‘Encounter’ is what the performance is about. Can five individuals with a mind of their own truly meet and connect? And to what extent is their encounter influenced by the fact that three of them have Down syndrome?
Lisi Estaras develops a choreographic pattern of dance phrases and frames that are the result of associative thoughts and impulses. She does this together with professional dancers Nico Vladyslav and Anna Calsina and the three Platform-K dancers, Kobe Wyffels, Hannah Bekemans and Fernando Amado. Lisi translates the associations and improvisations into an abrupt and energetic dance language. She calls this way of working/thinking the ‘monkey mind’.
For Lisi, it is the first time that she works with people with a disability. She is truly fascinated by the internal life of Kobe, Hannah and Fernando, the three dancers with Down syndrome. But some barriers may have to be broken down in order to understand their way of looking at the world.
Is it possible to make contact? To connect? That’s what Lisi and her five dancers try to find out in Monkey Mind.
Platform-K offers dance training/classes and a performing stage to dancers with disabilities.
With its projects, Platform-K challenges people with a handicap and regular artists to work together and create new art forms, dance and movement language.
In 2013, The Beast In The Jungle (coproduction with het KIP) premiered. Inspired by Henry James’ novel The beast in the jungle from 1903, Oliver Roels and Charlotte Dhaenens created a duet for Taha Ghauri (P.A.R.T.S) and Kobe Wyffels (permanent dancer with Platform-K).
The performance was reviewed in De Standaard, De Morgen and Het Nieuwsblad, among other newspapers.
The international project You Et Vous took place in 2015. It was a major collaboration between four different dance organizations for people with disabilities. StopGap Company from London (UK), Indepen-dance from Glasgow (UK), Micadanses from Paris (FR) and Platform-K (BE). It was performed in Ghent and Paris.
Platform-K and performance were on the VRT news (public broadcast).
Creation: Lisi Estaras
Creation and dance: Fernando Amado, Hannah Bekemans, Anna Calsina, Kobe Wyffels and Nicolas Vladyslav
Dramaturgy: Sara Vanderieck
Music/sound: Bartold Uyttersprot
Light: Carlo Bourguignon
Set: Nicolas Vladyslav
Costumes: Marij De Brabandere
Production: Platform-K
Coproduction: les ballets c de la b and CC De Grote Post
With the support of: CAMPO, Cera, City of Ghent, Province East Flanders, the Flemish Authorities
Bookings: Frans Brood Productions
Website: https://platform-k.be/
Social media: https://www.facebook.com/platformk.vzw/
