For “EXIT ABOVE”, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker retraces her steps: to the roots of dance, the roots of Western pop music. Since her earliest work, “My Walking is My Dancing” has been one of her guiding principles: walking as a primary form of movement, so familiar that we hardly stop to think about it. In terms of music, De Keersmaeker embarks on a journey towards a starting point that is in fact an intersection: the roots of pop music, the blues, and its mysterious ‘blue notes,’ in-between zones, between major and minor, sorrow and joy.

A captivating dance performance of geometric accuracy and overwhelming emotional complexity. A praise for movement as a form of human emancipation.

---

Danced by: Abigail Aleksander, Jean Pierre Buré, Lav Crnčević, José Paulo dos Santos, Rafa Galdino, Carlos Garbin, Nina Godderis, Solal Mariotte, Meskerem Mees, Mariana Miranda, Margarida Marques Ramalhete, Ariadna Navarrete Valverde, Jacob Storer

Created with: Abigail Aleksander, Jean Pierre Buré, Lav Crnčević, José Paulo dos Santos, Rafa Galdino, Carlos Garbin, Nina Godderis, Solal Mariotte, Meskerem Mees, Mariana Miranda, Ariadna Navarrete Valverde, Cintia Sebők, Jacob Storer

Music: Meskerem Mees, Jean-Marie Aerts, Carlos Garbin

Music performed by: Meskerem Mees, Carlos Garbin

Scenography: Michel François

Light Design: Max Adams

Costume Design: Aouatif Boulaich

Text and Lyrics: Meskerem Mees, Wannes Gyselinck

Opening Text: Über den Begriff der Geschichte, Thèse IX, Walter Benjamin

Dramaturgy: Wannes Gyselinck

Rehearsal Directors: Cynthia Loemij, Clinton Stringer

Artistic Coordination and Planning: Anne Van Aerschot

Assistant to the Artistic Director: Martine Lange

Tour Manager: Jolijn Talpe

Technical Director: Thomas Verachtert 

Technicians: Jan Balfoort, Thibault Rottiers 

Sound: Antoine Delagoutte 

Costume Coordinator: Alexandra Verschueren

Assisted by: Els Van Buggenhout

Wardrobe: Chiara Mazzarolo 

Sewing: Chiara Mazzarolo, Martha Verleyen

Acknowledgements: Baptiste Alexandre, Naomie Bentein, Bert De Swert, Michel Dierickx, Steven Fillet, Nicolas Fiszman, Ann-Sofie Merlier, Miet Ongena, Tom Pauwels, Jean-Luc Plouvier, Olivier Thys, Emma Zune

World Premiere: May 31, 2023, Théâtre National Wallonie- Bruxelles, Brussels presented by Théâtre National Wallonie- Bruxelles, De Munt/ La Monnaie, Kaaitheater & Kunstenfestivaldesarts

Producer: Rosas

Co-producers: Concertgebouw Brugge (Bruges), De Munt / La Monnaie (Brussels), Internationaal Theater Amsterdam, Le théâtre Garonne (Toulouse), GIE FONDOC OCCITANIE (Le Parvis Tarbes, Scène nationale ALBI Tarn, Le Cratère Alès, Scène nationale Grand Narbonne, Théâtre Garonne)
With the support of: Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels
 
This production is realized with the support of the Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government, in collaboration with Casa Kafka Pictures.
 
Rosas is supported by the Flemish Community & by the Flemish Community Commission (VGC)

---

Duration: 1h 30min