Creative repertory workshop / Vlaemsch (chez moi)
This creative repertory workshop (open to all) is led by original cast member Pau Aran Gimeno (Eastman, Tanztheater Wuppertal - Pina Bausch), who will propose a variety of choreographic and theatrical concepts of the piece to work with. As a close artistic partner to Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Pau will work in parallel with his creation methods, as well as making use of his own expertise as a choreographer and educator. To Pau, the ‘workshop' is a place of experimentation and craft creation, a place of learning, practising, improving technique / crafts(wo)manship and finding a creative identity.
With his latest large-scale independent production, Vlaemsch (chez moi), Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui wants to enter into a direct confrontation with the Flemish roots he has inherited from his mother's side. The piece opens the door to a mythical past, where movement becomes a form of memory work in which the roots of a personal, intimate Flemish identity are dug up, uprooted and rearranged. Working with dancers from all over the world, the aim is not to impose supposed Flemish values on them, but rather to look for a form of cultural contamination. How can each person share his or her culture with the other without immediately falling into the trap of annexation or unlawful appropriation? Vlaemsch wants to enter precisely into this tangle of cultural roots, which have numerous political, social and economic ramifications.
Pau Aran Gimeno
Born in Barcelona, he began his career at the age of eleven through latin american, standard, jazz, modern dance and classical ballet. He completed his studies at the Conservatorio Profesional de Danza 'Mariemma' in Madrid and later at the Folkwang Hochschule der Künste in Essen, before joining the ensemble of the Tanztheater Wuppertal - Pina Bausch in 2005, until 2020 as a permanent member and later as a guest. It was also in 2020 that he began his artistic collaboration with Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, which continues to this day. From 2013, he began his independent choreographic creations, generally developed through interdisciplinary collective work and creative workshops. Among his most significant shows are Avui em veus, demà seré invisible (2013); Tres maneras y Mimosa (2016), Notes of Life (2019, produced in Yokohama); Brocken and Ich bin nicht nur ein Körper, aber wenn du willst, kann ich tanzen (2019, both for Tanztheater Wuppertal), Lettre d'amour (2020, with Consuelo Trujillo and Alberto Conejero) and Un cadavre exquis II (2022, with José Troncoso). His current motivation is to continue developing the expression of his art through body language, focusing on the creation and pedagogy of contemporary dance. The search for beauty, movement and his interest in the poetics of contemporary dance theatre are represented in his projects. With a commitment to sharing previously acquired knowledge and experience with the next generation of artists, Pau encourages self-discovery, simultaneously combining heritage and tradition with the passage of time and the transitory nature of the dance of the future.
