"Day of the Dance / Open stage" by div. artists
On April 30, 2017 the production house STUK in Leuven/Belgium is opening its stage to amateur and semi-professional dance and performance artists from Leuven and beyond to celebrate the International Dance Day.
Ultima Vez is co-producing the works of 11 dancers and emerging choreographers from their company Ultima Vez that are invited to perform a choreography or short intervention:
"Morning, Good Night" by Cheng-An Wu (Taiwan)
Between dawn and twilight, only whisperings can be heard in this play. Nothing happens. Only time passes…
Cheng-An Wu comes from Taiwan. In 2013, he took part in the ITMOI show performed by the Akram Khan company. He currently dances for Ultima Vez. Cheng-An is interested in other forms of art, especially photography and film making. He likes to travel and be filled with wonder at encounters with new cultures.
Choreography and interpretation Cheng-An Wu
Music The Inward Circles, The Soul Itself A Rhombus
Original music composition Cheng-An Wu
Coproduction Ultima Vez, Life Long Burning (EU)
With the support from Culture Programme of the European Union
"The Shadow of the South" by Chloé Beillevaire (France) and Natalia Vallebona (Italy)
Regaining solitude, she becomes entangled in the meanderings of her mind, loses her way in her doubts and confusion. Abandoned and manipulated, she stands up for herself, lets herself be consumed, seeks balance, aspiring to serenity. Alone with herself, her soul confronts itself and battles against this infinite space which both inflames and satisfies her. On one side, she allows herself to be cradled by her desires, on the other tormented by streams of obsessions. She will prostrate herself, show her teeth, hack at her skin in pursuit of the ideal. The inaccessible.
Chloé Beillevaire and Natalia Vallebona both come from the world of dance. Chloé began with classical dance and Natalia with hip hop. They both soon turned to contemporary dance and “dance theatre”. For many years they have worked with companies in France, Italy, Germany and Belgium, touring all over the world.
Choreography, direction and interpretation Chloé Beillevaire and Natalia Vallebona
Costumes Florence Carron
Music Eyliad Unjam, Max Paskine
Coproduction Ultima Vez, Life Long Burning (EU)
With the support from Culture Programme of the European Union
"ENTROPY" by Eddie Oroyan (USA) and Natalia Pieczuro (Poland)
The creation is inspired by the poem The Second Coming (1919) by the Irish poet W.B. Yeats, and the novel The Neverending Story (1979) by the German author Michael Ende.
"Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold..."
― W.B. Yeats, "The Second Coming"
“Nothing is lost. . . Everything is transformed.”
― Michael Ende, The Neverending Story
Natalia Pieczuro is a performer and young choreographer of Polish origin who has lived in Brussels since 2010. She studied Anthropology of Culture at Warsaw University, and at SEAD (Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance) where she obtained a double degree in performing arts and choreography. During her studies, she began to work with choreographers she particularly liked: Jozef Frucek/RootlessRoot, Rob Hayden/Ultima Vez, Lisi Estaras/Ballet C de al B and Matej Kejzar/Rosas. Upon leaving SEAD, she went on tour with her first solo, Hektor’s Speech, directed by Jozef Frucek, as well as performing for Rob Hayden in Beautiful Toys.
Eddie Oroyan has worked with Ultima Vez for four years. He took part in the revival of the show What the Body does not Remember and is currently dancing in In Spite of Wishing and Wanting. Eddie has worked, in particular, with Creach/Company, Shapiro & Smith, ARENA Dances, Zenon, Andrea Miller and Roberto Olivan. He has also danced for the BLM (Black Label Movement), a Minneapolis-based company, with which he now works as an associate artist. His latest productions were presented at the American Dance Festival in 2014 and at the ZÜRICH Tanzt Festival in 2015.
Choreography and interpretation Eddie Oroyan et Natalia Pieczuro
Text Eddie Oroyan
Coproduction Ultima Vez, Life Long Burning (EU)
With the support from Culture Programme of the European Union
"The Opening Paragraph" by Luke Jessop (UK)
A new life, a new story to tell, a new, blank canvas to paint and a new home for those charged with the task of protecting this life. In this piece, based on the birth of his daughter, the choreographer explores the innate paternal feelings that overwhelm fathers. The first emotions that accompany the advent of fatherhood and the instinctive way of dealing with uncertainty and the need for security. Presented as a prelude to a solo yet to be created, this piece is portrayed as the “opening paragraph” of a story of life, from the point of view of the father.
Luke Jessop began his career as a dancer in the United Kingdom. He has a degree in dance from the University of Bedfordshire. He worked with the 2Faced Dance Company for nine months on the project In the dust before settling in Brussels, where he has lived for five years. Luke has worked with Ultima Vez/Wim Vandekeybus since 2012 on creations such as Booty Looting, Talk to the Demon, FEAR NOT and Spiritual Unity. He is currently on tour with the revival of the show In Spite of Wishing and Wanting.
Choreography and interpretation Luke Jessop
Music Luke Jessop
Coproduction Ultima Vez, Life Long Burning (EU)
With the support from Culture Programme of the European Union
"My Way" by Nuhacet Guerra (Spain)
My Way reveals to us the wanderings of a man full of hopes, dreams and expectations. Despite the pitfalls of life (the stones along his path), he continues to move forward. My Way is a show in search of authenticity where man finds himself with himself.
