Rosas danst Rosas

Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker / Rosas

Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker presented Rosas danst Rosas in 1983, when she also established the dance company Rosas. The performance has since come to occupy a key position in the history of postmodern dance. Rosas danst Rosas builds on the minimalism of De Keersmaeker’s first choreography, Fase, Four Movements to the Music of Steve Reich (1982). It is based on a layered choreographic structure characterized by abstract movements and repetition. The fierceness of these movements is juxtaposed with small everyday gestures. Four female dancers dance ‘themselves’, over and over again. Their perseverance and exhaustion result in an emotional charge that contrasts sharply with the rigorous structure of the choreography. The repetitive, ‘maximalist’ music by Thierry De Mey and Peter Vermeersch was created concurrently with the choreography.

Since its premiere during the 1983 edition of the Kaaitheaterfestival in Brussels, Rosas danst Rosas toured extensively all over the world. The award-winning performance was first revived in 1992, when Rosas became dance company in residency at the De Munt/La Monnaie opera house in Brussels; and has since been recreated in 2009, in the context of The Early Works project, and in 2017. In 2026, Rosas danst Rosas will be danced by an entirely new cast.