One dancer tilts sideways in motion, one leg lifted and arms raised, with expressive hands.

A Love Supreme

Salva Sanchis, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker/Rosas

A quartet created by Salva Sanchis and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, A Love Supreme is based on John Coltrane’s eponymous album. This collaboration, started in 2005, comprises a meeting between two choreographers who share the same fascination for an iconic piece of music. In A Love Supreme, Coltrane and his musicians deployed a deceptively simple musical structure to allow for a complete freedom of improvisation, continuously pushing the boundaries of every musical register. This freedom sees a literal translation into dance: for this performance, the choreographers accept the challenge of blending improvisation and composition into a seamless whole. For this new version, Sanchis and De Keersmaeker rewrote their 2005 piece to be danced by four young, male dancers. Their energetic interpretation embodies and mirrors the continued vitality of Coltrane’s music.

Credits

Choreography
Salva Sanchis, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker
Danced by
José Paulo dos Santos, Bilal El Had/Robin Haghi, Jason Respilieux, Thomas Vantuycom
Original version created with
Cynthia Loemij, Moya Michael, Salva Sanchis, Igor Shyshko
Music
A Love Supreme, John Coltrane
Lighting design
Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Luc Schaltin
Costumes
Anne-Catherine Kunz
Co-production
De Munt/La Monnaie

Images

  • One dancer improvises with fervor in the foreground, while three others mirror similar shapes in the background.
    © Anne Van Aerschot
  • One dancer moves his arms in a circular motion, while another behind him raises a hand forward toward the audience.
    © Anne Van Aerschot
  • A group of four dancers creates an intricate structure, balancing each other’s weight, with one dancer elevated above the rest.
    © Anne Van Aerschot