Wim Vandekeybus is a Belgian choreographer, dancer, filmmaker, and photographer. He founded his dance company Ultima Vez in 1987. He made a remarkable artistic debut with his first performance What the body does not remember, which, like his second piece Les porteuses de mauvaises nouvelles (1989), won a Bessie Award in New York. In his unique style, Vandekeybus has created milestones in the development of modern dance with his worldwide touring performances.
Up to now, Wim Vandekeybus has created around 40 pieces, often collaborating with composers such as Thierry De Mey, David Byrne, David Eugene Edwards, Arno, Charo Calvo, Marc Ribot, and Trixie Whitley. Visual artists such as Vincent Glowinski/Bonhom and Olivier de Sagazan, as well as architect Gijs Van Vaerenbergh, were also involved in his creations.
Among his most recent pieces, Mockumentary of a Contemporary Saviour (2017) and TrapTown (2018) reveal his disquiet about the current political state of the world. While Traces (2019) focuses on the troubling relation between the human race and nature, his creation Hands do not touch your precious Me (2021) dives into the ancient Mesopotamian myths. In 2022, for the 35th birthday of Ultima Vez, he made Scattered Memories, with past dancers of the company together with current ones, and with old scenes reinterpreted and taken inside out; it was premiered at ImPulsTanz – Vienna International Dance Festival.
During 2020, he worked with the International Theatre of Amsterdam choreographing Ivo van Hove’s Age of Rage and created a new piece with the London-based Rambert Company, Draw From Within, which was awarded the UK National Dance Award for Best Digital Choreography.
Wim Vandekeybus directed several dance movies, including Blush (2005), Here After (2007), and feature films Monkey Sandwich (2011) and Galloping Mind (2015).
2024
