Here - KVS

KVS 

MULTILINGUAL 

PROGRAMME ’12-’13 

THEATRE & DANCE 

BRUSSELS CITY THEATER 

WWW.KVS.BE - T 02 210 11 12 

© 32 RUE VANDENBRANDEN, HERMAN SORGELOOS

WELCOME 

KVS, the Royal Flemish Theatre (Koninklijke Vlaamse Schouwburg), 

located in the heart of Brussels, strives to be a theatre 

of the city for the city – the city theatre of Brussels. KVS 

is aware of its position in a city such as Brussels, the capital 

of Flanders, Belgium and Europe. With its kaleidoscopic culture 

and language, its advantages and weaknesses, the city 

of Brussels is the source and inspiration of the artistic work 

at the KVS. We constantly aim to translate the city’s diversity 

into a contemporary artistic project and make theatre 

with and for the citizens of the capital. We want to give each 

inhabitant of Brussels a reason to visit the KVS at least once 

every season. 

The Brussels theatre audience is increasingly curious 

about and open towards performing artists from the other 

(language) communities. As the KVS has made multilingualism 

self-evident, it stages its performances in several languages 

and provides surtitles. 

In this brochure you will find an overview of what we 

are showing this coming season for our English-speaking 

audiences, with theatre spoken in Dutch and surtitled in 

English, theatre spoken in English, wordless theatre and 

dance. We’re also showing a wide range of performances 

spoken or surtitled in French or German. Please check our 

website for detailed information. 

The next KVS season will be a very special one. For a 

whole year we will perform our very own repertoire: an idiosyncratic 

selection from the wide range of productions that 

have all contributed to the last ten exciting years at the KVS. 

We are reviving productions we think everybody should see. 

The KVS is the right place if you are seeking captivating, 

rewarding, critical and innovative theatre and dance from 

Brussels. Welcome to KVS! 

www.kvs.be 

03 

INDEX 

THEATRE 

> IN ENGLISH 

NINE FINGER P.05 

> SURTITLED IN ENGLISH 

BARAKSTAD (BIDONVILLE) P.07 

SUR LES TRACES DE DINOZORD P.09 

SCHITZ P.11 

THE LIFE AND WORKS 

OF LEOPOLD II P.13 

> WORDLESS 

VORST - FOREST P.15 

DANCE 

NIEUWZWART P.17 

32 RUE VANDENBRANDEN P.19 

WHAT THE BODY 

DOES NOT REMEMBER P.21 

PRACTICAL P. 22

© HERMAN SORGELOOS 

FUMIYO IKEDA, BENJAMIN VERDONCK & ALAIN PLATEL 

KVS, ROSAS & DE MUNT 

NINE FINGER 

The combination of the artistic 

forces of the dancer Fumiyo Ikeda, 

the artist Benjamin Verdonck and 

the choreographer Alain Platel undoubtedly 

made Nine Finger one of 

the most gripping theatrical events 

of 2007. Fumiyo Ikeda has been part 

of Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s 

contemporary dance company Rosas 

for 25 years and has witnessed 

various phases and genres that 

have made Rosas what it is today. 

This joint production is based on 

the book Beasts of No Nation (2005) 

by Uzodinma Iweala, an American 

author and physician of Nigerian origin. 

Through the eyes of an African 

child soldier, and writing in a rudimentary, 

infantile style, the author 

examines the perversity of war. 

05 THEATRE > IN ENGLISH 

After the premiere in 2007, Fumiyo 

Ikeda and Stijn Van Opstal are 

now reviving this play, telling the 

story with poetic mastery and brutal 

honesty. Empty-handed but with 

all their body and soul, the dancers 

commit themselves to answering the 

question that remains throughout 

the play: how can the medium of art 

relate to the horrors of the world? 

‘Nine finger stays with you for days.’ 

— THEATERMAGGEZIEN 

‘A compelling interpretation of the 

desperation that grips your heart in this 

story, both sublime and terrible at the 

same time.’ 

