The programme until 22 September at the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris features Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and her piece The cement of harmony and invention, co-created with Radouan Mriziga, comes at a time when the artist has been the subject, since June, of several accusations of “psychological violence”.
Following an investigation carried out in 2022 by Aline Bauwens, a mediator specialising in labour relations, the behaviour of this figure on the international scene at the head of the Rosas company, founded in 1983, was denounced by numerous employees (mostly anonymous). “Hurtful comments”, “subtle harassment”, “authoritarian and unpredictable behavior” are mentioned, but also poor management and, during the Covid-19 crisis, the denial of the health measures in force during the performances in Switzerland.
Since then, a letter of “Statement on Well-being” is visible on Rosas’ website. At the same time, the choreographer’s shows are taking place. In Belgium, Rain (2001) was transmitted to ten performers of the Ballet de Flandre, based in Ghent, by three members of Rosas, including Cynthia Loemij, who left the company after thirty-two years of work.
During a radio broadcast on the Flemish channel VRT on Monday 9 September, the director of the institution, Jan Vandenhouwe, “Not a supporter of cancel culture” As he stated, he stressed that the information released in June should “make people think about the well-being of the sector”. He insisted, however, that “a bad idea” to silence the production of Rosas. Also invited, Michael De Kock, artistic director of the Brussels Flemish Theatre (KVS), believes that “We cannot judge the generation of the past by today’s rules” under penalty of conviction “80%” of what she produced.
Matter taken seriously
As for the Autumn Festival and the Théâtre de la Ville that have been scheduled The cement of harmony and inventionwe take this matter seriously. “We have exchanged a lot with Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker over the past few months.specifies Francesca Corona, artistic director of the Autumn Festival. She decided to question herself. I appreciate the effort of someone who does not lock herself away. A number of measures have been taken in the company to put well-being at the centre. More generally, we can no longer ignore violence in this environment. »
For the first time, on Tuesday 17 September, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker spoke about the situation during a meeting on dance repertoire held at the Ghent Opera House (Belgium). Although she stated that a better working environment had been building for over a year, she said: “While I have never believed, and firmly reject, that suffering and/or conflict are necessary conditions for artistic work, I recognize that in the past at Rosas people were caught up in conflict and were hurt. As a leader, I take full responsibility for the work environment that existed within Rosas, and as a person, I want to apologize to all those I disappointed and hurt in the process.”
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