All posts by radicalhearts

NEW WORK – FOR MATA WITH LOVE

Creation 25/26 — FOR MATA, WITH LOVE
 
TRY OUT SERIES
30-31 oct. 1- 2th of  nov. SALON RADICAL KORTRIJK
8-9 of  nov.  KADOC LEUVEN
15 of nov. CC DE VERVERIJ RONSE
 
 
In her new work For Mata, with Love, Pé Vermeersch explores the tragedy of a woman who used her body as power, language, and mystery — and who may have been killed because of it. A tribute to Mata Hari not as a spy or courtesan, but as a founding mother of contemporary performing art, the piece delves into the erotic force of a breathing, sensing, autonomous organism. Sacrificed on the altar of fear and desire, that body expressed a powerful act of resistance and restoration, asserting its presence through intensity and surrender.
 
The legendary walk of Mata Hari toward her execution in 1917 becomes the dramatic arc of the piece, developed through principles drawn from Japanese Noh theatre. Amid a naïvely colorful scenography, Angela Babuin incarnates Mata Hari as she dances her path toward the French firing squad on an eight-meter-long balance beam. Pé Vermeersch embodies her soul and shadow, accompanying Angela with live voice over an original soundtrack by George De Decker. The relationship between costume and nudity — as well as the act of dressing and undressing — is a central element in this context, conceived in collaboration with costume designer Anita Evenepoel.
 
In an unexpected twist, a passionate duet between ‘the man’ and ‘the shadow’ weaves its way through Mata’s performance path. Frank van de Ven will be the first male dancer to interpret this role.
 
We are all creators belonging to a “lost generation”: artists who emerged just after the so-called “Flemish wave” and did not develop within the framework of an established company. We have worked all our lives and are now between the ages of 43 and 65. Though rarely acknowledged as artists, the language we have forged can be recognized in much of the work made today by younger generations. We create with a positive spirit and a sense of urgency. Thank you very much for paying attention to our work.
 
 
Dancers:  Angela Babuin, Pé Vermeersch, Frank van de Ven
Costumes:  Anita Evenepoel
Soundtrack: George De Decker and Alissa Cardone
Dramaturgy: Marc Lesage
 

COLLECTIVE

Met Radical HeArts zetten we al jaren in op het ervaringsgerichte lichaam. De ‘doorleefde lijf’ zetten we in als communicatiemiddel: voor mens, natuur, dier, kunst en samenleving. Doorheen diepe zintuigelijke waarneming en sensibiliteit kunnen we, wars van culturele verschillen, elkaar beter begrijpen en verbinding maken. Doorheen het gevoelige lichaam kunnen we echt transcultureel zijn.
 
We maken internationale voorstellingen en tentoonstellingen, voor de klassieke scène, musea, historische en natuurlijke sites. We werken evenzeer lokaal vanuit onze werkplaats Salon Radical. We koesteren erfgoed en traditie maar ook het radicale experiment. We koesteren het lichaam als ruwe diamant en bieden tools om een fragiel en zintuigelijk lichaam te trainen, zowel voor de professionele als niet-professionele danser. Voor jong en zeker voor oud.
 
Omdat we dans als communicatie zien, zijn improvisatie en direct intuïtief handelen van groot belang. Het lichaam als gevoelsgids biedt nieuwe dans, verbindt ons met andere kunstvormen en is evengoed een tool in het dagelijkse leven. Kennis en vertrouwen in ieders lichaam bevordert empathie. Een respectvolle connectie met het lichaam ontneemt angst en onzekerheid en verlegt grenzen.

DOORNTUIN / GARDEN OF THORNS

ENCOUNTERS

A FORMLESS FORM

WAT WEEFT IN MIJ?

WATCH OUT ! DANCERS !

BLONDES HAVE NO SOUL

“This kind of spectacle, so original, creative, elegiac, multidisciplinary, so wholly different of contemporary dance  and of the complete theatre history of the past centuries that another word than ‘dance’ should be invented to describe this performance, unless ‘dance’ comprises every truly living spectacle”.

(Jean-Gabriel NANCEY, Effet d’art: nudité, enfin!, in Danse. European dance news (Paris), n°270, 2012, p. 55)

 

‘Mijn oog wordt mijn oor,mijn oor mijn neus, mijn neus mijn mond.Mijn geest is heel en mijn lichaam lost op.Gebeente en vlees smelten…Ik word weggeblazen, oost en west…Berijdt de wind mij of ik de wind ?’ (Lieh Tzu)

 

Blondes have no soul dance for silence and whiteness, solo.   no stop work Since 2002

CONCEPT                                      PRESS 

 

Support for ‘Blondes have no soul’ in 2000, date of its creation

Kyoto Art Center: Artist in residence; Bunka-cho (Japanese Ministery of Culture); Flemish Ministery of Culture; City of Ghent.

