‘Rosas Danst Rosas', A contemporary dance by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker in response to Stein

Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, dancer and choreographer

One of the main dancers and choreographers of contemporary dance in Belgium and worldwide, Anne Teresa Baroness De Keersmaeker, born in 1960, trained in classical and modern dance before discovering post-modern dance while studying in New York.

On her return, she developed a minimalist style of reflexive dance, taking her inspiration from the phase music of the American Steve Reich – a particular way of writing music, based on the repetition and gradual phasing of musical motifs on loop.

A 'Steinian' influence

In 1983, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker founded the company Rosas, at the time of the creation of the ballet Rosas danst Rosas. That title refers directly to Gertrude Stein’s famous tautology ‘Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose’.

Like the poet, De Keersmaeker explores the material reality of her medium in this dance: firstly through the movement of the human body, which suggests a pared down, repetitive use of language, then through its music, inextricably linked.

If she seems to eliminate all narrative, as Stein does, these methods ultimately give rise to a theatrical experience. An impression which her collaborator, the composer and director Thierry De Mey, reinforced with his filmed adaptation of the work in 1997.

Here for your contemplation in the intimacy of a room dedicated to this work, in the current exhibition at the Musée.