Dance in Flanders
During the eighties there has been a marked increase in interest in dance in a number of countries. Choreographers and dance companies from Flanders, too, have been the focus of international interest. But until recently anyone who wanted to learn more about this development had to delve into libraries and archives for a whole series of articles. The end of 1996, however, saw the publication of the first fairly detailed study of ‘Dance in Flanders’. The starting-point of the book,
Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker. Ottone, Ottone.
on which fifteen different authors have collaborated, is the glory years of the eighties and nineties. But to show just how successful these have been, it is necessary also to give the historical context.
In the first chapter, therefore, the authors seek out the roots of avant-garde dance, which they locate in the thirties. They go no further back in time, because in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries dance was not regarded as an autonomous art form but as a subdivision of opera. After the Second World War a structural framework came into existence, with a school and a professional company. Here the book discusses the pioneering role of Jeanne Brabants, the driving force behind the Royal Flanders Ballet (see The Low Countries 1996-1997: 74-79). Due attention is also given, of course, to the importance of the Frenchman Maurice Béjart. He established himself and his Ballet du Vingtième Siècle in Brussels from 1960 on, where he founded Mudra, a dance school which also influenced developments in the eighties.
The present flourishing condition of dance (and theatre) in Flanders is due to a number of factors. Here it is important to stress the role of the arts centres. They were the first in Flanders to organise performances of dance for their public. Festivals devoted solely to dance, such as Klapstuk and Beweeging, were also held. Gerard Mortier, and the opera house De Munt which he successfully directed in the 1980s, provided a further stimulus to the performing arts. And of course there were foreign elements too which had an effect on Flemish avant-garde dance. Particularly influential were American modernism and postmodernism, which reached Belgium some twenty years down the line, and Pina Bausch. Bausch's work brought the contemporary Flemish dance world once more into contact with the expressionist tradition in dance and with the Central European school.
The book also gives a detailed account of the work of Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker (see The Low Countries 1994-95: 59-62), Wim Vandekeybus (see The Low Countries 1995-96: 274-275) and Jan Fabre (see The Low Countries 1995-96: 117-125), the three outstanding figures of the period. In addition to these three we are offered a whole string of other dancers. Here it becomes apparent that in fact ‘Flemish dance’ is hardly an accurate term. Nationality is of no great significance in the world of dance. The Frenchman Béjart was for years the leading spirit in dance in Belgium, the francophone Anne de Mey began her career in a Flemish company, the Mexican Besprosvany made his debut with the Flemish group ‘Furioso’, and so on. Only the American Mark Morris, Maurice Béjart's successor at the Munt Theatre, failed to achieve success. Béjart's legacy was too much for him; he was never accepted by public or press.
Finally, the book also discusses the relationship between dance and film, writing about dance and dance teaching.
In the last fifteen years dance in Flanders has gone through a remarkably swift and successful evolution. This book offers the reader a great many elements