A dancer in the foreground pivots on his left leg, while several dancers walk backward at the back of the stage.

The Six Brandenburg Concertos

Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Amandine Beyer/Rosas & B’Rock Orchestra

During her 1980 stay in New York, in which she first rehearsed her celebrated Violin Phase to the music of Steve Reich, the only other recording playing in Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s studio was the Brandenburg Concertos by J.S. Bach. Thirty-five years later, De Keersmaeker continues her work with the piece. “Like no other, Bach’s music carries within itself movement and dance, managing to combine the greatest abstraction with a concrete, physical and, subsequently, even transcendental dimension.”

The Brandenburg Concertos consist of six concerti grossi, in which Bach deploys the instruments from the baroque orchestra in different, often audacious constellations. Against this backdrop, De Keersmaeker sets sixteen dancers originating in different Rosas generations. Following the premiere of Mitten wir im Leben sind/Bach6Cellosuiten De Keersmaeker approaches, as in Vortex Temporum, Bach’s music as if it were a ready-made score for a dance piece, embodying Bach’s polyphonic mastery. The concertos are played live by the baroque ensemble B’Rock. Violinist Amandine Beyer, with whom De Keersmaeker previously co-operated for Partita 2, will conduct the orchestra.

Credits

Choreography
Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker
Music director
Amandine Beyer
Musicians
B’Rock Orchestra
Created with and danced by
Boštjan Antončič, Carlos Garbin, Frank Gizycki, Marie Goudot, Robin Haghi, Cynthia Loemij, Mark Lorimer, Michaël Pomero, Jason Respilieux, Igor Shyshko, Luka Švajda, Jakub Truszkowski, Thomas Vantuycom, Samantha van Wissen, Sandy Williams, Sue Yeon Youn
Music
The Brandenburg Concertos, Johann Sebastian Bach
Costumes
An D'Huys
Set and lighting design
Jan Versweyveld
Dramaturgy
Jan Vandenhouwe
Musical advice
Kees van Houten
Production
Rosas
Co-production
B’Rock Orchestra, Volksbühne, La Monnaie/De Munt, Opéra de Lille, Opéra National de Paris, Sadler’s Wells, Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, Concertgebouw Brugge, Hollandfestival
With the support of
The Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government, in collaboration with Casa Kafka Pictures Tax Shelter empowered by Belfius
Special thanks to
Gli Incogniti

Images

  • One dancer lies on the floor, supporting another dancer above him with arms and legs, as a third dancer moves alongside.
    © Anne Van Aerschot
  • In the foreground, three dancers leap into the air, with two groups of dancers moving or skipping in the background.
    © Anne Van Aerschot
  • A dancer jumps across the stage, followed by another gathering momentum to jump.
    © Anne Van Aerschot