Nuhacet Guerra was born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, in 1985. He is a dancer, acrobat, capoerista and choreographer. Since 2015, he has worked with Wim Vandekeybus/Ultima Vez on the shows Speak Low if you Speak Love and Spiritual Unity. At the same time, he is continuing with his personal projects as a choreographer and soloist.
Choreography and interpretation Nuhacet Guerra
Coproduction Ultima Vez, Life Long Burning (EU)
With the support from Culture Programme of the European Union
"Homo Urbanus (short version)" by Untamed Production/Ricardo Ambrózio (Portugal)
Homo Urbanus recounts with humour the story of the meeting between two very different dancers who are seeking their identity, the one in the other. Immersed in virtuality, the two men forget what it means to feel alive. Weakened by a lack of value, identity and goals specific to their generation, they run round in circles, like a dog chasing its tail, seeking answers that they will only find by looking deep inside themselves.
Born in southern Brazil, Ricardo Ambrózio lived in Rio de Janeiro where he rubbed shoulders with the best and the worst of Brazilian culture and daily life. He discovered rhythm and movement through capoeira and street dance. At the age of 16, he discovered contemporary dance. Gradually, making a living from dancing became both obvious and necessary to him. He studied dance in Brazil and in Portugal. He has worked with several companies, including four years with Ultima Vez. In 2013, he founded his own company.
Choreography and direction Ricardo Ambrózio
Created and performed by Bea Debrabant et Youri de Gussem
Costumes Renata Lamenza
Music Stijn Vanmarsenille
Light Kim Rens
Production Untamed-Dance Company
Coproduction Ultima Vez, Life Long Burning (EU)
With the support from Culture Programme of the European Union
"From Molenbeek with Love" by Yassin Mrabtifi (Belgium)
Yassin incorporates pop culture, contemporary dance, oriental dance, cinema, martial arts and hip hop into his work. His latest creation, From Molenbeek with Love, raises questions about revolution, the influence of art on society and identity in relation to the Molenbeek district of Brussels.
Yassin Mrabtifi has been dancing since he was thirteen years old. He is self-taught and constantly in search of his own style. At the age of twenty, he founded his first group, the Bahod Family, with which he and his friends took part in various breakdance battles. Three years later, with Milan Emmanuel among others, he founded No Way Back. Since then, Yassin has been involved in several creations by Wim Vandekeybus: Talk to the Demon, Spiritual Unity and In Spite of Wishing and Wanting. In 2015, he created his first show, From Portici with Love.
Concept, direction, interpretation Yassin Mrabtifi
Artistic assistant Greet Van Poeck
Production Kosmonaut and Pianofabriek Kunstenwerkplaats
Coproduction Ultima Vez, Life Long Burning (EU)
With the support from Culture Programme of the European Union
"Hinoki 2.0 (extracts)" by Máté Mészáros (Hungary)
Hinoki is the first piece by choreographer Máté Mészáros and was created in 2014. Since it was first performed, Hinoki has been presented at numerous festivals : ImpulsTanz Festival (Austria), Next Festival (Belgium), Beijing New Dance Festival (China), Gdansk Festival Tanca (Poland) and in other places such as the Trafo in Budapest (Hungary). In early January 2018, Máté Mészáros is to present his new creation, United Space of Ambivalence, at the Trafo.
Máté Mészáros is a Hungarian dancer and choreographer who graduated from the Budapest Contemporary Dance Academy (1999). During his studies, he joined the Szeged Contemporary Dance Company and worked with Tamàs Juronics. From 2003 onwards, he danced for internationally renowned choreographers: Ohad Naharin, Wim Vandekeybus, Sharon Eyal, Amanda Miller, Roberto Galvan, Myriam Naisy and Robin Orlin. He was a member of Ultima Vez for six years. He also assisted Wim Vandekeybus. Since 2010, Máté Mészáros has devoted himself to his own creations.
Choreography Màtè Mèszàros
Interpretation Nòra Horvàth et Màtè Mèszàros
Original music composition Sebastian Reuschel
Production SÍN Culture Centre
Coproduction Ultima Vez, Life Long Burning (EU)
With the support from Culture Programme of the European Union
"Dope (duo in the piece NextToMe)" by Jenna Jalonen, Nóra Horváth and Máté Mészáros (Hungary)
Dope was originally part of the performance NextToMe by Máté Mészáros. Dope – “I just wish to help you” is now evolving within an independent quest undertaken by Jenna Jalonen and Nóra Horváth. The two of them play on the physicality of the fall and on mutual aid. Where is the boundary between constructive and destructive help for others?
Jenna Jalonen is a Finnish dancer and performer. She is currently dancing in pieces by Máté Mészáros, Ugo Dehaes and Oriane Varak and is creating her own work with the Dope collective and Beatrix Simko.
Nóra Horváth is a Hungarian dancer and performer who graduated from the Budapest Contemporary Dance Academy. She works with Máté Mészáros, Hiroaki Umeda and the Dope collective.
Concept and choreography Máté Mészáros
Created and performed by Nóra Horváth and Jenna Jalonen
Production assistant Janka Vamos
Coproduction Ultima Vez, Life Long Burning (EU)
With the support from Culture Programme of the European Union