Anne Teresa, Baroness De Keersmaeker (, born 1960 in

Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...

, Belgium, grew up in Wemmel) is a

contemporary dance Contemporary dance is a genre of Concert dance, dance performance that developed during the mid-twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly stron ...

choreographer. The dance company constructed around her, , was in residence at

La Monnaie The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (, ; , ; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National Opera of Belgium, a federal institution, takes the name of this theatre in which it is ho ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

from 1992 to 2007.

Biography

De Keersmaeker did not study dance until her last year of high school, instead studying music, specifically the flute. She studied from 1978 to 1980 at

Mudra A mudra (; , , "seal", "mark", or "gesture"; ) is a symbolic or ritual gesture or pose in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. While some mudras involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers. As well as being spiritual ges ...

in Brussels, a school with links to

and to

Maurice Béjart Maurice Béjart (; 1 January 1927 – 22 November 2007) was a French dancer, choreographer and Theatre director, opera director who ran the Béjart Ballet Lausanne in Switzerland. He developed a popular expressionistic form of modern ballet, tac ...

Ballet of the 20th Century Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

. She has said that the percussionist and her music teacher at MUDRA, , was a major influence on her. In 1981, she attended the

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. While at the Tisch, she presented her first production, ''Asch'' (1980), in Brussels. In 1982 upon her return from the U.S.A. she created '' Fase, four movements to the music of

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer best known as a pioneer of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, and canons. Reich descr ...

''. It was this production that brought her "a breakthrough on the international dance scene, performing, among other places, at the

Avignon Festival The ''Festival d'Avignon'', or Avignon Festival (), is an annual arts festival held in the French city of Avignon every summer in July in the courtyard of the Palais des Papes as well as in other locations of the city. Founded in 1947 by Jean ...

". The success of '' Fase'' contributed largely to the foundation of the Rosas in 1983. '' Rosas danst Rosas'', de Keersmaeker's first choreography for the young company to new compositions of Thierry De Mey and

Peter Vermeersch Peter Vermeersch (born 1959 in Waregem) is a Belgian composer, clarinet player and Record producer, producer. He is a main character in several Belgian bands such as X-Legged Sally, A Group (band), A Group and the Flat Earth Society (band), Fla ...

, brought Rosas the international breakthrough as a company. During the eighties, Rosas was supported by Kaaitheater of Brussels (director Hugo De Greef). Within the framework of Kaaitheater, her oeuvre took shape. Performances such as ''Elena's Aria'' (1984), ''Bartók''/''Aantekeningen'' (1986), a staging of ''Heiner Müller's triptych Verkommenes Ufer''/''Medeamaterial Landschaft mit Argonauten'' (1987), ''Mikrokosmos-Monument Selbstporträt mit Reich und Riley (und Chopin ist auch dabei)''/''In zart fliessender Bewegung - Quatuor Nr.4'', (1987), ''Ottone, Ottone'' (1988), ''Stella'' (1990) and ''Achterland'' (1990), were produced in collaboration with Kaaitheater. In 1992,

's general director Bernard Foccroulle invited Rosas to become the resident company of Brussels' Royal Opera ''De Munt''/''La Monnaie''. At the start of the residency, de Keersmaeker set herself three objectives: to intensify the relation between dance and music, to build a repertory, and to launch a dance school (after the disappearance of MUDRA from Brussels in 1988). That year, Rosas created ERTS and released ''Rosa''—a film of a choreography by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker to Bartók music directed by

Peter Greenaway Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a British film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Mannerist painting in particular. Common traits in his films a ...