– DE MORGEN 

DANCE & THEATRE 

MAR 13, 14, 15, 16 – 20:00 

KVS_BOL 

STANDARD: €19 / 16 

REDUCED: €15 / 12 

IN ENGLISH, 

SURTITLED IN DUTCH & FRENCH 

WITH FUMIYO IKEDA & 

STIJN VAN OPSTAL 

BY FUMIYO IKEDA, ALAIN PLATEL & 

BENJAMIN VERDONCK 

COPRODUCERS 

KVS, ROSAS & DE MUNT

© HERMAN SOGELOOS 

GUY DERMUL / JMH BERCKMANS & PATRICK DECLERCK / KAAT DE WINDT 


BARAKSTAD 

(BIDONVILLE) 

As if poverty were not about ourselves. 

The heart-wrenching testimony 

of a poor man living on the 

margins of society is eclipsed by 

the well-meaning opinions of specialists. 

Word, image, humour and 

music culminate in an explosive 

indictment of the blind spot in everyone’s 

conscience. In Barakstad, 

the actor and director Guy Dermul, 

together with Nico Sturm and David 

Dermez, throw three different 

views of poverty into the ring. First 

and foremost comes the late and 

lamented cult author JMH Berckmans, 

who wrote with a great deal 

of self-mockery about his own fortunes 

as a deprived person living on 

the fringes of society. Secondly, a 

selection of the anthropologist and 

psychoanalyst Patrick Declerck’s 

pamphlets is presented; he worked 

with the homeless for many years 

and has regularly published descriptions 

of their desperate lives. 

07 THEATRE > SURTITLED IN ENGLISH 

Lastly, a number of passages are 

based on the thoughts of the controversial 

British psychiatrist Theodore 

Dalrymple, who believes that 

‘our welfare state has subsidised 

the lower classes to death’. The 

show is propelled by the agitated 

undercurrent supplied by the string 

players of the contemporary Brussels 

music ensemble Ictus, in a 

composition by the musician Kaat 

De Windt and the frenetic rhythm of 

an old master, the international jazz 

legend Han Bennink. 

‘The voice that makes Barakstad so rich 

is that of the writer J.M.H. Berckmans. 

Here he is the pauper whose selfmockery 

and caustic worldview is all he 

has left. Nico Sturm conveys this voice 

in the performance of his life. He makes 

poverty a gash in every human being, 

beyond all the clichés.’ — DE STANDAARD 

THEATRE 

OCT 18, 19, 20 – 20:00 



REDUCED: €15 / 12 

IN DUTCH, 

SURTITLED IN FRENCH & ENGLISH 

BARAKSTAD IS PART OF THE KVS’ 

ARMWOEDE /PAUVERITE / POW- 

ERTY PROJECT. THE FULL ’12-’13 

PROGRAMME WILL FOLLOW AT 

WWW.KVS.BE. 

WITH NICO STURM, DAVID DERMEZ, 

GUY DERMUL, HAN BENNINK & ICTUS 

DIRECTOR & TEXT EDITOR GUY DER- 

MUL AUTHORS JMH BERCKMANS, 

PATRICK DECLERCK, GUY DERMUL 

COMPOSER KAAT DE WINDT 

MUSICIANS ICTUS STRING QUARTET: 

GEORGE VAN DAM (VIOLIN), 

IGOR SEMENOFF (VIOLIN), 

AURELIE ENTRINGER OR 

JEROEN ROBBRECHT (VIOLA), 

GEERT DE BIEVRE (CELLO) 

DRUM IMPROVISATION HAN BENNINK 

DRAMATURGE HILDEGARD DE VUYST 

SET DESIGNER MARIE SZERNOVICZ 

COSTUME DESIGNER FILIP EYCKMANS 

LIGHT DESIGNER HARRY COLE 

PRODUCER KVS 

THANKS TO JOSSE DE PAUW

© AGATHE POUPENEY 

FAUSTIN LINYEKULA 

STUDIOS KABAKO & KVS 

SUR LES TRACES 

DE DINOZORD 

The Congo Project is very much part 

of the artistic course of the KVS that 

was plotted several years ago. Flemish 

theatre has become increasingly 

‘internationalised’ and in its international 

operations the KVS is opting 

decisively for projects that are also 

relevant to the local Brussels context. 

