KOEN AUGUSTIJNEN

In his choreographies Koen Augustijnen ingenuously blends contemporary dance, physical theatre, circus acrobatics and break-dancing with live music. Although performance is at the core of his practice, Augustijnen also made video works that stretch the definition of the notion of performance art and dance. During his studies in history at the university of Gent, Koen Augustijnen chose internships in the theatre section of the Conservatory of Antwerp and of Brussels. He made his debut in dance in 1990. A year later he joined Les Ballets C. de la B., a contemporary dance group founded by Alain Platel. Augustijnen soon became one of the leading choreographers of this company. In 1997 the artist wrote the concept for Portrait ‘Intérieur Première’. That same year he made the choreography for ‘To Crush Time’, for which he received an award. Together with the Belgian band Zita Swoon, Augustijnen produced ‘Plage Tattoo’ in 1999. As a choreographer he also worked with dEUS. This bond with music is prominently present in many of his works. In 2000 he created ‘Ernesto Solo’. Inspired by the main character of this dance performance, his brother and video artist Sven Augustijnen made the video ‘Ernesto ’C’est difficile de voir l’avenir. Je ne suis pas à demain. Je le verrai petit à petit’. Ernesto Cortes is a young hip-hop dancer, who’s story of the Chilean exile and of his family slowly takes shape through spontaneous interviews. The rehearsals for an upcoming dance performance run through the documentary like a thread. ‘Just another Landscape for some juke box-money’, in the spirit of the ’house philosophy’ of Les Ballets C. de la B., revolves around the encounters one can experience through dance. Augustijnen created this choreography in 2002. The next one, ‘Bâche’, he composed in 2004. In this dance performance six buddies become one body. ‘Bâche’ is a quest for tenderness and tranquillity in a world of aggression. Countertenor Steve Dugardin sings the songs of Henry Purcell live on stage, accompanied by the pianist and composer Guy Van Nueten. For ‘Import/Export’ (2007) Augustijnen worked with the same singer and composer. This time the starting point was French baroque music, to which Van Nueten added electronic music. In 2009 he also made a mass choreography for the video clip ‘Dance for the climate’ from Nic Balthazar. In 2011, he created in collaboration with TG STAN the performance ’Oogst’ (’Harvest’).