. Later that year, Rosas created ''Mozart Concert Arias, un moto di gioia'' for the Avignon Festival. A production made in collaboration with the Orchestre des Champs Elysées, directed by Philippe Herreweghe. In 1993, Rosas created ''Toccata'', to the music of J.S. Bach, for the Holland Festival. In May 1994, the KunstenFESTIVALdes Arts in Brussels premièred ''Kinok'', produced in collaboration with Thierry De Mey and the Ictus Ensemble. At the end of 1994, this collaboration resulted in a new creation: ''Amor Constante más allá de la muerte''. In November 1995, La Monnaie premièred ''Verklärte Nacht'', a choreography that was part of a production of Schönberg music ''Erwartung''/''Verklärte Nacht''. In 1995, Rosas and La Monnaie launched in Brussels a new international school for contemporary dance, the Performing Arts Research and Training Studios (PARTS), where sixty students coming from some 25 countries are trained, over a three-year period, by more than 50 teachers. In December 1996, ''Woud'', three movements to the music of

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * General Berg (disambiguation) * Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer, born 1963), Ninimbergue dos Santos Guerra, Brazilian footba ...

, Schönberg &

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

was premiered in Seville. At the beginning of 1997, de Keersmaeker created, together with Steve Paxton and The Wooster Group, 3 solos for Vincent Dunoyer. In November 1997, ''Just Before'', to a live performance by the Ictus Ensemble of music composed by

Magnus Lindberg Magnus Gustaf Adolf Lindberg (born 27 June 1958) is a Finnish composer and pianist. He was the New York Philharmonic's composer-in-residence from 2009 to 2012 and the London Philharmonic Orchestra's composer-in-residence from 2014 to 2017. Ear ...

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and Extended technique, non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one ...

Iannis Xenakis Giannis Klearchou Xenakis (also spelled for professional purposes as Yannis or Iannis Xenakis; , ; 29 May 1922 – 4 February 2001) was a Romanian-born Greek-French avant-garde composer, music theorist, architect, performance director and enginee ...

, Steve Reich, Pierre Bartholomée and Thierry De Mey, was presented in La Monnaie. In February 1998, de Keersmaeker made her debut as an opera director at La Monnaie with Bartók's ''Duke Bluebeard's Castle''. In August 1998, the Impuls Festival in Vienna premièred ''Drumming'', a production to Steve Reich's composition of the same name. In November 1998 she created ''The Lisbon Piece'', for the Portuguese Companhia Nacional de Bailado: her first experience as a guest choreographer. In March 1999, de Keersmaeker created, together with Rosas dancer Cynthia Loemij, and Jolente De Keersmaeker and Frank Vercruyssen from the theatre company STAN, ''Quartett''; a dance-theatre performance based on the text by

Heiner Müller Heiner Müller (; 9 January 1929 – 30 December 1995) was a German (formerly East German) dramatist, poet, writer, essayist and theatre director. His "enigmatic, fragmentary pieces" are a significant contribution to postmodern drama and postd ...

. One month later, she choreographed and danced a duet with Elizabeth Corbett for the production ''with/for/by''. In May 1999, Rosas premiered ''I said I'', a collaboration with Jolente De Keersmaeker for the direction, with the Ictus Ensemble, Aka Moon and DJ Grazzhoppa for the music composition and execution. Jan Joris Lamers designed the set and lighting and Dries van Noten the costumes. For ''In Real Time'' in 2000, Rosas again collaborated with Stan, as well as with the jazz-ensemble Aka Moon for the composition and live interpretation of the music. In January 2001, de Keersmaeker created ''Rain'', another performance to a score by

, his '' Music for 18 Musicians''. 2002 saw the celebration of twenty years of Rosas and ten years of residence at La Monnaie, with the re-run of the text-pieces, the creation of ''(but if a look should) April me'' and ''Rain live'', the two latter accompanied by Brussels contemporary music ensemble Ictus. A 336 pages book ''Rosas, if and only if wonder'' was published and a multimedia exhibition was organised in newly opened halls at the

Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels The Centre for Fine Arts (, ; , ) is a multi-purpose cultural venue in the Royal Quarter of Brussels, Belgium. It is often referred to as BOZAR (a homophone of ''Beaux-arts'') in French or by its initials PSK in Dutch. This multidisciplinary ...

, and was attended by over 15,000 people. ''Once'', a solo to the music of

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (, ; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing mo ...