After all, Brussels is not only 

Flanders, Belgium and Europe but 

also, and to a considerable extent, 

Africa. The Congo’s leading, internationally 

renowned choreographer, 

dancer and theatre-maker Faustin 

Linyekula has long been a regular 

visitor to the KVS. Linyekula teaches 

regularly in Africa, the US and Europe, 

his work and method however 

are centred on the city of Kisangani, 

where the Studios Kabako moved in 

2006. In Kisangani, the Studios are 

fostering the debuts of young Congolese 

artists in the fields of dance, 

theatre, music and film- and videomaking 

by proposing training and 

workshops and by producing and 

touring works. Linyekula has created 

ten pieces with the Studios Kabako 

and has been commissioned works 

by the Comédie Française in Paris or 


more recently by the Ballet de Lorraine 

in Nancy. 

Dinozord: the Dialogue Series iii. 

was created in Vienna in 2006 for 

the American director Peter Sellars’ 

New Crowned Hope Festival, and 

was among the guest productions 

at the Avignon Festival, Springdance 

in Utrecht, Paris quartier d’été and 

elsewhere. Now, five years later, 

Faustin finds his team scattered 

across France, Sweden and the 

Congo, and in an adapted version 

entitled Sur les traces de Dinozord, 

depicts the return to Kisangani, 

where he was born. To the strains of 

Mozart’s Requiem, performed live by 

the countertenor and rising opera 

star Serge Kakudji (seen in Alain Platel’s 

pitié! ), dancers and actors move 

through a landscape of ruins, looking 

for what is left of their dreams. 

‘A provocative, multifaceted performance 

filled with surprises and revolt, 

a performance that quashes the clichés 

about “African Art” and turns them 

completely on their head.’ — RUE DU THEATRE 

DANCE & THEATRE 

DEC 13, 14 – 20:00 

DEC 19, 20, 21 – 20:30 



REDUCED: €15 / 12 

IN FRENCH, 

SURTITLED IN DUTCH & ENGLISH 

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR 


WITH SERGE KAKUDJI, DINOZORD, 

PAPY EBOTANI, DJODJO KAZADI, 

FAUSTIN LINYEKULA, 

MAURICE PAPY MBWITI & 

ANTOINE VUMILIA MUHINDO 

AUTHORS RICHARD KABAKO & 

ANTOINE VUMILIA MUHINDO 

VIDEO SAMMY BALOJI & 


PRODUCER STUDIOS KABAKO – 

VIRGINIE DUPRAY 

COPRODUCER KVS 

WITH THE SUPPORT OF 

NEW CROWNED HOPE, 

TANZQUARTIER WIEN & 

DRAC ÎLE-DE-FRANCE, 

MINISTÈRE DE LA CULTURE ET DE LA 

COMMUNICATION

© KOEN BROOS 

DAVID STROSBERG / HANOCH LEVIN 


SCHITZ 

In 2004, David Strosberg directed 

Schitz, a play by the Israeli author 

Hanoch Levin. Levin is a living monument 

in Israeli theatre. KVS was the 

first Dutch-language theatre to perform 

his work. Schitz is among his 

lighter works. Levin portrays a family 

consisting of a father, a mother, a 

daughter and a son-in-law. The ugly 

daughter wants a man, the mother 

wants a professor in America and 

the future son-in-law wants the father’s 

money. The piece can be described 

in one line: nothing has any 

value anymore – but everything has 

a price. The focus is on the family, 

but Schitz is also about the world. 


Humour is when you laugh in spite 

of it all. To paint an even clearer 

picture, Schitz uses some cabaret 

tricks: songs (composed by the infamous 

Bruno Vanden Broecke and 

Koen De Graeve) and very provocative 

costumes. The more over the 

top, the better. 

‘The clenched poetic language hides 

a disconcerting amount of venom and 

sarcasm... There are lots of laughs, but 

never without mixed feelings.’ — RADIO 1 

‘Schitz is a cabaret first and foremost 

and occasionally also incredibly funny.’ 

