Cesena

The start of the day

For Cesena Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and Rosas worked closely with Björn Schmelzer and his graindelavoix ensemble. This production might almost be called the counterpart to its predecessor, En Atendant. Whereas in that piece the twilight merged almost imperceptibly into night, this piece heralds the start of the day. The stage is shared by 19 dancers and singers who explore the limits of their ability. Dancers sing and singers dance, once again in dialogue with the wilful 14th-century scores of the Ars Subtilior. For the third time, Ann Veronica Janssens has collaborated with Rosas for a set design, providing a sculpture of passing time, of the constant transformation of what is around us and of what only becomes visible in the course of time. The start of a new day, or a new look at a distant past.

In 2010 and 2011 Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker created two productions for the Avignon Festival: En Atendant, danced  in the Cloître des Célestins, and Cesena, on the Cour d'Honneur at the medieval Papal Palace. Only natural lighting was used. In En Atendant evening passes into night, while Cesena is set at the crack of dawn.

Both performances were subsequently staged at La Monnaie in Brussels, but this season audiences can experience them in an 'authentic' re-enactment, using only the light of day in a setting that is equally magnificent and medieval: the ruins of the abbey at Villers-la-Ville. Villers-la-Ville is about 50 km from Brussels and is accessible by train: the station at Villers-la-Ville is on the Ottignies-Charleroi line, 2 km from the abbey.

Carpool to Villers-la-Ville, check this Facebook event page.