, concluded the celebration year's performances. 2003 showed yet a new evolution: whereas in the past her choreographies had been very precise and closely linked to the music, in ''Bitches Brew / Tacoma Narrows'', De Keersmaeker for the first time allowed improvisation by her dancers during the performance. Over the past years, Rosas has also revived several earlier pieces: '' Rosas danst Rosas'', '' Fase'', ''Mikrokosmos'', ''Achterland'' and others. Rosas' productions have been invited by theatres and festivals across five continents. In October 2011, De Keersmaeker's choreography from "Rosas Danst Rosas" and "Achterland" was sampled without permission by the R&B singer

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

in the music video for the single ''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

''. In July 2021, she founded the ATDK Foundation a foundation with the intent of safeguarding her artistic legacy, and enable her to share her artistic excellence. In June 2024, the Belgian newspaper

De Standaard (, ) is a Flemish daily newspaper published in Belgium by Mediahuis (formerly Corelio and VUM). It was traditionally a Christian-Democratic paper, associated with the Christian-Democratic and Flemish Party, and in opposition to the Sociali ...

published an extensive article on its website revealing major accusations against the choreographer and, in particular, her working methods and managerial leadership including authoritarianism, bullying and bodyshaming. The article was based on the attestations from the present and former company dancers, as well as other company's employees. In the course of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, she is said to have put the health of company dancers at risk on several occasions. Rosas then published a general statement recognizing the importance of well-being in the work environment and expressing the belief that artistic work must be created in a safe and respectful environment. A direct response to the accusations was rejected with reference to healing conversations, Keersmaeker did not personally respond to the accusations.

Awards

Both the performances and the films of de Keersmaeker have been distinguished by various international awards. ''Rosas danst Rosas'' won the

Bessie Award The New York Dance and Performance Awards, also known as the Bessie Awards, are awarded annually for exceptional achievement by independent dance artists presenting their work in New York City. The broad categories of the awards are: choreography, ...

(1987), ''Mikrokosmos'' received a Japanese Dance Award for the best foreign production (1989), ''Stella'' got the London Dance and Performances Award (1989), ''Drumming'' was prized with the Golden Laurel Wreath for the best choreography in Sarajevo (October 1998). In 2011, she received the American Dance Festival Award for her career and at this occasion presented one of her seminal work ''Rosas danst Rosas'' (1983). The film ''Hoppla!'' was awarded a Sole d'Oro in Italy and the Grand Prix Vidéo Danse in Sète (1989). The film ''Rosa'' has been distinguished by a Dance Screen Award, got a Special Jury Commendation in the Black and White Short Film Competition at the Film Festival in Cork and was selected for the 49th Mostra Interazionale d'Arte Cinematografica in Venice (1992). In 1994, in Lyon, a Dance Screen Award was offered to the film ''Achterland'' (1994), while the film ''Rosas danst Rosas'' obtained the Grand Prix International Vidéo Danse in 1997 and the special prize of the Jury of the International Festival of Film and New Media on Art in Athens in 1998. In 2000, the short film ''Tippeke'' got the Grand Prix Carina Ari of the Festival International Media Dance in Boulogne-Billancourt. In June 1995, de Keersmaeker received the title of Doctor Honoris Causa at the

Vrije Universiteit Brussel The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Dutch language, Dutch, ; lit. Free University of Brussels; abbreviated VUB) is a Dutch- and English-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has four campuses: Brussels Humanities, Science and Engine ...

. In March 1996, the government of the province of Antwerp awarded her the Eugène Baie prize, and in May 2000 she was awarded by the French Republic the "Officier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres" title. In 2002 she received the annual award of the Gabriella Moortgat Stichting and la médaille de Vermeil from the City of Paris and a medal ('Erepenning') of the Belgian Flemish government. In 2004, she was awarded the "Keizer Karelprijs" by the province of Oost Vlaanderen. In 2008, she became—again in France — "''Commandeur'' de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres".

