When: Tuesday 17 September 2024, 13h00-18h00
Where: Lullyzaal, Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Schouwburgstraat 3, 9000 Ghent
Who: Free but registration required
An initiative of STUK, Opera Ballet Vlaanderen (OBV) and the University of Antwerp
How can one breathe new life into existing dance pieces again and again, so that new and older audiences can (re)experience them? Dance is typically an art form that comes to life at the moment of performance, while it afterwards only remains through traces in the bodies of the dancers and the memories of spectators. Truly reviving a dance work requires a sustained and sometimes innovative repertoire practice, in which the work is passed on to a new group of dancers or receives a revitalizing reinterpretation.
Transmitting or reimagining dance repertoires, however, are complex processes because they require profound investments in terms of the documentation of the choreography and creation processes, the physical transfer of the work between dancers, and communication towards the audience. When the choreographer of the work is still alive, they can manage these processes themselves. But what happens when the original creators are no longer there, or when dance companies are disbanded - does this equally mean that the work ceases to exist? Moreover, when new generations of choreographers want to engage with the work of their predecessors, what challenges do they experience?
We will address these and other questions together with an impressive range of inspiring colleagues from the Flemish and international dance sector during the symposium Choreographic Legacies: Sustaining and Reviving Dance Repertoire, a collaboration between STUK, OBV and the University of Antwerp.
PROGRAMME
13:30 - 14:00: Introduction to the symposium by Delphine Hesters (STUK) and Prof. Timmy De Laet (University of Antwerp / CoDa - Research Network for Dance Studies).
14:00 - 15:00: Artist statements on sustaining a repertory practice by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker (Rosas) and Robert Sturm (Tanztheater Wuppertal / Pina Bausch).
15:00 - 15:45: Panel discussion with rehearsal directors about passing on and keeping the work alive. With Barbara Kaufmann (Tanztheater Wuppertal / Pina Bausch), Diane Madden (Trisha Brown Dance Company) and Laura Arís Álvarez (Ultima Vez), moderated by Koen Bollen (OBV).
15:45 - 16:00: Break
16:00 - 16:50: Artist statements on new creations inspired by the repertoire of predecessors, by choreographers Olga De Soto and Zoë Demoustier.
16:50 - 17:40: Panel discussion on the dissemination and mediation of dance repertoire to various audiences. With Àngels Margarit i Viñals (Mercat de les Flors, Barcelona), Lies Deschietere (CC De Schakel Waregem) and Jan Vandenhouwe (OBV), moderated by Katleen Van Langendonck (Europalia and AP Conservatory of Antwerp).
17:40 - 18:00: Closing remarks by Madeline Ritter (Bureau Ritter), reflecting on the day from an international and policy perspective.