stathi, Gabor Varga, Samantha van Wissen (7 dancers on stage and 8 in the video) / music: Dick van der Harst / musicians: Dick van der Harst, Inez Carsauw, Lander Gyselinck, Jouni Isoherranen, Els Van Laethem, Simone Vierlinger / set and light design: Jan Van Gijsel / electronic music composition and sound design: Peter Van Hoesen / costumes: OWN / music lyrics: Paola Bartoletti / production: ZOO / co-production: alkantara festival (Lisbon), Kunstenfestivaldesarts (Brussels), La Bâtie - Festival de Genève (Genève), Kaaitheater (Brussels), Théâtre national de Bordeaux en Aquitaine (Bordeaux), LOD (Ghent), Centre chorégraphique national de Franche-Comté à Belfort (Belfort), Theaterhaus Gessnerallee (Zurich), Dampfzentrale (Bern) / project co-produced by NXTSTP, with the support of the Culture Program of the European Union / with the support of Vlaamse Overheid, Ministère de la Communauté française - Service de la Danse, Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council, Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie, Wallonie-Bruxelles Théâtre/Danse / residencies and studios “Centre chorégraphique national de Franche-Comté à Belfort dans le cadre de l’accueil studio Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication / DRAC Franche-Comté et de la convention culturesfrance / Conseil régional de Franche-Comté” (Belfort), Charleroi/Danses - Centre chorégraphique de la Communauté française (Charleroi), Kaaitheater (Brussels), Ultima Vez (Brussels), Rosas (Brussels)
Tour Dates
Receive the ZOO newsletter