Biography
fABULEUS (Leuven) is a unique production house for dance and theater. The artistic collaboration between young talent and experienced makers is central. Sometimes there are young people on stage, other times young professionals. fABULEUS offers them the necessary framework to develop their talent and artistry as players, dancers or makers and also serves as an international example in this regard. fABULEUS reaches a wide audience of all ages with its productions, with special attention to young people and children. fABULEUS is one of the three city companies of Leuven. In 2011, fABULEUS moved together with several other Leuven artistic and art educational organizations to the Public Entrepot for the Arts (OPEK). There are offices, rehearsal rooms and also a large theater hall where fABULEUS presents its own work. From the first years onwards, fABULEUS has consistently put dance for a young audience on the agenda in addition to theatre. The house gradually took on a pioneering role in this area. In the 15-16 season, fABULEUS became the resident company for the Young Audience Program at STUK and has presented all its dance performances there since.
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In residentie SNAP XL
10.04.2017 – 15.04.2017
In SNAP XL, choreographer Talitha De Decker brings together everything that for her is the pinnacle of dance pleasure: virtuoso bodies, mathematical structures and the cool beats of ’90s music. Together with 14 dancers she creates a party that is both inviting and alienating. Disco movements merge into geometric patterns. Waves of symmetry pass through the moving mass. Let the rhythm ride you, guide you, sneak inside you, set your mind to move.
The cultural centers of Genk, Hasselt, Heusden-Zolder, Houthalen-Helchteren, Maasmechelen, Lommel and Tongeren joined forces to develop a professional stage project together with fABULEUS for young people with artistic ambitions. During the creation, the SNAP XL team traveled throughout Limburg.
In residentie Paradise Now
22.08.2017 – 25.08.2017
What remains of the legacy of May ’68? Together with 13 young people between the ages of 14 and 23, choreographer Michiel Vandevelde investigates how the world has evolved in the 50 years between 1968 and now. What happened to the values and ideals of the sixties? How do young people view history and how do they see their future?
The starting point is the legendary performance Paradise Now (1968) by the New York theater company The Living Theater. Inspired by spiritual texts such as I Ching (the book of changes) and the Kabbalah, The Living Theater tried to entice the audience into action by taking them on a four-hour ecstatic trip.
In this new creation, Michiel Vandevelde looks back to say something about the future. Can you still think about the future in a world seriously threatened by climate change? What are the ideals now that we have renounced ideology? How should you revolt now that the digital revolution has taken over the public debate? And yet, when 13 young people scan 50 years of history, in a wild choreography of iconic images, new perspectives may open up.