WASCO!
hetpaleis & Voetvolk/ Lisbeth Gruwez & Maarten Van Cauwenberghe (Belgium)
| Oct 11 Friday | 19:30 | Vzlet | Online ticket sale | |
| Oct 12 Saturday | 19:30 | Vzlet | Online ticket sale |
A group of kids, a box of crayons, a large supply of paint, and jazz – that’s WASCO! Ten young artists between the ages of 6 and 12 build a world from the ground up that is far removed from the one in which adults live. Using crayons and paintbrushes, they set the universe dancing to the tune of their own imagination. The result is a picture. After all, what is dancing if not drawing in space? Choreographer Lisbeth Gruwez and musician Maarten Van Cauwenberghe explore the common ground between music, drawing, and dance in the performance WASCO! Together with the children they create a soundtrack with room for unexpected actions and spontaneous extravagance.
If freedom had a shape, what would it look like? WASCO! is an invitation to color outside the lines. An explosive action painting performance. Unrestrained, chaotic, and wild. And sometimes even tender.
Voetvolk is a Belgian contemporary dance and performance company founded in 2007 by dancer and choreographer Lisbeth Gruwez and musician and composer Maarten Van Cauwenberghe. Together they’ve created more than a dozen performances, such as: It’s going to get worse and worse and worse, my friend (2012), AH/HA (2014), Lisbeth Gruwez dances Bob Dylan (2015), We’re pretty fuckin’ far from okay (2016), The Sea Within (2018), Piano Works Debussy (2020), Into the Open (2022), and Nomadics (2023).
Their work is a constant dialogue between physical and auditory movement: Gruwez and Van Cauwenberghe guide each other to achieve an organic symbiosis within a solid framework. This brings a significant element to the performance: a connection between the sonic and visual corporeality that remains constantly alive. In recent years, their commitment to finding new ways to reach audiences has deepened. With Lisbeth Gruwez dances Bob Dylan and Into the Open, Voetvolk brought music lovers into contact with contemporary dance. Prior to the performance, Nomadics invites the audience to experience long walking tours with the artistic team and dance crew to create a more personal connection with the audience. Their performances have been presented far and wide, for example at the Avignon Festival, the Marseille Festival, the Julidans Festival in Amsterdam, Tanz im August in Berlin, Dance Umbrella in London, the Venice Biennale, Het TheaterFestival in Antwerp, and many others.
Voetvolk recently renovated an old farmhouse in the French Ardennes to create Voetvolk Atelier Rubigny (VAR). The venue hosts artists and artistic activities, such as workshops and residencies. In 2024, Voetvolk will host the first RUBIROCK festival.
Voetvolk is affiliated with the Royal Flemish Theatre and the NONA arts center.
“How wonderful it is to witness children gliding across the paint-covered floor to the sound of free jazz, jumping in the air, and splashing paint on each other. They really enjoy it, and their joy is transferred to the audience. Countless hands fly into the air in the rows of seats, and bodies and heads sway together. What a wonderful hour of art Voetvolk and these children have created for us!”
– Theaterkrant, Tuur Devens
Duration: 50 min.
No language barrier
Concept: Voetvolk | Lisbeth Gruwez & Maarten Van Cauwenberghe
Choreography: Lisbeth Gruwez
Sound Design: Maarten Van Cauwenberghe
Performance: Lita Assam, Madeleine Camara, Yatho Claes Oussehmine, Lara Corrias, Lilith De Groof, Kymaisha Geduld, Gus Van Goethem, Martha Van Goethem, Lily Williams & Adriaan Winand
Artistic assistant: Victoria Rose Roy
Children´s coach: Fran Van Gysegem
Dramaturgy: Koen Haagdorens
Scenography: Stef Stessel
Light design: Dirk De Hooghe
Helping hand: Jits Vandamme
Special thanks to: Walter Meersmans
Production: Voetvolk vzw & hetpaleis
Coproduction: MA scène nationale de Montbéliard
With the support of: The Flemish Community, City of Antwerp, De Standaard, Radio 1, The Belgian Tax Shelter via Casa Kafka
International distribution: hetpaleis & Materialise/Stéphane Noël
