Body of Work podcast - Doing dance heritage
A podcast about the joy and the challenges of repertory work – from the dancers' perspective.
The transmission of dance from body to body, audience to audience, is what keeps dance alive. Repertory, choreographies from the past, revived, and performed in the present, is a way of connecting us to our dance heritage. The Body of Work podcast explores the puzzle of ‘doing’ dance heritage through multiple interviews with dancers and dance practitioners in the Flemish and international contemporary dance scene. Through their lively stories, vast experiences and deep insight, the series dives into the world of dance repertory from within the realities of the dance studio and the stage.
What does it mean to make an existing piece ‘your own’? How do you balance the search for its original essence with making space for your own artistry to give it shape? As something that is never fixed yet growing with every performance, how do you transmit a piece of dance? What kind of ‘archeology’ does it take to consider all the different versions through time? Which tangible tools are useful in an intangible process? What does it mean to grow old with a piece? Can a piece still be the same after 15 years, when the dancers are 15 years older, and the audience sitting in the theatre is different from the one at the premiere? Who decides that a work can be revived, knowing that it was created with a group of dancers and other collaborators… whose piece is it anyway? How can a piece continue to be written as it passes to the next generation? What can we learn from the past and apply to the next revival?
In this podcast, you’ll hear from the dancers from Out of Context - for Pina, the revival of The dogs days are over 2.0 and Rosas dancers involved in Rosas repertory work. The final episode dives into the exciting questions and challenges of ‘doing dance heritage’.
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CREDITS
concept Delphine Hester
researcher & narrator Tessa Hall
interviews Tessa Hall, Katharina Smets, Delphine Hesters
podcast maker Katharina Smets
intern podcast maker Teresa Van Eycken
sound/music Inne Eysermans mix Inne Eysermans & Yves De Mey
voices Mélanie Lomoff, Ross McCormack, Rosalba Torres Guerrero, Laura Maria Poletti, Clinton Stringer, Jacob Storer, Jan Martens, Steven Michel, Naomi Gibson, Elisha Mercelina, Dan Mussett, Jim Buskens, Stijn Vandenbroucke, Loes Meulemans, Michèle Anne De Mey, Yuika Hashimoto, Tale Dolven, Soa Ratsifandrihana, Madison Vomastek, Jonathan Burrows, Franz Anton Cramer, Timmy De Laet, Madeline Ritter and Delphine Hesters
thanks to laGeste, Rosas, GRIP
The Body of Work podcast and the oral research project from which it draws its source material, are part of DanceMap, funded by the European Union (Horizon Europe)
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PRACTICAL
when from 10 April till 13 May 2026 via this webpage
language English