Inspired by Der Abschied (The Farewell), the final part of Gustav Mahler’s Song of the Earth, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker invited Jérôme Bel to work with her on creating a performance to this challenging piece of music.

‘We are going to get our teeth into this work. It will not easily give in, but, like Mahler, when confronted with death, we have no fear’. (Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and Jerôme Bel)

Joining De Keersmaeker and Bel on stage is contemporary music ensemble Ictus, together all three will question whether it’s even possible to choreograph to Der Abschied.

No stranger to difficult or challenging work, De Keersmaeker caused a sensation in 1982 with her first piece Fase to the music of Steve Reich, which remains one of the most recognised and iconic dance pieces of the era. She very quickly became one of the world’s most influential and respected choreographers.

In 1983 De Keersmaeker set up her Rosas company at the same time as creating the work Rosas danst Rosas. She established the P.A.R.T.S. dance school in association with La Monnaie in 1995. Other major works include Stella (1989), Mikrokosmos (1997) and Drumming (1998) for which De Keersmaeker received numerous awards.

In April this year Sadler’s Wells hosted a retrospective of Rosas’ Early Works, which saw De Keersmaeker’s Fase, Rosas danst Rosas, Elena’s Aria and Bartok/Mikrokosmos play the main stage. She created a new work with Björn Schmelzer, Cesena, which premiered in the Cour d’Honneur in Avignon in July 2011.

The American Dance Festival awarded Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker the well deserved 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award.

Her work remains relevant and fresh – exploring as she does not just the tension between natural and technical; emotion and logic, feeling and logic but the simple joy and beauty of movement.

Image by Herman Sorgeloos

3Abschied, Monday 21 & Tuesday 22 November 2011, Sadlers Wells, Rosebery Avenue, London, EC1R 4TN
Performances at 7.30pm, Tickets: £10 – £27  Ticket office: 0844 412 4300 / www.sadlerswells.com

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About the author

Loma-Ann Marks
Loma was a performer and freelance writer before becoming a journalist on the Daily Star Sunday, Daily Star and Express. She's the Founder and Editor of Culture Compass. North, South, East or West? I'll go anywhere. I like to think that I'm a pretty good map reader ( not everyone would agree ) but then I remind them that I navigated my way around the Paris one-way system with NO mistakes. High Class or Common or Garden? High class in the garden. Clothes or Culture? Culture in new clothes. My best night out ever made me feel....... That things would never be the same again. And they surely weren't the following day.

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