— DE MORGEN 

THEATRE 

JAN 30, 31 – 20:30 

FEB 01, 02, 06, 07, 08, 09 – 20:30 

FEB 03 – 15:00 FEB 05 – 12:30 

KVS_BOX 

STANDARD: €16 

REDUCED: €12 

IN DUTCH, 

SURTITLED IN FRENCH & ENGLISH 

WITH BRUNO VANDEN BROECKE, 

BRENDA BERTIN, KOEN DE GRAEVE & 

CHRIS THYS 

DIRECTOR DAVID STROSBERG 

AUTHOR HANOCH LEVIN 


COMPOSERS KOEN DE GRAEVE & 

BRUNO VANDEN BROECKE 

SCENOGRAPHY & LIGHTING 

MICHIEL VAN CAUWELAERT 

COSTUMES LIES VAN ASSCHE 

PRODUCER KVS

© KOEN BROOS 

RAVEN RUËLL / HUGO CLAUS 


HET LEVEN EN DE 

WERKEN VAN LEOPOLD II 

(THE LIFE AND WORKS OF LEOPOLD II) 

The Life and Works of Leopold II, by 

the leading Belgian poet and writer 

Hugo Claus, signalled the artistic 

world’s interest in the ‘colonial 

hangover’. Leopold II was the king of 

Belgium from 1865 to 1909, during a 

period of history marked by political 

and social upheaval in Belgium. This 

however did not stop Leopold II from 

realising his long anticipated dream 

of establishing the Congo Free 

State, turning it into a private colony 

and becoming the official head of 

the state. Although the Congo was 

shamelessly exploited, Leopold II 

was extremely proud of his state - 

where he was said never actually to 

have set foot himself. He expressed 

his pride by commissioning the Royal 

Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren, 

the Kongozaal, a ballroom 

in the Royal Palace of Brussels and 

the Spiegelzaal, a mirror-gilded ballroom 

with manifold references to 

the Congo in his palace in Antwerp. 

He is remembered to have spent his 

private life with a vast number of 

mistresses. 

The production The Life and Works 

of Leopold II first appeared on the bill 


in 2003, was selected that same season 

for the Theatre Festival, went on 

tour in Kinshasa in 2007, played at 

parish halls in Flanders and Wallonia 

and then finally came back home to 

the Molière, a small theatre in the 

Matongé district of Brussels. The big 

challenge of performing this forgotten 

play was in the apparent contradiction 

between the historic facts 

and the theatrical exuberance. Director 

Raven Ruëll decided to throw 

off the historic yoke and search for 

Leopold II ‘the man’. Eventually he 

found a combination of his personal 

and political side in a performance 

that still turns out to be a fantastic 

feast years after its creation. 

‘Terrifically well acted, smoothly 

narrated, and staged in a transparent, 

balanced and consistent fashion.’ 

— DE MORGEN 

‘Raven Ruëll’s production dusts off 

Claus’ words and gives them a new 

lease of life. The actors’ excellent 

performances give the words a new 

impetus that keeps you captivated 

throughout as a viewer.’ — DE STANDAARD 

THEATRE 

MAR 20, 21, 22, 23 – 20:00 

MAR 26 – 12:30 

IN DUTCH, SURTITLED IN ENGLISH 

MAR 28, 29, 30 – 20:00 

IN FRENCH, SURTITLED IN 

ENGLISH 



REDUCED: €15 / 12 

WITH FRANÇOIS BEUKELAERS, 

KOEN DE GRAEVE, KATRIEN DE 

RUYSSCHER, STEVE GEERTS, SIMONE 

MILSDOCHTER, GUSTAVO MIRANDA, 

CHRIS THYS, BRUNO VANDEN 

BROECKE, SARAH VAN GEEL & GEERT 

VAN RAMPELBERG 

DIRECTOR RAVEN RUËLL 

AUTHOR HUGO CLAUS 


PRODUCER KVS

© DANNY WILLEMS 

JOHAN HELDENBERGH & TITUS DE VOOGDT 

KVS & COMPAGNIE CECILIA 

VORST - FOREST 

Two men share a past, but no future. 

