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Benjamin Vandewalle derails the daily choreography of public space by filling it with dance and musical improvisation. For two days, during peak hours, five dancers and a musician engage in an improvised intervention that “hacks” the everyday routine of passers-by. Their durational presence at the Place de la Bourse pierces a hole in the quotidian fabric. The stream of people passing by becomes part of an improvised choreography that makes the often-unnoticed, daily choreographies more visible. 

Benjamin Vandewalle studied at the Royal Ballet School of Antwerp and graduated from P.A.R.T.S., Brussels in 2006. Since the beginning, a central theme in his work has been 'perception'. He creates movement—not only in the performer’s body but also in that of the spectator. His work is about sharing new experiences and perspectives with a large audience. For the performances Birdwatching (2009) and One/Zero (2011), he worked closely with visual artist and scenographer Erki De Vries. In 2012, he stepped out of the black box and into the public space. His mobile performance Birdwatching 4x4 was a festival favorite amongst audience and critics and toured for several seasons. Later on, he created new works for the black box such as point of view (2013) and Commonground with platform-K (2018), which got selected for het Theaterfestival. Another work that he created is HEAR (2016), which is a sound choreography performed by a choir of 30 volunteers for a blind-folded audience.

With Derailed you perform in public space. What’s the appeal? It offers the possibility of creating a direct but unexpected effect. You reach people from different social strata, some of whom know nothing about contemporary art. Moreover, this kind of interaction deserves a place in our society. At this moment, I even believe it’s my role as an artist: to unfreeze public space after the corona crisis. – Benjamin Vandewalle

The durational dance performance Derailed was originally commissioned by europalia for the festival EUROPALIA TRAINS & TRACKS (2021), in coproduction with KAAP.

CREDITS

Concept and choreography Benjamin Vandewalle

Performers Barbara Pereyra, Margarida Ramalhete, Timothy Nouzak, Benjamin Vandewalle Music Giovanni di Domenico

Coproduction EUROPALIA TRAINS & TRACKS, KAAP Ostend - Bruges

Executive production Caravan Production