ADAGIO

For the video triptych ADAGIO the visual artist Stef Van Looveren entered into a duet with the choreographer Marc Vanrunxt. The pair invited a diverse group of performers.

Vanrunxt transferred his vision (of bodies) and his choreographic approach (of dance, energy and the qualities of movement) to Van Looveren. The latter recorded the images and manipulated them several times in what became an almost exhaustive editing process.

ADAGIO puts a variety of inclusive bodies on display. It does not recite a 'truth' but aims to be a question mark looking out for a spectrum of possibilities, of plausible answers. These bodies are neither male nor female. They are non-binary. They evolve in dialogue with each other, in the continuous slowness of their being that is always in flux. This applies equally to the images. Not pinned down to a text or to a narrative and particularly comfortable in their aesthetic, they are not non-committal, however.

ADAGIO is ambitious and committed. It does away with old-fashioned thinking and outdated, hurtful stereotypes. In a world of limits and oppression, it searches for authenticity and breaks through structures that society systematically places on people and bodies. These makers do not take themselves too seriously: they deliberately flirt with what are called the boundaries of taste. Moreover, Van Looveren and Vanrunxt like to cycle between art, fashion and design; advertising, club culture or video clips also infuse this work.

director: Stef Van Looveren — choreography: Marc Vanrunxt in close collaboration with Igor Shyshko, Kevin Fay, Malik Fye, Mustaf Ahmeti en Nathan Ooms — performers: Charlotte De Waegenaere, Rashidam Nassyrova, Oriana Mangala Ikomo Wanga, Judith Willems, Marie Willems — music: Daniel Vanverre — assistant director: Elisabetta Silvestri — with the support of De Studio — special thanks to De Studio and IPEM, Institute for Psychoacoustics and Elektronic Music.