Charleroi Danse

Charleroi Danse
Name	Charleroi Danse
Founded	1969
Founder	Fernand Schirren
Location	Charleroi, Belgium
Genre	Contemporary dance

Charleroi Danse is a Belgian contemporary dance company based in Charleroi, Belgium, founded in 1969 and internationally recognized for its experimental choreography and large-scale productions. The company collaborates with leading European and global artists and institutions and has influenced contemporary dance practices across Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Spain, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

History

Charleroi Danse traces roots to the cultural initiatives of Fernand Schirren and later directors who shaped Belgian contemporary performance alongside institutions such as La Monnaie, Ballets C de la B, Pina Bausch Tanztheater Wuppertal, Samantha van Wissen, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Rosas (dance company), Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Wim Vandekeybus, Jan Fabre, William Forsythe, Maguy Marin, Maurice Béjart, José Limón, Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Trisha Brown, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Emanuel Gat, Ohad Naharin, Sharon Eyal, Sasha Waltz, Jirí Kylián, Twyla Tharp, Crystal Pite, Akram Khan, Wayne McGregor, Jérôme Bel, Kader Attou, Didier Deschamps (footballer), Guy Deplus, Sacha Baron Cohen—reflecting the eclectic networks of contemporary choreography. Over decades the company engaged in exchanges with the Festival d'Avignon, Venice Biennale, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Festival Internacional de Teatro de Bogotá, La Biennale di Venezia, Dance Umbrella, Sadler's Wells, Barbican Centre, Théâtre de la Ville, Centre Pompidou, Tate Modern, Museum of Modern Art, ZKM Center for Art and Media, Palais Garnier, Komische Oper Berlin, and regional producers in Flanders, Wallonia, Brussels, and the Nord-Pas-de-Calais.

Artistic Direction and Repertoire

Artistic direction at Charleroi Danse has included figures linked to contemporary repertory conversations such as Rosas, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Pina Bausch, Wim Vandekeybus, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Jan Fabre, Anne Holst, Emmanuel Eggermont, Charles Moulton, Boris Charmatz, Angelin Preljocaj, Dominique Bagouet, Maguy Marin, Véronique Doisneau, Paul Taylor, William Forsythe, Ohad Naharin, Eddy Merckx, Georges Aperghis, Heiner Goebbels, Robert Wilson, Peter Brook, Richard Siegal, Deborah Hay, Steve Paxton, Ruth Saint Denis, Antony Tudor, Frederick Ashton, Kenneth MacMillan, Christopher Bruce, David Dawson, Nederlands Dans Theater, and Het Nationale Ballet. The repertoire balances site-specific pieces, ensemble works, and solo commissions that reference practices from contact improvisation-influenced choreographers and the experimental theater lineage exemplified by Judson Dance Theater alumni and successors.

Notable Productions and Choreographers

Charleroi Danse has commissioned and premiered works by choreographers such as Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Wim Vandekeybus, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Boris Charmatz, Angelin Preljocaj, Ohad Naharin, Maguy Marin, Jirí Kylián, Rosie Kay, Crystal Pite, Emmanuel Eggermont, Eddy Merckx, Jan Fabre, Trisha Brown, Pina Bausch, William Forsythe, Paul Taylor, Akram Khan, Sharon Eyal, Jérôme Bel, Wayne McGregor, Mats Ek, Jerome Robbins, Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Sasha Waltz, Stijn Celis, Didy Veldman, Nico and the Navigators (band), Ruth Maleczech, Suzanne Vega, Isadora Duncan, Loie Fuller, Katja Heitmann, Valerie Bettis, Lester Horton, Hanya Holm, Kurt Jooss, Pavel Šmok, Jean-Georges Noverre, Mauricio Wainrot, and José Limón. Signature productions combined large casts, multimedia scenography, and collaborations with composers and visual artists associated with Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, John Cage, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Michel Legrand, Alexandre Desplat, Max Richter, Ludovico Einaudi, Nicolas Jaar, Arvo Pärt, Gustav Mahler, Igor Stravinsky, Claude Debussy, and Olivier Messiaen.

Education, Outreach, and Residencies

The company runs training, workshops, and residency programs linked to educational partners and festivals like Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles, Royal Conservatory of Antwerp, Royal Conservatory of Ghent, Codarts Rotterdam, Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, L'École de Mime Étienne Decroux, Folkwang University of the Arts, Palucca University of Dance Dresden, P.A.R.T.S., Birkbeck, University of London, University of Essex, Université libre de Bruxelles, Université catholique de Louvain, Université de Liège, Université de Mons, Hasselt University, KU Leuven, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Institut Français, Goethe-Institut, British Council, Embassy of Belgium in London, and networks such as IETM, Circostrada, APAP, DANSE Network, and European Dancehouse Network. Residencies attracted dancers, choreographers, composers, and designers from companies like Nederlands Dans Theater, Batsheva Dance Company, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Finnish National Ballet, Scapino Ballet Rotterdam, Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, and universities including Columbia University, New York University, and University of California, Los Angeles.

Building and Facilities

The Charleroi base includes studios, rehearsal halls, and production workshops used by international touring companies and local partners such as Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Palais des Beaux-Arts (Brussels), Le Manège (Maubeuge), Le Phénix (Valenciennes), La Rose des Vents (Lille), Centre Dramatique National de Tourcoing, and municipal cultural services in Charleroi, Mons, Liège, and Brussels. Technical capacities support set construction, lighting rigs, video projection equipment, and sound design able to host collaborations with institutions like IRCAM, ZKM, MOMus, CNRS, CERN, EPFL, MIT Media Lab, Fraunhofer Society, and Max Planck Society.

Awards and Recognition

Over its history Charleroi Danse and its collaborators have received awards and nominations tied to festivals and institutions including the Laurence Olivier Award, Kaiser Wilhelm II Prize, Europe Prize for Dance, French Ministry of Culture Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, Belgian Federal Government cultural accolades, Prix de la critique, Bessie Awards, Laurent-Perrier Prize, Victoires de la Musique, Golden Mask (Russia), Swedish Theatre Critics Awards, German Dance Prize (Deutscher Tanzpreis), Prix de la SACD, and selections at the Festival d'Avignon, Venice Biennale, Edinburgh Festival, Salzburg Festival, Cannes Film Festival screenings of dance films, and touring agreements with venues such as Sadler's Wells, Barbican Centre, Théâtre du Châtelet, and La Scala.

Category:Dance companies in Belgium Category:Contemporary dance companies