Wim Vandekeybus (1963) is a choreographer, dancer, filmmaker and photographer. He founded his dance company Ultima Vez in 1987. He made a remarkable artistic debut with his first performance What the body does not remember. The performance won a Bessie, an award granted for groundbreaking work. His second performance Les porteuses de mauvaises nouvelles (1989) was also honoured with this award. In his unique style, Vandekeybus has created milestones in the development of modern dance with his performances over the last few decades, at home and abroad.
Vandekeybus has created a language of movement wherein he juxtaposes intuition, impulse and instinct with energy, risk and danger, which exemplifies a dramatic Weltanschauung, full of dynamics and conflict, through the medium of dance. A central focus in his work is the irreconcilable conflict between body and mind, feeling and intellect, man and woman, nature and culture, man and animal, group and individual, illusion and reality. Vandekeybus’ work is characterised by almost obsessive reiterations of one single concern: how man responds to extreme situations. In this context, he attaches special importance to what he refers to as “the moment of catastrophe” – which ironically does not preclude his inclusion of humour, playfulness and even a certain jocular lightheartedness in his work.
Vandekeybus’s performances take the form of associative montages with a penchant for crisscrossing borderlines between disciplines that at the same time lose nothing of their strongrooted autonomy in the process. His dance is rendered in a powerfully theatrical manner. (Live) music and video/film are not only integral to his mode of theatrical expression, but more often than not, are actually the prime movers underlying the performances. The choreographer has also created short films for use in various performances – some of which may be regarded as standalone works in their own right, such as Blush (2004) and Monkey Sandwich (2013). Vandekeybus also made Galloping Mind (2015), his very first feature film.
In the course of the years, Vandekeybus developed a stronger narrative style that presents coherent fables with a broader scope, often revolving around community, individuals and conflict. His performances represent a transition from tensions between bodies at a purely physical level, to more complex tensions as between groups, and as between groups and individuals. In essence, his performances are and remain rooted to the vital energy of the body itself. This is a realm in which Vandekeybus has been able to create a rich and diverse oeuvre that is acclaimed not only at home, but internationally as well.
10.04.2022
