Modern dance delights in HK Arts Festival

Kevin Ng March 17, 2026 16:14

“Rosas danst Rosas” is an early work of the renowned Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker created for her modern dance company Rosas. This 1983 work was first presented by the Hong Kong Arts Festival in 1994, and was performed again last week in this year’s Festival after three decades.

This piece, which lasts for 100 minutes, is divided into four movements and a coda, and is performed by four female dancers. Based on a limited number of steps, each phrase seems to repeat endlessly but with a variation every time. Occasionally, one of the dancers performs a solo.

The first movement, which is danced in silence, takes place at night when each of the dancers regularly falls down to the floor to sleep. The second movement is danced to a powerful recorded score by Thierry De Mey and Peter Vermeersch. The lighting brightens up and we see the four women performing with 11 chairs. It is in the morning, and the four dancers perform robotic movements that seem to depict their daily job.

In the third movement, a dancer seems to be daydreaming, being away from the group of the other three dancers. This dancer also fiddles with her blouse repeatedly.

The fourth movement is a joyful celebration. Each dancer regularly runs a hand over her hair, which is a recurring motif. The coda is again danced in silence like in the beginning of this piece. The pace is slow, and the dancers seem to be resting after their performance.

All the four dancers, who were continuously on stage for this very long work, were superb. “Rosas danst Rosas” seems so fresh as if it were created only yesterday instead of over 40 years ago. Despite its length, it isn’t the least boring. Somehow the repetition and variation of the steps create its own drama. It is a modern dance masterpiece.

The second programme shown by Rosas in Hong Kong was a new piece “Brel”, which was only created last year by De Keersmaeker. Lasting for 100 minutes, this work is an extended duet for De Keersmaeker and Solal Mariotte, a young dancer who only joined her company Rosas in 2023. Mariotte was trained initially in breakdancing. It’s interesting to see the choreographer, now in her mid-60s, dancing with this dancer who is only in his 20s.

This piece, which pays tribute to the famous Belgian singer, Jacques Brel, is set to many of his songs. Typical of De Keersmaeker’s style, the vocabulary which includes spins and turns is narrow. However, unlike the earlier work “Rosas danst Rosas”, this work has its longueurs. The choreography becomes repetitive after a while.

Strangely there does not seem to be much heated passion between the two dancers. There is an exciting solo for Mariotte to show off his background in breakdancing. Videos of landscapes are projected onto a white backdrop at the back of the stage. Towards the end, there is a quarrel between the couple, and they are separated at the curtain fall.

“Brel” is disjointed and lacks cohesiveness. Nevertheless, the performances of De Keersmaeker and Mariotte were excellent.

Photo – Rosas danst Rosas
Courtesy of HK Arts Festival

Kevin Ng

veteran dance critic