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Project /
Vlaemsch (chez moi)

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With Vlaemsch (chez moi), Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui wants to enter into a direct confrontation with the Flemish roots he has inherited from his mother's side. As the child of a Flemish mother and a Moroccan father, from an early age he developed a crossroads identity that would also determine his choreographic oeuvre. Cherkaoui walks the grey zone between local anchoring and intercultural dialogue. His work cannot therefore be pinned down to a specific region, but it does open up the borders to let other worlds in. De Munt, Eastman and KVS joined forces and chose to have the premiere in Brussels. A conscious choice, made in the context of Troika.

Vlaemsch - not coincidentally in a 'wrong', old spelling - is a reminder that language too is a product of its own time. The piece opens the door to a mythical past that nevertheless departs from concrete objects and figures. The stage serves as a memory place where past, present and future meet. Movement becomes a form of memory work in which the roots of a personal, intimate Flemish identity are dug up, uprooted and rearranged.

For this production, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui works together with visual artist Hans Op de Beeck, musician Floris De Rycker and costume designer Jan-Jan Van Essche. Four contemporary Flemish makers who together explore the role of their shared origin in their artistic signature. The visual work of Hans Op de Beeck is known for its ingenious play with grey values. The greyish Flanders that can be read from the landscape, weather and architecture is given a visual translation. Together with his music ensemble Ratas del Viejo Mundo (literally translated as 'rats of the old world'), Floris De Rycker usually explores the sound colours of polyphonic music composed before 1600. As a lute player, he discovered how Arabic musical culture has been decisive for Western music, although that line of influence is often erased from music history. For his fashion designs, Jan-Jan Van Essche is inspired by different cultures with special attention for sustainable, local production. His clothing lines do not follow the rhythm of the seasons, but rather the stratification of the individual.

Opposite to the Flemish profile of the artistic team, Cherkaoui places a group of international performers. Their origin covers all corners of a world in conflict with itself: Japan, America, Russia, Ukraine, Congo, Canada, Germany, Israel and so on. The cross movement between West and East or North and South is characteristic of Cherkaoui's choreographic oeuvre. With Vlaemsch, he continues this movement, but chooses a different point of departure. He reaches out a hand to the dancers to enter the mythical universe of so-called Flemish culture. The aim is not to impose supposed Flemish values on them, but rather to look for a form of cultural contamination. How can each person share his or her culture with the other without immediately falling into the trap of annexation or unlawful appropriation. Are we safe with each other? Vlaemsch wants to enter precisely into this tangle of cultural roots, which have numerous political, social and economic ramifications.

Premiere: 15 June 2022, KVS BOL - Brussels (BE)

Choreography & direction
Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui
Scenography
Hans Op de Beeck
Costume design
Jan-Jan Van Essche
Musical direction
Floris De Rycker
Additional music
Tsubasa Hori
Live music
Tsubasa Hori, Christine Leboutte, Tister Ikomo, Kazutomi 'Tsuki' Kozuki, Khalid Koujili El Yakoubi, Ratas del viejo Mundo, Soetkin Baptist, Michaela Riener, Anne Rindahl Karlsen, Tomàs Maxé, Floris De Rycker
Performed by
Dorotea Saykaly, Helena Olmedo Duynslaeger, Maryna Kushchova (Ashotivna), Christine Leboutte, Kazutomi 'Tsuki' Kozuki, Dayan Akhmedgaliev, Patrick Williams Seebacher (TwoFace), Nick Coutsier, Pau Aran Gimeno, Jonas Vandekerckhove, Ido Gidron, Tister Ikomo, Darryl E. Woods, Khalid Koujili El Yakoubi
Second cast
Carla Nahadi Babelegoto, Eugénie De Mey, Timothy Ferguson, Jan Van Outryve, Shafiki Sseggayi, Nelson Parrish Earl, Shogo Yoshii
Rehearsal director/assistant choreographer
Kevin Vives
Rehearsal director
Robbie Moore
Dramaturgy
Timmy De Laet, Greet Van Poeck
Assistant director
Greet Van Poeck
Words
Herman Teirlinck, Amina Belôrf, jasminesgarden23, John Berger, Guido Gezelle, Hendrik Conscience, Jason Silva, Martin Luther King Jr., Michelle Thaller
Sound design
Elric Reinartz, Johannes Bellinck
Light design
David Stokholm
Styling and design of the theatrical costumes
Veerle Van den Wouwer
Costume supervisor
Andrea Kränzlin
Technician
Andries Van Gulck, Janneke Hertoghs
Wardrobe
Nancy Colman, Saar Swinters, Alessandra Oliveira
Technical coordinator
Roel Proesmans, Manu Van Heuckelom
Production manager
Tanja Vrancken
Production assistant
Alessandra Oliveira, Lars Boot
Executive producer
Karthika Naïr, Gert Van Overloop
Artistic production / tour manager
Alessandra Oliveira
Producer
Eastman
Co-producer
De Munt / La Monnaie (Brussels), KVS (Brussels), Festspielhaus Sankt-Pölten, Théâtre National de Chaillot (Paris), Sadler’s Wells (London), Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, Théâtre National de Bretagne, Theaterproductiehuis Zeelandia / Zeeland Nazomerfestival, Perpodium
With the support of
Flemish authorities, The Belgian Federal Government's Tax Shelter programme
Thanks to
Sophie Hewitt, Leen van Gestel, Atelier Comate, Maximilian Verswijvelt, Valentina Blonda, Stefaan Haesen, Lise Bruynseels, Carlo Bourguignon
Last modified: 10 May 2025
Eastman -
Eastman - Lars Boot

Lars Boot

Eastman -
Eastman -
Eastman -
Calendar
see the calendar of all projects
19. 06. 2025 Teatros del Canal / Madrid (ES)
20. 06. 2025 Teatros del Canal / Madrid (ES)
21. 06. 2025 Teatros del Canal / Madrid (ES)
22. 06. 2025 Teatros del Canal / Madrid (ES)
18. 09. 2025 Sadler's Wells / London (GB)
19. 09. 2025 Sadler's Wells / London (GB)
20. 09. 2025 Sadler's Wells / London (GB)
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Eastman - Nick Coutsier

Nick Coutsier

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Eastman - Darryl E. Woods

Darryl E. Woods

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Eastman - Christine Leboutte

Christine Leboutte

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Eastman - Tsubasa Hori

Tsubasa Hori

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