Best friends for eternity. 

Together to work. 

Getting into trouble together. 

Together to the law court. 

In prison together. 

Conditionally released together. 

Both with an anklet and a contact ban. 

But one day, one of them can’t resist 

visiting the other. 

Some things really are for eternity. 

Vorst – Forest (2011) was the actor 

Titus De Voogdt’s debut as a director 

and undoubtedly the actor/ 

theatre-maker Johan Heldenbergh’s 

first play without any dialogue. The 

chemistry between the two men is 

infectious, as demonstrated earlier 

by their dual performance in 

Maria eeuwigdurende bijstand and 

Trouwfeesten en processen etc... In 

Vorst – Forest they use only physical 

and facial expression to tell an unusual 

story about two friends, ex-prisoners, 

who go through hell and back 

15 THEATRE > WORDLESS 

for each other, even though at times 

it is very unwise to do so. But it’s 

certainly admirable - or at least very 

funny. No social pleas, no complex 

social drama, simply a play about 

true friendship balanced between 

heartrending sadness and irresistible 

hilarity. 

‘This is an honest and beautiful performance 

and something happens that 

touches you. It is very clear that the 

actors love the work and even without 

words every second of the play keeps 

you captivated.’ — DE MORGEN 

‘These days talking about groundbreaking 

theatre in Flanders is quite a 

risky endeavour, but this performance 

— written and performed by Johan 

Heldenbergh and Titus De Voogdt — 

comes pretty close. The duo created 

almost one and a half hours of silent 

theatre that leaves a lasting impression.’ 

— COBRA.BE 

THEATRE 

APR 17, 18, 19, 20 – 20:00 



REDUCED: €15 / 12 

WORDLESS 

WITH ZOUZOU BEN CHIKHA / 

HELDER DEPLOIGE, TITUS DE 

VOOGDT, JOHAN HELDENBERGH, 

LOTTE VANDERSTEENE / 

HANNE VANDERSTEENE 

BY TITUS DE VOOGDT & 

JOHAN HELDENBERGH 

SCENOGRAPHER 

MICHIEL VAN CAUWELAERT 

COSTUMES LISA LAPAUW 

PRODUCERS KVS & 

COMPAGNIE CECILIA

© PIETER-JAN DE PUE 

WIM VANDEKEYBUS / PETER VERHELST & MAURO PAWLOWSKI 

ULTIMA VEZ & KVS 

NIEUWZWART 

In the choreographer Wim Vandekeybus’ 

creations, performers are 

recruited by means of countless 

auditions around the world. The 

performers are full partners in the 

creation process. Vandekeybus pays 

attention to his performers’ personality, 

as they have a very personal 

world of language and movement to 

offer. Vandekeybus’ dance company 

Ultima Vez was founded in 1986 and 

has won prizes and launched projects 

at a high international level, in 

New York, London, Frankfurt, Brussels, 

Montréal, Kosovo, Aubagne, 

Cape Town, Madrid, Göteborg and 

so on. In 1987 their amazing debut 

What the Body Does Not Remember 

(see p.21) stunned the world of 

dance. In 1988 Vandekeybus and the 

composers Thierry de Mey and Peter 

Vermeersch received the prestigious 

Bessie Award in New York for this 

‘brutal confrontation of dance and 

music; the dangerous, combative 

landscape of What the Body Does 

Not Remember’. 

17 DANCE 

In nieuwZwart (2009) Vandekeybus 

wanted to start from scratch. 

And it turned out to be an impressive 

rebirth. Seven dancers dissect 

various themes that revolve around 

instinct, birth, life and death. Eagerly 

they experiment with the limits 

of their bodies, violent and unrestrained. 

