Cherkaoui influences
Born in Anvers Belgium in 1976 to a Flemish mother and Moroccan father, Cherkaoui grew up in a multicultural, multi-lingual household with his father speaking Arabic, Spanish and french and his mother French and Dutch. He was raised with both dual-nationality and dual religion- he was influenced by both Catholicism and Islam
During his teenage years Cherkaoui loved watching Bruce Lee films, fascinated by kung fu movement in them. Hip hop was just beginning to influence mainland Europe and inspired by the music videos he saw on television, Cherkaoui began imitating artists such as Janet Jackson and Prince. During that time he took part in a dance contest with friends after school and someone from TV invited him to audition for television work, which he did and was successful. Whilst working for TV he was encouraged by other dancers to attend classes so he began learning jazz, ballet, hip-hop, flamenco and tap.
In 1995 at the age of 19 Cherkaoui, encouraged by his ballet teacher, entered a dance contest for the Best Belgian dancer, organised by Alain Platel (founder of les ballets C de la B). He won first place for his solo performance that he had choreographed combining vogueing, hip-hop and african dance.
Wim Vanderkeybus was on the jury for the contest along someone connected to the school of Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker (P.A.R.T.S- based in Brussels) and they suggested Cherkaoui enroll at the schools for the three-year training programme
P.A.R.T.S training- ballet, contemporary, improvisation, choreography, repertoire, history, yoga, shiatsu, Pilates, anatomy, theatre, music analysis, singing, rhythm studies, philosophy, sociology, performance analysis and management skills
In 1997 Cherkaoui was invited to join Les Ballets C de la B in Alain Platel’s ‘Let op Bach’
Alain Platel was Cherkaoui’s first professional mentor, known for ‘radical dance theatre
Main influences:
Wim Vanderkeybus- animal like movement quality through tension, conflict, impulses, physicality and instinct
Characterised by raw, explosive physicality, extreme danger, intense athleticism and intellectual, combative energy, often exploring the boundaries between human, animal and the catastrophic moment where control is lost
Contrasts stillness with sudden bursts of violent motion
Blends dance with elements of film, theatre and live music to create complex, challenging and often dreamlike performances
Intense theatricality- creates jaw-dropping spectacles that feel dangerous and unsettling, challenging audiences with their raw power and complex imagery
Juxtaposes intuition, impulse and instinct with energy, risk and danger
Anne Theresa De Keersmaeker- post-modern dance qualities such as gesture, repetition and work without narrative
Rigorous, minimalistic and mathematical approach
Deep connection to music
Often explores themes of time, space and the body’s relationship with it’s environment
Use of pedestrian movement
Movements are often repeated, shifted or offset, creating hypnotic, tribal-like enrgy
Despite the intellectual rigour, performances carry intense physical demand and convey deep emotional states, from playful to melancholic
Use of mathematics and geometrical shapes, creating precise spatial arrangements
Pina Bausch- emotional works with striking aesthetics and lyrical movements. Her works reflected social issues and questioned the male/female relationship at a time where views were polarised
Tanztheater- her signature style, merging dance with elements of theatre, speech, music and elaborate sets
Dancers often use fragmented, repetitive gestures, falls, pushes and primal movements that convey intense feelings, moving away from abstract dance towards visceral human experience
Pieces often lack linear narrative, instead presenting fragmented scenes that build emotional landscapes, challenging conventional dance forms
Stages often feature unique elements like water or large natural settings that become active participants, influencing the movement
Emotional depth- focusses on universal themes like love, fear, loss and alienation, revealing the subconscious and psychological states of individuals
Trisha Brown- studying the skeleton and anatomy though the teachings of release technique
Dual nationality- Cherkaoui was born in Belgium to a Flemish mother and Moroccan father
Pop culture through film and music- Bruce Lee, Janet Jackson and Prince
Social, cultural and historical influences on his works:
Post-structuralism/ Conceptual Art
Post-structuralism is the way that you look, interact with, portray and perceive objects. This approach was used with the wooden boxes in Sutra. The box isn't just a box (as a structuralist would perceive); it is used to show a boat, wall, coffin, graveyard, city landscape, metaphor for the mind etc.
Post-Modern Dance
Post-modern dance had become well established in both the United States and Europe.
The Judson Church in America had developed their practice in contact improvisation and pedestrian gesture
Merce Cunningham had developed his highly technical yet abstract methodology (or technique).
In Europe, particularly in Belgium and Germany, Tanztheatre (Dance Theatre) was evolving. Pina Bausch was creating works with elaborate set where performers spoke and performed repetitive yet symbolic gestures. Bausch blurred the boundaries between dance and theatre in order to provoke the audience's emotions through movement and occasionally, their participation.Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker had developed highly pedestrian and repetitive movements that were timed through pattern and accumulation.
Works were increasingly multidisciplinary and abstract in aesthetic with pure movement being the primary focus of works. This is something that Cherkaoui has adopted as he wanted the audience to appreciate the core essence of Kung Fu and not it superficial and cliché qualities.Post-modern works would often use conceptual art within works through the influence of Bauhaus and the cultural shifts within the arts in the 1960s. Art was becoming less pretentious, slang was incorporated into poetry, plays lacked a linear narrative and rock and pop music were increasing in popularity.
Inclusive Theatre
Inclusive dance - The role of the performer was shifting. A number of choreographers/ companies have used disabled dancers including Cherkaoui, Lloyd Newson (DV8), Alain Platel, Candoco and Stopgap Dance Co. Cherkaou has conducted workshops with intellectually disabled participants and made the work, Ook.
Feminism - questioning the role and image of women and men.
One of the reasons why Pina Bausch's work resonates with Cherkaou is because she isn't afraid to address social issues in her work. Throughout the 1970's and 1980's, as the second wave of feminism spread through the United States and Europe, Pina Bausch explored gender politics through her choreography and use of her dancers' bodies. With her company, Tanztheatre Wuppertal, full of strong female and male-bodied dancers, Bausch portrays socially political ideas and images. Her work includes highly gendered costuming, juxtaposition of violence and equality between the sexes, exploration of social roles, repetition, teaching, learning, and failing. Bausch has frequently remarked that most of her pieces deal with searching for love and intimacy, and relationships— particularly between men and women, with all their tensions and difficulties. Cherkaoui has said that Bausch's representation of men and women remind him of his parents who separated whilst he was still a teenager. This is far from the traditional representation of love typically associated with dance such as a pas de deux in ballet. Cherkaoui never felt that love was real in stories like Romeo and Juliet.
Tanztheater:
Translates to ‘Dance theatre’
A form that blends dance and everyday movement with theatre, speech, music and clever use of props and sets
Made dance more engaging and relatable
Opened doors for what dance was defined as
Allowed the inclusion of theatre, comedy and voice