Honours

* 1996 Created Baroness de Keersmaeker, by king Albert II * 2000 Officer in the

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

of the French Republic * 2005 Member of the

Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts The Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts (, , abbr. KVAB) is an independent learned society of science and arts of the Flemish Community in Belgium. It is one of Belgium's numerous academies and traces its origin to 1772 when ...

* 2008 Commander in the

Order of Arts and Letters The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

* 2012 Golden Medal of the City of Lisbon * 2014 Medal for Merit to Culture from the Portuguese government * 2015 Venice Biennale Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement * 2015:

Austrian Decoration for Science and Art The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art () is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Orders, decorations, and medals of Austria, Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian Decoration for Science a ...

* 2021 Bronze Zinneke * 2021 Helena Vaz da Silva European Award

Choreography

* 2023 ''EXIT ABOVE, after the tempest / d'après la tempête / naar de storm'' * 2022 Forêt * 2022 ''Dark Red - Beyeler/RPS'' * 2022 ''Dark Red - Neue Nationalgalerie'' * 2022 ''Mystery Sonatas / for Rosa'' * 2021 ''Dark Red - Louvre-Lens'' * 2020 ''Dark Red - Kolumba'' * 2020 ''3ird5 @ w9rk'' * 2020 ''The Goldberg Variations, BWV 988'' * 2019 ''Brancusi'' * 2019 ''The Dark Red Research Project'' * 2019 ''Bartók / Beethoven / Schönberg'' * 2019 ''Somnia'' * 2018 ''The Six Brandenburg Concertos'' * 2017 ''Zeitigung'' * 2017 ''Mitten wir im Leben sind/Bach6cellosuiten'' * 2017 ''A Love Supreme'' * 2017 ''Così Fan Tutte'' (for the Opera of Paris) * 2015 ''Die Weise Von Liebe und Tod des Cornets Christoph Rilke'' * 2015 ''My Breathing Is My Dancing'' * 2015 ''Work/Travail/Arbeid'' * 2015 ''Golden Hours (As you like it)'' * 2014 ''Verklärte Nacht'' * 2014 ''Twice'' * 2013 ''Vortex Temporum'' * 2013 ''Partita 2'' * 2011 ''Cesena'' * 2010 ''En Atendant'' * 2010 ''3abschied'' * 2009 ''The Song'' * 2008 ''Zeitung'' * 2007 ''Keeping Still Part 1'' * 2007 ''Steve Reich Evening'' * 2006 ''Bartók / Beethoven / Schönberg Repertoireavond'' * 2006 ''D'un Soir Un Jour'' * 2005 ''Raga For The Rainy Season / A Love Supreme'' * 2005 ''Desh'' * 2004 ''Kassandra - Speaking In Twelve Voices'' * 2003 ''Bitches Brew / Tacoma Narrows'' * 2002 ''Once'' * 2002 ''Repertoireavond'' * 2002 ''(But If A Look Should) April Me'' * 2001 ''Small Hands (Out Of The Lie Of No)'' * 2001 ''Rain'' * 2000 ''In Real Time'' * 1999 ''I Said I'' * 1999 ''With / For / By'' * 1999 ''Quartett'' * 1998 ''Drumming'' * 1998 ''Duke Bluebeard's Castle'' * 1997 ''Just Before'' * 1997 ''3 Solos For Vincent Dunoyer'' * 1996 ''Woud, Three Movements To The Music Of Berg, Schönberg & Wagner'' * 1995 ''Erwartung / Verklärte Nacht'' * 1994 ''Amor Constante, Más Allá De La Muerte'' * 1994 ''Kinok'' * 1993 ''Toccata'' * 1992 ''Mozart / Concert Arias. Un moto di gioia.'' * 1992 ''Erts'' * 1990 ''Achterland'' * 1990 ''Stella'' * 1988 ''Ottone Ottone'' * 1987 ''Bartók / Mikrokosmos'' * 1987 ''Verkommenes Ufer / Medeamaterial / Landschaft mit Argonauten'' * 1986 ''Bartók / Aantekeningen'' * 1984 ''Elena's Aria'' * 1983 ''Rosas danst Rosas'' * 1982 ''Fase, Four Movements to the Music of Steve Reich'' * 1980 ''Asch''