The live guitar riffs and 

ominous drums of the musicians 

Mauro Pawlowski, Elko Blijweert and 

Jeroen Stevens drive the actors forwards 

through the mysterious landscape 

of nieuwZwart. Passages of 

text by the poet and theatre-maker 

Peter Verhelst float along to the 

music, even though nieuwZwart is 

a pure dance performance. As one 

critic described it: ‘Rationality off, 

intuition on, that is the motto.’ 

‘What we see is a raw balance between 

rock and poetry that is not intended to 

enchant, but to overwhelm. Nieuw- 

Zwart means coming to life, gagging and 

convulsing, for one and a half hours.’ 

- DE STANDAARD 

DANCE 

NOV 14, 15, 16, 17 -20:00 



REDUCED: €18 / 14 

DIRECTOR, CHOREOGRAPHER, SCE- 

NOGRAPHER WIM VANDEKEYBUS 

ORIGINAL MUSIC MAURO PAWLOWSKI 

CREATED WITH & PERFORMED BY 

TANJA MARÍN 

FRIÐJÓNSDÓTTIR, DAWID LORENC, 

BÉNÉDICTE MOTTART, 

OLIVIER MATHIEU, MÁTÉ MÉSZÁROS, 

ULRIKE REINBOTT, IMRE VASS AND 

GAVIN WEBBER/KYLIE WALTERS 

MUSICIANS (LIVE) 

MAURO PAWLOWSKI, 

ELKO BLIJWEERT, JEROEN STEVENS 

TEXT PETER VERHELST 

ARTISTIC ASSISTANT & DRAMATURGE 

GREET VAN POECK 

MOVEMENT ASSISTANT 

IÑAKI AZPILLAGA 

STYLING ISABELLE LHOAS 

ASSISTED BY FRÉDÉRICK DENIS 

LIGHTING DESIGN ALBAN ROUGE, 

WIM VANDEKEYBUS 

SOUND DESIGN BENJAMIN DANDOY 

PRODUCER ULTIMA VEZ 

COPRODUCERS KVS, THÉÂTRE DE LA 

VILLE-PARIS, MERCAT DE LES FLORS, 

PACT ZOLLVEREIN/CHOREOGRA- 

PHISCHES ZENTRUM NRW, 

LE MANÈGE.MONS/ 

CENTRE DRAMATIQUE

© HERMAN SORGELOOS 

PEEPING TOM & KVS 

32 RUE 

VANDENBRANDEN 

The Brussels-based dance and 

theatre company Peeping Tom was 

founded by the dancers Gabriela 

Carrizo and Franck Chartier in 2000. 

Peeping Tom have been performing 

their successful trilogy Le Jardin, Le 

Salon and Le Sous Sol internationally, 

across Europe, including Brussels, 

Seville, Granada, Frankfurt, 

Strasbourg, Pamplona, Zurich, Zagreb 

and ‘s-Hertogenbosch, but also 

in Colombia and in Japan. Their work 

explores the idiosyncratic behaviour 

experienced in close relationships 

and personal experiences, making 

the audience voyeurs to the realistic 

yet dreamlike world they create. 

They have won several awards including 

the Prix du meilleur Spectacle 

de Danse de l’année 2005 in 

France, the Young Directors Award 

2007 at the Salzburg Festival and 

the Patrons Circle Award at the Melbourne 

International Arts Festival. 

In the production 32 rue Vandenbranden, 

Carrizo and Chartier 

wanted to dig into the physiological 

burdens that can prevent people - 

even those who appear to be at total 

liberty - to do what they want, from 

ever really escaping their roots, their 

family or their culture. The creation 

is set in a windy, snow-covered landscape 

dotted with rundown shacks. 

19 DANCE 

These lonely heights are the home 

of a young couple, a pregnant girl 

and a wandering woman. Overcome 

by their fears, they drift around in 

their own isolation, the boundaries 

between dream and reality start to 

fade. Stravinsky, Bellini and Pink 

Floyd, performed by mezzo-soprano 

Eurudike De Beul, bring musical drama 

that transports you to a strange 

and intriguing world portrayed in 

cinematic style. Even if this play is 

about the psychological baggage 

that young people carry, humour is 

never far away. 

In 32 rue Vandenbranden, Peeping 

Tom has taken a great step forward. 

