Whether it be ancient gods, classical heroes, soldiers or athletes, the glorification of male power throughout history has often tended towards a celebration of war, aggression, and violence. Thor, to whom the title refers, is one of its most famous personifications of this. He can unleash a thunderstorm and lives on to this day as a superhero in Marvel comics and films, invariably depicted with his Mjölnir, a hammer with an incredibly short handle. 

In VanThorhout, Alexander comes on stage as Thor, with his own Mjölnir. As always in Alexander’s oeuvre, the relationship between object and performer quickly becomes ambiguous. When do one lose the strength to manipulate this heavy hammer, and when does the hammer take over and become uncontrollable? 

Source: Alexander Vantournhout

More information: notstanding.com

Alexander Vantournhout (Brussels, 1989) studied cyr wheel and juggling at ESAC (Ecole Supérieure des Arts du Cirque) and contemporary dance at P.A.R.T.S. (Performing Arts Research and Training Studios) in Brussels.

Alexander Vantournhout's physical language bears the influences of a varied education and working circumstances. However, it is marked by two constants: his search for the creative and kinetic potential in physical limitation, and the relationship or boundary between performer and object.

2014 marked the premiere of his first piece, Caprices, a choreographic solo set to the music of Sciarrino. Aneckxander (2015), a second solo, co-created with Bauke Lievens, won the CircusNext Prize, as well as the Young Theatre Prize and the Audience Prize at Theater Aan Zee (Ostend, 2015) and the Aerowaves network. His first duet Raphael (2017) was also co-created with Bauke Lievens.

In 2018, Alexander Vantournhout created La Rose en Céramique, a movement solo that accompanied Scali Delpeyrat's theatrical solo at the Festival d’Avignon. His first piece for four men, Red Haired Men, followed shortly afterwards. In SCREWS, created in 2019, Alexander Vantournhout guides the audience, accompanied by 4 dancer-acrobats, on a journey of reverberating micro-performances, ranging from short solos and duets to group choreographies.

With Through the Grapevine (2020), Alexander Vantournhout returns to the duet format. This is his first real duet and is to some extent inspired by the concept of Aneckxander (2015). The body is reintroduced in a very pure way and the performance dives into the creative and kinetic potential of physical limitations, a theme that is reflected throughout Alexander Vantournhout's work. In Contre-jour (2021) Alexander Vantournhout takes on the role of choreographer for the first time and gives the floor to a group of five performers from various backgrounds: dance, musical, theatre, circus, etc. In 2022 Alexander Vantournhout returns solo on stage with VanThorhout. Foreshadow, a creation with 8 performers, premieres in the summer of 2023 at Julidans in Amsterdam.

Aneckxander as well as SCREWS, Through the Grapevine and VanThorhout were selected for het TheaterFestival, the prize for the most outstanding Belgian performances.

Alexander Vantournhout has created two dance films, Screws & Stones and Snakearms. The latter was selected for het TheaterFestival, NY Segal Film Festival and Cinedans Festival. 

Alexander Vantournhout is artist-in-residence at the Kunstencentrum VIERNULVIER in Ghent and associate artist of the CENTQUATRE Paris. He is a cultural ambassador of the city of Roeselare and supported by the BNP Paribas Foundation for the development of his projects.

Source: not standing

More information: notstanding.com

Born in 1977, Fabien Plasson is a video director specialized in the field of performing arts (dance , music, etc).

During his studies at the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts de Lyon (joined in 1995) Fabien discovered video art. He was trained by various video artists (Joel Bartoloméo Pascal Nottoli , Eric Duyckaerts , etc).
He first experimented with the creation of installations and cinematic objects.

From 2001 to 2011, he was in charge of Ginger & Fred video Bar’s programming at La Maison de la Danse in Lyon. He discovered the choreographic field and the importance of this medium in the dissemination, mediation and pedagogical approach to dance alongside Charles Picq, who was a brilliant video director and the director of the video department at that time.

Today, Fabien Plasson is the video director at La Maison de la Danse and in charge of the video section of Numeridanse.tv, an online international  video library, and continues his creative activities, making videos of concerts, performances and also creating video sets for live performances.

Sources: Maison de la Danse ; Fabien Plasson website

More information: fabione.fr