Choreography for other companies than Rosas

* The Lisbon Piece (for the Portuguese Companhia Nacional de Bailado)

Opera directions

* ''

Bluebeard's Castle ''Duke Bluebeard's Castle'' (, literally ''The Blue-Bearded Duke's Castle'') is a one-act Symbolism (movement), Symbolist opera by composer Béla Bartók to a Hungarian libretto by his friend and poet Béla Balázs. Based on the French folk legen ...

'' (music by Bartók) (1998) * ''

I due Foscari ' (''The Two Foscari'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the 1821 historical play, ''The Two Foscari (Byron), The Two Foscari'' by Lord Byron. After his success with ''Ernani'', ...

'' (music by Verdi) (2003) * ''Hanjo'' (music by

Toshio Hosokawa is a Japanese composer of contemporary classical music. He studied in Germany but returned to Japan, finding a personal style inspired by classical Japanese music and culture. He has composed operas, the oratorio '' Voiceless Voice in Hiroshima' ...

) (2004) * ''

Così fan tutte (''Women are like that, or The School for Lovers''), Köchel catalogue, K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written ...

'' (music by Mozart) (2017)

Filmography

* ''Répétitions'' (Marie André, 1985, 43min) * ''Hoppla''! (Wolfgang Kolb, 1989, 52min) * ''Monoloog van

Fumiyo Ikeda Fumiyo Ikeda is a Japanese dancer, actress, and choreographer. Training Fumiyo Ikeda was born in Osaka and grew up in Fukui, Japan. She started ballet at the age of ten. In 1979 she moved to Europe and started studying at Mudra, the Brussels da ...

op het einde van Ottone, Ottone'' ( Walter Verdin, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and Jean-Luc Ducourt, 1989, 6min23sec) * ''Ottone, Ottone'' (Part 1 and 2) ( Walter Verdin and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, 1991, Part 1: 52min and Part 2: 50min) * ''Rosa'' (

, 1992, 16min) * ''Mozartmateriaal'' (Jurgen Persijn and Ana Torfs, 1993, 52min) * ''Achterland'' (Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker and Herman Van Eyken, 1994, 84min) * ''Tippeke'' (Thierry De Mey, 1996, 18min) * ''Rosas danst Rosas'' (Thierry De Mey, 1997, 57min) * ''Ma mère l'Oye'' (Thierry De Mey, 2001, 28min) * ''Fase'' (Thierry De Mey, 2002, 58min) * ''Counter Phrases'' (Thierry De Mey, 2004) * ''Prélude à la mer'' (Thierry De Mey, 2009, 16min)[ * ''Early Works - Films and Documentaries'' 4 DVDs / Cinéart, 2012 (Fase, A film by Thierry De Mey, 2002, 58 min - Rosas danst Rosas, A film by Thierry De Mey, 1997, 57 min - Répétitions, A film by Marie André, 1985, 43 min - Hoppla!, A film by Wolfgang Kolb, 1989, 52 min) * ''Rain'' (Olivia Rochette en Gerard-Jan Claes, 2012, 83min) * ''Work/Travail/Arbeid'' A film installation by Eric De Kuyper (2017) * ''Mitten'' (Olivia Rochette en Gerard-Jan Claes, 2019, 53min)

Sources

External links

Biography on Rosas websiteRosas, Bal Moderne and Dancing Kids!
by Ann Williams, 19 October 2003 {{DEFAULTSORT:De Keersmaeker, Anne Teresa Belgian choreographers Belgian women choreographers Belgian female dancers Belgian dancers Belgian barons Dance directors of La Monnaie 1960 births Living people People from Mechelen Tisch School of the Arts alumni Bessie Award winners Members of the Academy of Arts, Berlin Members of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts Contemporary dancers