Following Le Jardin, Le Salon and 

Le Sous Sol, in which they also appeared 

with the rest of the cast on 

stage, Gabriela Carrizo and Franck 

Chartier have also proved their worth 

as director and choreographer. 

‘You are engulfed by the rich set, 

agile bodies and unforgettable dance 

scenes.’ 

– ZONE 02 ***** 

‘A wonderful, well-balanced piece of 

work, once again combining dance, 

theatre and music. Poetic, cinematic and 

funny.’ – UTOPIA PARKWAY 

DANCE 

DEC 05, 06, 07, 08 – 20:00 



REDUCED: €15 / 12 

BY & WITH SEOLJIN KIM, HUN-MOK 

JUNG, MARIE GYSELBRECHT, JOS 

BAKER, SABINE MOLENAAR / MARIA 

CAROLINA VIEIRA & EURUDIKE 

DE BEUL 

DIRECTORS GABRIELA CARRIZO & 

FRANCK CHARTIER 


PRODUCER PEEPING TOM 

COPRODUCERS KVS, KÜNSTLERHAUS 

MOUSONTURM, LE RIVE GAUCHE, 

LA ROSE DES VENTS, 

THEATERFESTIVAL BOULEVARD, 

THEATERHAUS GESSNERALLEE, CAN- 

KARJEV DOM, CHARLEROI / DANSES- 

CENTRE CHORÉOGRAPHIQUE DE 

LA COMMUNAUTÉ FRANÇAISE DE 

BELGIQUE – DANS LE CADRE DE LA 

BIENNALE 2009

© MATTHIAS ZILLE 

WIM VANDEKEYBUS / THIERRY DE MEY & PETER VERMEERSCH 

ULTIMA VEZ 

WHAT THE BODY 

DOES NOT REMEMBER 

“The intensity of moments when you 

don’t have a choice, when other things 

decide for you, like falling in love, or the 

second before the accident that has to 

happen; suddenly they appear, with no 

introduction, important for me because 

of their extremeness rather than for 

the significance to be given to them. The 

decision to use this as the basic material 

for a theatrical composition is at least 

a paradoxical challenge, considering 

a theatrical event as repeatable and 

controllable. Perhaps when all is said 

and done, the body doesn’t remember 

either and everything is a subtle illusion 

of lack which helps to define or exhaust 

the game.” - WIM VANDEKEYBUS 

What the Body Does Not Remember, 

the debut by Wim Vandekeybus 

and Ultima Vez (see also p.17 

nieuwZwart) stunned the world of 

dance in 1987. ‘Games’ were played 

whose danger element put the audience 

on the edge of their seats. The 

dancers threw heavy stones at each 

other’s heads, dropped razor sharp 

darts into the boards between each 

other’s feet, and threw themselves 

21 DANCE 

into the air to be caught at speed by 

a ‘chance’ passer-by. Every gesture 

had to stick to an absolutely precise 

timing, however rough and nonchalant 

it might have appeared. The 

dancers put their trust in each other 

and surrendered to the instinctive 

reactions to which the title refers, as 

tense as an animal in danger. 

Now, 25 years later and with a 

new cast, What the Body Does Not 

Remember will once again go on a 

world tour. It balances on the razor 

edge of attraction and repulsion. 

Sometimes this results in a confrontation 

between two dancers, then 

between two groups, between dancers 

and music, and between dancers 

and a compelling set of lines. But 

throughout there is an explosion of 

aggression, fear and danger. Dance 

history on stage that should not be 

missed, even today. 

‘Rough, wild, playful, ironic, stunning. 

