March 5, 2025
by: Jos Schuring
THE STORM OF KRISZTINA DE CHÂTEL
The grand master of minimalist dance in the Netherlands is now 82 years old. Her monumental work Typhoon from 1986 is once again being performed in theaters. De Châtel is extremely happy about it.
Counting, counting, and counting again. Dancers do this often, of course, but this kind of dance demands extra concentration. Typhoon is set to Canto Ostinato, the now world-famous composition by Simeon ten Holt from the 1970s, where piano sounds repeat endlessly. Minimalist dance follows a similar pattern of movements and dance steps that shift only gradually. Typhoon is a spectacular production due to the wind machines that start up halfway through and drastically transform the performance. A particularly beautiful moment is when those machines briefly fall silent—only for the battle to resume moments later. Typhoon is exceptionally powerful dance theater.
Typhoon is forty years old but seems more relevant than ever, right?
“I think so too. There is a huge storm in the performance, but the storm that the world is experiencing now is far more intense than we ever could have imagined.”
Is struggle the core theme of Typhoon?
“Yes, absolutely. But it is a positive struggle. The dancers are not blown away—they remain standing. More than ever, we are living through a violent storm. With Typhoon, I want to convey that we must continue to fight for harmony, beauty, and cohesion in everything that happens to us.”
For the dancers, Typhoon is extremely demanding. With the endlessly repeating patterns of Canto Ostinato, can they still feel anything, or are they too caught up in their heads?
“This is indeed very demanding, but the dancers of Introdans are technically excellent. They are used to it. And they still find freedom and improvisation in the piece. I recently saw the performance in Amersfoort with a former dancer who is now a judge. He was deeply moved by the performance—engraved in his dance memory, yet at times it felt new to him.”
You once said that the opera Einstein on the Beach by Philip Glass (1975) made a big impression on you. It is still considered the worldwide breakthrough of minimal music. Would you have created Typhoon if you hadn’t known that work?
“I think so, because I was already working with minimalist dance before that. But that opera was indeed overwhelming for me. I have met Philip Glass multiple times, and he has greatly enriched my perspective.”
Typhoon by Introdans can be seen until May 25, 2025.
From March 14, Icon will also feature several choreographies by Lucinda Childs, the other ‘queen of minimal dance.’
