Alain Platel

Alain Platel (Ghent, Belgium, 1956) is a Flemish choreographer and stage director internationally recognized for having created a unique, hybrid and deeply human style within the European contemporary dance scene. His career has been characterized by a compassionate and radical look at bodies, community and emotions, often working with non-professional performers and with people from diverse contexts, both social and physical.

Platel initially trained as a speech therapist and pedagogue, an influence that is evident in his sensitivity towards “imperfect”, vulnerable or non-standard bodies. In 1984 he founded the company Les Ballets C de la B (Les Ballets Contemporains de la Belgique), which soon became an international reference for its combination of dance, theatre, music and social documentary.

Les Ballets C de la B and the choreographic theatre of collective emotion

With shows such as Bonjour Madame, La Tristeza Complice, Iets op Bach, Vsprs, Out of Context – for Pina or Nicht schlafen, Alain Platel has built his own stage language that draws from multiple sources: classical dance and hip-hop, everyday gestures, documentary theatre and sacred or romantic music. His creations often start from very powerful musical materials —Bach, Mahler, Wagner— and explore the way in which the collective body can express suffering, pleasure, madness or resistance.

A distinctive feature of his work is what he himself calls “choreography of dysfunction”, in which spasmodic movements, incoordination and lack of control are integrated as legitimate forms of dance. This commitment to the real and imperfect body breaks with traditional aesthetic norms and opens a poetic and political path at the same time.

Alain Platel: dance, music and social transformation

His works have been presented around the world and have received numerous awards. Platel has also collaborated with artists such as Frank Van Laecke or Fabrizio Cassol, and has promoted community creation projects, often linked to marginal or multicultural contexts. His work exudes a great faith in the capacity of art to transform human relationships and make silenced conflicts visible.

With a committed and radically empathetic gaze, Alain Platel has renewed the concept of contemporary dance, putting the soul, chaos and fragility at the center of the stage.