 

MAKING THE SKIES MOVE

Dance for piano, duo (2011)

 

‘Contrary to the organ, the piano appears to me to be much more a ‘spatial’ than a ‘physical’ instrument. That feeling is choreographically elaborated. With ‘Making the skies move’ I explore invisible layers in space. I imagine how, with each movement and with each musical note, invisible particles are moved through the layers of space. Gently I slice through the space. From bottom to top, from dark to light. The dance originates in breathing resistant mass, trying to find, through a circular motion, an almost endless projection in space’ (Pé Vermeersch).

Making the move skies, version 2011 / Messiaen

Invisable layers become sensible / from brown down to yellow up / the necessity of dissonance in beauty

In this version for the scene (2011) Pé worked only with the piano music of Olivier Messiaen. Piano music so rarely heard and even fewer times put in relation to dance. Dancers and pianist look for a fragile, almost etheric beauty arising from a shifting and dissonantly grounded feeling so typical of the compositions of Messiaen.

Alongside the superb playing  of Jan Michiels, seven works of Messiaen become dances, both choreographed and improvised. The piano music is alternated by a minimalist soundscape by Ludo Engels. This work is the first piece which is sometimes choreographed , in collaboration with Angela Babuin, in a strict syncronised way, as opposed to the more organic choreographies in ‘ It Organs/the body’

‘Making the skies move’ is also an installation, a visual work already initiated in 2008 and elaborated with a wider selection of piano music. (see section mixed media). The installation is elaborated here in a scenographical way and consists of a multitude of three-dimensional, wooden frames, sometimes empty, and sometimes filled with painted white particles and creatures. In a naive and tender way it tries to hold what dance and music try to move : the skies.

‘Making the skies move’ can be perceived also as a danced concert with lots of space for the musician’s implementation. In a next version I would like to enlarge the piano repertoire with other contemporary composers without losing the idea of ‘making the skies move’ … Making the skies move is visually always connected to the original installation.

Dance: Angela Babuin, Petra Sandra Vermeersch
Choreography and installation: Pé Vermeersch
Assistance: Angela Babuin
Piano: Jan Michiels
Soundscape: Ludo Engels
Light: Koen Moerman
Photography of the performance : Julie Jones

Performances 2011 :

Belgium : CC De Spil Roeselare, CC De Adelberg Lommel, CC De Brouwerij Ronse

France : L’Avant-Seine / Théâtre de Colombes, Colombes, Paris, France 

PERFORMING & ART STUDIO

SALON RADICAL  is the working space of  Radical HeArts and locate in the centrum  of  Kortrijk.  As well the historical salon of the 19 th century as the weaving atelier dating 1930 offers a beautiful setting  for expositions and small performances and workshops.  We host a  permanent collection of  Berber Rugs  which are regularly shown. 

www.salonradical. be   www.vandenbroeckart.be

DORST - poetry & dance

BLAUW - teken van de nacht

ADEMROOD - RED OXYGEN

DESERTSCAPE

PREGNANCY LEVEL 8

ENCOUNTERS

18/5/2017 ➔ 20/8/2017
ENCOUNTERS – A danced expo
Radical HeArts / KMSKA in MAS

 

photos  Luc De Preitere  /  Yourt

MORE VIDEOS            PRESS          PARTICIPATING ARTISTS & MORE

Ontmoetingen / Encounters is een transculturele en transmediale tentoonstelling/gebeuren/performance waarin de kunstwerken in clusters of golven worden samengebracht : soms op grond van hun energetisch-esthetische overeenkomst of gelijkenis, soms op grond van een spanning tussen werken van uiteenlopende herkomst.

Deze manifestatie is laagdrempelig in die zin dat géén culturele voorkennis wordt vereist en dat er geen woordelijk discours moet ‘begrepen’ worden. De bemiddeling tussen tentoongestelde werken en toeschouwer is ervaringsgericht en gebeurt via het lichaam van de performers en doorheen de eigen intuïtie van het publiek. Het langdurige theoretische onderzoek dat aan de expo voorafging vindt zijn neerslag in een boek A glimpse of the concealed. Body – intuition – art (BAI Publishers) dat verscheen naar aanleiding van het gebeuren.

  • Click here for more information about the choreographic circuit.
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