Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Violin Phase, MoMA, 2011
© Max Vadukul
Saturday, September 15 at 3pm, 5pm, and 7pm
Running time: 15 minutes
For Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, dance is « architecture in movement ». It structures itself around rigorous geometrical principles which the Belgian choreographer likes to gradually abandon. This belief is conveyed as early as in 1981 with Violin Phase, her very first choreographed piece written to the repetitive music of the American minimalist composer Steve Reich. The choreography progresses by repetition and accumulation of movements which she gradually phases out. As the choreographer dances, she turns in circles on a thin layer of white sand creating interlacing patterns that form a rosette.
In the last few years, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker has gradually freed herself of the frontality of the stage in order to create a more complex and fluid relationship with her audience. In this way, she has rethought certain historical pieces such as Violin Phase, to fit the gallery space. After MoMA’s atrium in 2011 and Tate Modern’s Tanks in 2012, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker will adopt Violin Phase to Lafayette Anticipations' architecture so that this heady choreographic piece can be appreciated from various points of view, from the ground floor to the higher floors that become balconies.
Choreography: Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker.
Music: Steve Reich (Violin Phase, 1967).
Concept: Thierry De Mey.
Co-presented by Lafayette Anticipations – Fondation d’entreprise Galeries Lafayette and Festival d’Automne à Paris.
First performed in April 1981 at the Festival of Early Modern Dance (New York).
Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Violin Phase, MoMA, 2011
© Max Vadukul
Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Violin Phase, MoMA, 2011
© Max Vadukul