Currently on the bill at the Paris Opera and the Montpellier Danse festival, the Belgian icon of contemporary dance is accused by around twenty former collaborators of physical and psychological endangerment.
How not to think of the conductor played by Cate Blanchett in the film Tar by Todd Field or the one played by Anne Alvaro in the series the Opera ? It is unfortunately to these characters of tyrannical sacred monsters, feeling little concerned by the issues of suffering at work, that Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, an immense Belgian choreographer currently on tour, reminds us, under fire in a three-page investigation published Saturday June 22 in the Dutch-language daily The standard. In the article, around twenty witnesses shake the edifice of the star, 64 years old, creator of the Rosas company in 1983 but also of the PARTS international school in 1995, by denouncing the “psychological violence” that the artist would have exercised for years, his “subtle harassment” or his “divide and conquer tactics.” No complaints have, to date, been recorded.
In 2022, despite the “fury” of the choreographer, an investigation was entrusted to Aline Bauwens, mediator specializing in workplace relations, who did not wish to make comments. Consulted by The standardthe conclusions reveal among other things that certain dancers, nonetheless proud to work with an artist so “iconic”, consider it to be an equivalent of “Jan Fabre, except for sexual misconduct” (reference to the star director of the Flemish scene, sentenced in 2022 to 18 months in prison suspended by the Antwerp criminal court). Several describe scenes of public humiliation during which Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker allegedly imitated their voices, their gestures, their accents.
Wave of departures
The conclusions of the investigation sparked a wave of departures: eight members of the company left the company immediately, but also four of the five members of the board of directors, as well as Kees Eijrond, 75 years old, patron and historical supporter de Rosas who became the choreographer’s main advisor. “Everyone who raised the issue of transgressive behavior has left or been fired,” reports the Flemish daily.
Although most of the testimonies are anonymous, former press secretary Hans Galle speaks openly about his nightmares and burnout. Also, the accusations he makes about the actions of the director during Covid should interest the health authorities: Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker would not only have abstained from government rules “with demonstrative nonchalance” but would also have kept silent about the contamination of certain dancers, convinced that the spread of the virus came from a conspiracy by the pharmaceutical industry. “All that mattered was the work,” says the former employee. Hans Galle and a dancer reportedly tried, in vain, to alert the public authorities. The Flemish Ministry of Culture denies having been able to act due to lack of complaints.
In the wake of the revelations of sexual scandals in the world of culture, testimonies are multiplying timidly but surely to denounce the “psychological violence” performed by very charismatic troupe leaders. Last year, just a few weeks before the start of the Avignon festival where Krystian Lupa was expected as an unbeatable star, an unprecedented mobilization of show technicians, denouncing the behavior they considered harmful of the Polish master, led to the cancellation of his visit to the City of Popes, the end of rehearsals not having been able to be ensured in time for the event. Currently scheduled until July 9 at the Paris Opera, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker is also expected at the Montpellier Danse festival with her collaborator Radouan Mriziga on July 1 and 2.
