Salva Sanchis at work

(The Phantom Layer © Reinout Hiel)

The Kaaitheater is holding a Kunst/Werk Week in which the choreographer Salva Sanchis is responsible for two of the three shows, the sophisticated The Phantom Layer and the experimental “Trigon”. Sanchis himself will not appear onstage: “I wanted to experience for myself how my choreography develops.”

Kunst/Werk (“Art/Work”) is a dance organisation run by the choreographers Marc Vanrunxt and Salva Sanchis. Since 2009 the platform has produced both men’s artistic projects. Together, they have also developed, sometimes in cooperation with other artists and collectives, “radical artistic practices and research”.

Where does the title The Phantom Layer come from?
Salva Sanchis: I borrowed the term from the world of graphic art. What is left after the drawing of an image is completely erased is called a “phantom layer”. Symbolically, the title refers to everything that has an influence on our actions of the moment: our past and our desires, our expectations and disappointments. It refers to the totality of possibilities alongside what actually is.

Stanislav Dobak, Manon Santkin, and Peter Savel do the dancing. You remain absent yourself. A deliberate choice?
Sanchis: I wanted to experience for myself how my choreography develops. So I decided not to dance and just observe. I wanted to offer constructive comments and have constructive discussions with the performers and also guide the production. For the first time, things didn’t develop that much out of improvisation; instead, I put written material alongside free moments. That way, the improvisation was given a certain guided quality. I decided not to add any music, but that doesn’t mean there is no sound involved. The movements of the bodies, breathing, the squeaking of the shoes, the creaking of the stage, or a cough in the auditorium: together, they form a musical score that makes the performance more palpable.

(The Phantom Layer)

You worked closely with the video artist Pablo Castilla, who started filming at the very first rehearsals. What was his influence?
Sanchis: When I can afford it, I like working with another artist. A dialogue definitely leads to a more fascinating work process and production. After working closely with the composer Peter Lenaerts, this was the first time I joined forces with Pablo, whose methodical, clean art has fascinated me for years. I invited him right from day one because I didn’t want him to just add something to the choreography, but to think about it intensively with us and be involved in planning it. Gradually we learned to intervene in each other’s activity. Which meant that the video took shape along with the performance. It gives it an extra dimension and offers a new perspective on the space.

(Trigon)

The second production this week, “Trigon”, is a reaction to Hardcore Research on Dance, a show presented in late 2011 by the dancer and choreographer Georgia Vardarou. Marc Vanrunxt also came up with a brief response.
Sanchis: This three-part work represents a completely different approach to what Kunst/Werk does. “Trigon” begins with my Double Exposure, followed by Vardarou’s original piece, and ends with Vanrunxt’s Automatisch. Vardarou dances the three pieces. It is very physical dance with live free jazz and noise music. And experimentation and improvisation will be to the fore in the Gašper Piano & Julien Chamla concert afterwards too.

KUNST/WERK WEEK • The Pantom Layer: 18/12, 20.30 & Trigon: 19/12, 20.30, €8/12/16, Kaaistudio’s, Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Vaakstraat 81 rue Notre-Dame du Sommeil, Brussel/Bruxelles, 02-201.59.59, www.kaaitheater.be