3 Flemish contemporary dance companies to perform in SA

hree Flanders-based contemporary dance companies are set to perform in South African from 16 March to June 2019. Les ballets C de la B, GRIP and Siamese Cie will showcase their work at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg, the KKNK in Oudtshoorn and the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town.

A radical and creative dance scene

Contemporary dance from Flanders has a large international resonance. The 1980s saw the explosion of a radical and creative dance scene in Flanders, which would earn Brussels the title of contemporary dance capital of Europe.

3 Flemish contemporary dance companies to perform in SA

A new generation of choreographers redefined the concept of dance, developing a fresh approach towards dance and leaving a personal imprint – which broke traditional barriers and conceptions, both at home and abroad. Dance in Flanders has developed many perspectives since then. Choreographers no longer come exclusively from Flanders or Brussels and international influences and collaborations have added their own eclectic interpretations to the mix. Prominent South African choreographers Dada Masilo, Gregory Maqoma, George Khumalo and Moya Michael are amongst those who have received training and worked in Brussels. What remains is the independent and unique spirit of those earlier days, transformed and continuously evolving.

South African audiences can experience this for themselves when three of Flanders’ most acclaimed dance companies bring their shows to these shores, showcasing the rich and vibrant artistic talent of the dance community in Flanders and engaging audiences in challenging and thought-provoking ways.

Rule of three

Rule Of Three by GRIP, in collaboration with NAH, opens the Flemish Season at the Market Theatre on Saturday, 16 March 2019.

In Rule of Three, Flemish choreographer Jan Martens blends storytelling with live music to create a night-club vibe combined with the feeling of getting lost in the pages of a book. The result is a stunning dance piece that is loud, bright and brilliant. A succession of dance tableaux unfolds with surprises lurking at every corner. Unrelated short scenes replicate the profusion of information to which we are constantly subjected.

3 Flemish contemporary dance companies to perform in SA

American drummer and producer NAH provides the score throughout, mixing live and programmed drums with manipulated sounds. Music, lights and movement interact and overlap in a superb experimental mix.

The layering of rhythm, light and music creates a variety of landscapes which may as easily exude nonchalance as set bodies alight. Rule of Three is rebellious and fiery, it unleashes an untamed meditation on the contrasts of our era: numbness and explosion, the decided upon and the intuitive, the heart and the mind.

From May to June two other productions will perform in South Africa: Requiem pour L. by Les ballets C de la B. and (B) by Siamese Cie.

Tickets are available via Webtickets. 

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