Terrifying
“It’s a fantastic piece to perform, but also terrifying, because it’s done in silence,” says Ameling de Leeuw. “So you really have to rely on yourself. You can’t depend on your colleagues, because if they fall out of rhythm—who’s actually right?” he explains. According to Ameling de Leeuw, the piece involves a lot of individual work. “And here and there, you try to signal, to check in with your colleagues to see how far along they are and whether we’re still in sync. That mainly comes down to rhythm.” Sometimes, he says, you might spin just a bit faster than your colleague, which causes a half-second difference. But if that builds up, it becomes noticeable.

Respect for conductors
No one really leads the piece—except at the beginning. “I’m at the front and I set the starting rhythm by slapping my thighs four times,” Ruben Ameling de Leeuw explains. That’s harder than it sounds. At the premiere, he was a bit nervous, and the slaps were slightly too fast. Keeping that tempo up for twelve minutes would’ve been brutal, he says. “So together, we slow down and try to find a rhythm that actually suits us,” he explains. “Doing this piece has given me even more respect for conductors,” he adds. “Because as dancers, when we perform with a live orchestra, we’re quick to complain: ‘It’s not like yesterday’ or ‘It’s faster than the day before.’ But now I have to do it myself—and you almost never get it exactly right.”

“You pulled it off well,” notes host Niels Heithuis. “Because the reviewers didn’t notice. So it’s been done very subtly.”

Listen to the full interview here.