Preparations for a grand exhibition...

My daughter Maya is curator for an exhibition in the Mu ka. That is very exciting and quite a lot of work. Some people show moving parts, others simultaneous screens. One of the people participating has been my guest for the last couple of days: Darius from Lithuania. A quiet smart guy, smart like all the participants of this really special event. Her house is filled with beautiful people with interesting minds. One can feel the energy of these young scientist, researchers. They still have a few days: the opening is the 27th... I was glad to be able to help by running errands, buying some materials she needs. Her home became a gathering point for beautiful, interesting people. Like a pod of creative scientists doing what needs to be done to inform, to stun, to make people think. At least they make me think about the many options we have in life. They are using their options well.

Dress rehearsal...

I have been mulling over the dress rehearsal for the bachelor's degree dance in the Singel. Two renown choreographs and the people from Ultima Vez helped the young dances on their way. As usual WIM Vandekeybus works with power, the strength of the body and complex relationship body mind and body. I must admit that I was deeply impressed with what the dancers gave to the audience. Serialize movements, falls, shots punctuating the the movements, impressions of a mass grave on stage... To me the first part was the War in Syria... the randomness of life and death. Of course a work of art, and it definitely was one, is open to different interpretations and so I felt free to accept my feeling about the performance as a  possible reading. The physical hardness of the movements and the scenes are going to one's core. There is a couple for instance where the girl wants to touch the boy. He says: Ne touche pas! Don't touch... and hits her on the arm. She reaches, he hits her, in a rhythm that is chilling. She starts hitting back... What an insight in the escalation of violence...

To me the first part was an anti war statement and the second part a suggestion to think about personal violence.

There was a welcome break and  under the guidance of Emanuel Gat. Totally different:more romantic, more gentle it seems... Yet the girls, the woman are thrown around, thrown away by the male dance partners... Women behaving doll-like, strangely surreal.

Worthwhile. two dancers got hurt and might not dance on opening night.

Thanks for making me feel and think.

Syrian dancers

Years ago my kids went on a long trip which also brought them to Syria. Their means of transport were two recumbent bicycles. Then, having a knee problem, my daughter stayed on in Aleppo on her own, totally safe and when the time had come, she went by buss with her stuff to Damascus and they all were reunited again. Once in Damascus they interviewed a few people. People, with whom they stayed in touch. The young people interviewed were hip hop dancers, moon walkers, dance instructors and such, also human rights advocates. Nidal made it to Belgium, a great dancer. Jihad is a master chocolate maker trained in Dubai, now learning to make Belgian chocolate. Naser who ran the dancing school, had reached his sister in Austria and worrying about their mother returned to Damascus to go and get his mother. A young man who never touched a gun in this conflict, has family values and was cherished by those who knew him. The sad story is that he got killed in Damascus. We don't know what happened to his mother... This war isn't far away. If you visited the country, seen the antique places, talked to people, made friends then it feels as if that war is on our doorsteps... The horror, the horror of war we can't imagine. Feel it in the loss of this young man.

Once again sacred Hopi objects will be sold by a Paris auction house

Survival International, a NGO defending the rights of the First Nations will be back in court in order to try and stop a new sale of 25 Friends - No, they are not masks - they are living entities, used in sacred ceremonies. This time it is the auction house EVE offering for sale among other two highly esteemed Katsinam: the Crow Mother and the Friend used in the Snake Dance. These ceremonies are not open to the public since they are so sacred. The sale will be on December 9 and the friendly spirits are already on show. The sale will be once again in La Maison Drouot.The Hopi are a small nation in Arizona. Their ceremonies and religious dances are important to them. Some dances are public and then you can enjoy the beauty of it all. It saddens me that my friends once again are hurt by greed and lack of understanding. Some items have been shown in April by Minet-Neret.

The last performance of VENN: Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui

This is the last scene from the last performance of VENN. Yes I attended the performance again. I didn't know how I would react since the element of surprise would not be there. I must admit that I liked it even better than the first time, seeing more, recognizing some of the movements which touched me deeply. Also the music and voices went deeper into me. Seeing the intimacy of certain parts when a person becomes a shoe, a chair, a shower, a coat for the other. The violent scene when a woman gets beaten up without being touched really got under my skin at the second viewing. The waxing and waning of the gestures of a few dancers to the a full stage and the massiveness of the group movement was exhilarating, gave energy.

The gestures preceding the spoken word where beautiful and they contended that there was more communication with fingers and wrists and arms than when people started to speak... I must admire the students of the dance school of the Koninklijk Conservatorium in Antwerp. Some of them are just in their first year, others, with the heavier roles, are in their last year. So no the preparation starts for the final exam, which I hope to see as well. Art is balsam to the soul...

To all of you thanks.

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui: Venn

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui will be awarded the title of Maestro Honoris Causa by the "Stichting Conservatorium Antwerp. The production Venn which some of us saw thanks to the vice president of said foundation just blew me away. It was moving, funny, spectacular, intimate, beyond beautiful, and splendidly danced by the young group of dancers. The music and voices were of the same quality. The harp and the percussion, the violin, alt-violin and cello where so right for the sublime choreography of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. The sober light effects and stage supported in every way the sometimes exuberant, sometimes overwhelming, sometimes funny or intimate scenes. I also fell for the silent and spoken parts where the gesture was before words came about. No pictures of this public try out,  yet the images I saw I won't forget. If you have a chance, go to one of the performances. You'll come out fulfilled and more complete. The dance dealt with a new interpretation of different themes from Foi, Origine and Orbo Novo. The energy on the scene is wonderful and gives so much to the audience that we can deal with the onset of winter. Iris Bouche has woven all the elements together in a grand performance of all.