Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker
Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker (Mechelen, Belgium, 1960) has been a key figure in European contemporary dance since the 1980s. Initially trained in dance and classical music, she studied at the prestigious Tisch School of the Arts in New York before founding her own company, Rosas, in 1983. Her style, rigorous and mathematical yet visceral, is recognized by the way she structures movement based on musical scores, texts or geometric patterns.
Her first great success was Rosas danst Rosas (1983), an iconic piece that would mark an entire generation of choreographers and performers. Through obsessive repetition, rhythmic precision and an austere physicality, De Keersmaeker proposed a new form of abstract dance with a strong feminine and political charge. The piece quickly became a classic of the contemporary repertoire.
The impact of Rosas danst Rosas and the creation of his own choreographic language
With Rosas danst Rosas, De Keersmaeker not only founded a company but also a language: a way of understanding movement as structure, as writing of the body. This emblematic choreography stood out for its use of everyday gesture, compositional minimalism and deep connection with music, especially contemporary music. It also generated debate when Beyoncé used fragments of it without permission in the Countdown video clip —a controversy that highlighted the global influence of his work.
From there, his career constantly explored the intersections between dance, classical music, poetry, science and mathematics. He has choreographed pieces on music by Bach, Steve Reich, Bartók, Beethoven, Salvatore Sciarrino and Brian Eno, among many others. His work has been presented around the world and has received numerous awards, including the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Biennale (2014).
Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker: a contemporary dance choreographer in constant evolution
De Keersmaeker has also stood out as a teacher. In 1995 she founded the P.A.R.T.S. school in Brussels, one of the most important dance institutions in Europe. There she has trained several generations of international dancers and choreographers. Her work remains active today and in constant renewal: her latest pieces explore free movement, nature and the oral transmission of choreographic knowledge.
With four decades of experience, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker remains an indispensable and incorruptible voice of contemporary dance.
