WASCO!
WASCO! is a dazzling action painting performance in which ten young children conquer the stage with paint, wax crayons and pure expression. ‘WASCO! Sparkles and captivates,’ enthuses De Standaard. This performance is all about unaffected energy and childlike open-mindedness.
Festival Julidans
Programme section Julidans On Stage
Location Internationaal Theater Amsterdam
Venue Rabozaal
Run time 60 minutes
Language Language no problem
WASCO!
Choreographer Lisbeth Gruwez and musician Maarten Van Cauwenberghe of the Belgian dance company Voetvolk bring together movement, jazz music and visual art in a spectacle as playful as it is hopeful. Armed with paint and crayons, the young performers create a gigantic work of art live, inspired by action painters such as Jackson Pollock, who painted to the rhythm of jazz. Similarly to the sound of an energetic jazz soundtrack from 1945-1965, the children draw and move freely and without inhibition.
Ten young performers aged between six and twelve were selected from more than a hundred auditions. Each with their own talents and qualities, together they form a society in miniature in which everyone finds their place. Their spontaneity and creativity lead to movements that even a choreographer could not have invented. This is how WASCO! celebrates the unpredictability and freedom of art.
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“Choreography is essentially drawing in space. And that’s what we’re literally doing,” explains Gruwez. Children are encouraged to think big, to colour outside the lines and devote all their energy to the action on stage. The result, suitable for everyone from six years old upwards, is a world full of wonder, freedom and expression, a unique experience in which dance, art and music merge and the energy of youth is central. A celebration of creativity that is bound to instil feelings of joy in the audience.
Voetvolk is a Belgian dance company founded by choreographer Lisbeth Gruwez and musician Maarten Van Cauwenberghe and a regular guest at Julidans. Their performances are powerful and ultra-physical, with a unique blend of dance, live music and visual art. With productions like It's going to get worse and worse and worse, my friend and The Sea Within, they garnered international success and received high praise for their original and compelling style.
Reviews
De Morgen
'When the canvas is raised after an hour, the children are so colorfully smeared that the distinction between artists and artwork can hardly be made. A beautiful thought is that.'
More about Voetvolk
Lisbeth Gruwez
Dancer and choreographer Lisbeth Gruwez co-founded Voetvolk. Her work blends movement, sound and emotion, shaped by earlier collaborations with Ultima Vez and Jan Fabre. She is affiliated with KVS.
Maarten Van Cauwenberghe
Composer and musician Maarten Van Cauwenberghe is the co-founder of Voetvolk. His music bridges stage, film and experimental sound. He received the Flemish Culture Prize for Cultural Entrepreneurship.
Credits
concept Voetvlok, Lisbeth Gruwez & Maarten Van Cauwenberghe
produced by hetpaleis & Voetvolk
choreography Lisbeth Gruwez
sounds design Maarten Van Cauwenberghe
dance Adriaan Winand, Gus Van Goethem, Lilith De Groof, Lara Corrias, Lily Williams, Lita Assam, Kymaisha Geduld, Madeleine Camara, Martha Van Goethem en Yahto Claes Oussehmine
artistic assistance Victoria Rose Roy
coaching children Fran van Gysegem
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dramaturgy Koen Haagdorens
stage design Stef Stessel
light design Stef Stessel, Dirk De Hooghe, Ruben Wolfs
helping hand Jits Vandamme
with the support of Belgian Federal Government's tax shelter measure via Casa Kafka Pictures
courtesy of Walter Meersmans
co-producer MA Scene National de Montbéliard
international distribution hetpaleis & Materialise/Stéphane Noël
