27 September 2025
by: Peter Rombouts

With no fewer than five choreographies, Introdans impresses with this opening programme of the new theatre season. Less is More lingers in artistic beauty. Its meditative power resonates long after the curtain falls.

The first ballet, Squares by Hans van Manen from 1969, is a timeless masterpiece that could just as easily have been created in 2025. Set to Erik Satie’s Trois Gymnopédies, we see ten dancers in tight white bodysuits dancing around and on a black, glossy, elevated square floor. Above it hangs a square frame made of light tubes. The dancers often move in square patterns from which variable solos or pas de deux emerge. It all looks stylised and controlled. Thanks to its simplicity and natural flow, you almost forget the complexity behind it. The entire stage setting is enchanting, not least due to the lighting (by Joop Caboort) and the use of the raised dance floor (by Bob Bonies).

That the dancers feel at home in the work of Lucinda Childs becomes clear in her Canto Ostinato (2015), set to music by Simeon ten Holt. Two pairs of dancers skip and glide in minimalist patterns. On the backdrop, lines of light shift in sync with the repeating phrases of both the music and the dance. Innocent and meditative, like a passing summer breeze.

The third ballet, Traces, is a world premiere by choreographer Fernando Melo. Together with design studio Fillip Studios, a stage image is created where two eight-metre-long cylindrical lamps hang across the length of the stage. Four dancers stand on moving platforms, each operated by four other dancers pulling ropes. Because the dancers are strapped to these platforms, their bodies can move in all directions. They twist around the cylinder lamps, which emit sound when touched. Visually amusing at first, but soon the limited movement and overly complex mechanics make it drag.

After the break comes the powerful Fractus V by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. This five-minute piece is a breath of fresh air after Traces. The movement, mostly organic, emerges from a text from The Mind That Worries by Alan Watts. Nine men in suits, each with their own rectangular sitting/hanging element, use hands and voice to express how their minds work. The scene originates from the 2015 production Eastman and is now being premiered by Introdans on 20 September 2025. A grand piano stands on stage, where Angelica Villalon performs The Mind That Worries live.

The final ballet, Promises, is a world premiere by choreographic duo Igor Bacovich and Iratxe Ansa. Created especially for nineteen Introdans dancers, it’s anything but Less is More – and that contrast is welcome after the meditative calm of the evening. Coloured window frames are placed on stage. The dancers, initially dressed in white, move fluidly while playfully shifting the windows. This results in beautiful artistic stage compositions, with dancers also presenting themselves as living art objects. Everything merges seamlessly until a female dancer in skin-toned underwear expresses her emotions through idiosyncratic contortions. The whole group supports and follows her, gradually transforming and revealing themselves in skin-toned underwear as well. In a kind of liberation, the dancers showcase the power of imagination and creativity together in a sizzling finale.

Ruben Ameling de Leeuw and Demi Verheezen stood out all evening. Each ballet brought out a new dimension in their interpretation. Yuma Funai also demonstrated her skill in the final piece. Compliments as well to the overall cohesion and harmony within the group of dancers.

Read the full review on Theaterparadijs.