Adjectives that sound far too weak to 

describe this highly innovative dance 

performance.’ — THE NEW YORK TIMES 

DANCE 

FEB 12, 13, 15, 16 – 20:00 

FEB 17 – 15:00 



REDUCED: €18 / 14 

WITH RICARDO AMBROZIO, 

DAMIEN CHAPELLE, 

TANJA MARIN FRIÐJÓNSDÓTTIR, 

ZEBASTIÁN MÉNDEZ MARIN, 

AYMARA PAROLA, MARIA KOLEGOVA, 

LIVIA BALAZOVA, EDDIE OROYAN & 

PAVEL MASEK 

DIRECTOR, CHOREOGRAPHER & 

SCENOGRAPHER WIM VANDEKEYBUS 

ORIGINAL MUSIC THIERRY DE MEY & 

PETER VERMEERSCH 

ASSISTANT FOR THE CHOREOGRAPHY 

EDUARDO TORROJA 

ARTISTIC ASSISTANT GREET VAN 

POECK 

LIGHTING FRANCIS GAHIDE & 

DAVY DESHEPPER 

STYLING ISABELLE LHOAS 

ASSISTED BY FRÉDÉRICK DENIS 

PRODUCER ULTIMA VEZ 

COPRODUCERS ORIGINAL VER- 

SION CENTRO DI PRODUZIONE 

INTEATRO POLVERIGI, FESTIVAL DE 

SAINT-DENIS, FESTIVAL D’ETÉ DE 

SEINE-MARITIME, TONEELSCHUUR 

PRODUKTIES HAARLEM 

THANKS TO LOUISE DE NEEF

PRACTICAL 

— Prices 

KVS_Bol 

Cat. 1 / Cat. 2 

KVS_Box 

Standard price: € 19 / € 16 € 16 

Reduced price: € 15 / € 12 € 12 (under-26s, over-65s, 

jobseekers, the disabled 

and OKO cardholders) 

Group price: € 10 € 10 (10 people or more) 

Exception: nieuwZwart & What the Body… : standard € 22 / € 17 – red. € 18 / €14 

For information about our passes, vouchers and special packages, please check www.kvs.be or 

contact our box office. 

— Booking 

Box Office 

KVS_Box, Q. aux Pierres de Taille 7, 1000 Brussels, T 02 210 11 12, F 02 210 11 05 

Open Tuesday to Friday, from 12:00 to 19:00. 

Online 

Online booking at www.kvs.be is available up to 1 hour before the show starts. 

Note: it is not possible to book by e-mail. This is because these bookings cannot always be processed 

in time. 

Evening box office 

The evening box office opens 1 hour before the show starts. If a performance is sold out, you can 

subscribe a waiting list at the evening box office. 

— Transport & accessibility 

KVS_Box Quai aux Pierres de Taille 7, 1000 Brussels 

KVS_Bol Rue de Laeken 146, 1000 Brussels 

By metro / tram / bus: 

Metro 2 & 6, YSER stop, exit Rue de Laeken – 

Tram 5 – Bus 47, 58, 88 

By bike: There is a Villo stand in Rue de Laeken 

By train: North Station 

By car: Parking 58, rue de l’Evêque 1, 1000 Brussels 

Parking De Brouckère, place de Brouckère, 1000 Brussels 

On presentation of your parking ticket, you will receive a voucher at 

the evening box office. This voucher entitles you to park your car all evening 

(from 6.30 pm – 1 am) for a maximum amount of € 5. 

KVS_Box and KVS_Bol are accessible for wheelchair users. 

22 PRACTICAL 

advertentie tv-brussel

WELCOME / 

BIENVENUE / 

WILKOMMEN 

KVS, BRUSSELS CITY THEATRE 

IN ENGLISH / 

SURTITLED IN ENGLISH 

NINE FINGER 

THE LIFE AND WORKS OF LEOPOLD II 

WHAT THE BODY DOES NOT REMEMBER… 

KVS, THÉÂTRE DE VILLE BRUXELLOIS 

EN FRANÇAIS / 

SURTITRÉ EN FRANÇAIS 

RAYMOND 

GEMBLOUX 

LA LANGUE DE MA MÈRE SUR SCÈNE 

32 RUE VANDENBRANDEN… 

KVS, DAS BRÜSELISCHES STADTHEATER 

AUF DEUTSCH 

MISSION 

NIEUWZWART… 

V.U. DANNY OP DE BEECK – ARDUINKAAI 7 – 1000 BRUSSEL

Here - KVS

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