Xavier Le Roy, Self-Unfinished

Photo: Katrin Schoof

Xavier was unfinished alright, or at least he made himself look like it. I had to look at him really hard at times, to figure out how the hell he did it. Basically, the piece is Xavier twisting and turning himself into forms and shapes – and we see him doing this with/without clothes on. He alters the image. And the image is his body. And his body becomes an optical illusion. Xavier is toying with our perception, and he does it well. As he left the stage to the tune Upside Down by Diana Ross, I still couldn’t tell if what I had just seen was an enormous headless chicken with four tiny, skinny limbs, or Xavier Le Roy himself.

Pieter Ampe and Guilherme Garrido, Still Difficult Duet

Photo: Bart Grietens

It’s difficult to watch, that’s what it is: starting off with light synchronised jumps, the two barbarians suddenly begin smacking and spanking each other leaving red and burning imprints of hands around their naked bodies. Despite the anarchistic nature of the piece, stamina, timing, and trust were still crucial elements – and this is the reason, this sado-masochistic galore was so funny.

Liquid Loft / Chris Haring & Jin Xing Dance Theatre, Lovely Liquid Lounge

Photo: Liquid Loft

It was a long evening of different works, taking place in what they had turned into a comfy lounge. The overall theme, which seemed to be gender, was extremely evident in most of the pieces, although in some much less. Maybe the inconsistency of this was confusing to begin with. The main production of the evening, Das China Projekt, raised questions about gender in relation to society, although the way it dealt with these questions was somewhat disappointing. Or so it seemed. It was impossible to make out whether Jin Xing, who played a role in the piece herself, was pretending to be the stereotype of an ignorant, orthodox, middle aged woman – or if she actually is one in real life? One or the other, it makes a huge difference to the work. Even as a transgender person, she fits surprisingly well into the female role traditionally held by society, which to me neglects everything the piece could be trying to argue. Were they, or were they not spokesmen of these conservative traditions?

Par B.L.eux / Benoît Lachambre & Louise Lecavalier & Hahn Rowe & Laurent Golding, Is You Me

Photo: André Cornelier

A collaboration between dance, music and digital art.
Visual, incredibly visual, but very two-dimensional. Something was missing, perhaps the fact that Louise Lecavalier wasn’t performing due to personal affairs, could have had an impact – but I’m not sure because I don’t know what the piece is like normally. What I know is that Benoît Lachambre had to perform an adapted version of the piece, so all the dance was in fact improvised. As was the live digital art on the screen behind it. Unfortunately, it just all seemed so flat, although some people liked the meditativeness of it. I think I failed to appreciate that.

Mark Tompkins, kings & queens

Photo: Gilles Toutevoix

A gig/performance starring Mark Tompkins as a drag (hence the queen). Or at least to begin with, because for every song he sang he added a piece of clothes, which in the end made him look like.. a sheriff (hence the king). The music, which was mainly rock’n'roll, was performed with capacity and spirit, and Mark Tompkins’ voice was old and rough, which made me believe in his words even more.

Mark Tompkins, Empty Holes

Photo: Anne Nordmann

A physical-theatre/puppet/shadow show starring Mark Tompkins (& dolls) as storyteller(s). Empty Holes. He could be referring to the holes in the love dolls, with who he was acting out the love life between a very sad woman and a very sad man called Doris and John Dreem. But maybe not, since the piece was considering heavy duty subjects such as life, love, and death.
It was indeed a tragic, but amusing piece of work.

They’re not pretty. But a lot of dancers like them. So a friend (surprise, a dancer) got herself a pair of MBT’s recently. They are just massive. And impossible to avoid looking at. It’s as tempting to stare at someone wearing MBT’s as staring at drunk burger-munching people on the tube Friday night – just mesmerising. They make you bounce along the street like a happy bunny or something – the shoes not the burgers. Anyway, she’s wearing them and this guy goes: MBT’s? – What? Mega Big Trainers?

I have a REALLY bad sense of humor, so I thought it was hilarious – and I wanted to go: Masai Barefoot Technology, you twat. Haven’t you heard about the Anti-shoe?

Have a pair myself. But I don’t have the balls to wear them – so I felt like such a coward even thinking about saying that.

I think he hit a nerve.

Lucky for him; a fool is nauseous, but a coward worse. I guess I’ll never be a true bouncing bunny.

- I sure had a bad case of diarrhea a year ago and when I think about it, it would have been nice to have been introduced to Zuinkin English already then!

If you need to learn some very very VERY useful English quickly…check out the Zuikin Girls! It’ll change your life forever. Promise. Never again will you fail to explain yourself, ’cause these Zuikin Girls teach you how to work your English muscles when you need it the most by doing freaky aerobic exercises simultaneously! The number of scenarios & possibilities are endless and the acting completely cracks you up! Check out the nostril-covering bandana on the bald guy in ‘Zuikin Trouble’. This is how thugs disguise in the Western world?

But this is not just strange aerobics, hi-hats and crazy singing. Some wise Japanese gentleman claimed that the muscles of the body have a memory, and that if certain movements were repeated in sync with English sentences, the brain would pick up the new words faster – well that’s what I’m guessing, ’cause the rather interesting introduction to Zuikin English available is in Japanese and since Robyn’s ‘Konichiwa Bitches’ is the closest you get to an English version of Zuikin Japanese (which isn’t of much help at all), I don’t really know what they are saying…

Aerobics has many faces and uses, as this 80’s blaxploitation Jazzercise workout clip (I would freakin LOVE to go clubbing with this woman) proves. I call it blaxercise. Umchika umchika umchika.