Lisel x gorilla vs. bear takeover: Rosas Danst Rosas

Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker choreographed Rosas Danst Rosas in 1983. I saw it live at the American Dance Festival when i was a student there during college.

In the piece, four women repeat movements over and over again that are simple, contained, pedestrian, everyday, but expressive and evocative. Sometimes in unison sometimes out of phase with each other, they’re sitting in chairs for the entire first movement, and to me feel bound to their positions and to the relentless clockwork sound of the music. it’s amazing how you can express so much viscerally with bodies by doing so little — these small, repeated gestures end up feeling meaningful and huge. -- Lisel