Adventuress in the Thickets of Postmodernism. A Reflection on the Work of Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker

Both in Europe and America, choreographers these days seem to trust dancing less and less. Some of them, whose complex political or dramatic narratives demand the spoken word, have demoted choreography to an often inchoate emotional subtext. Only a few of De Keersmaeker's big pieces have been performed in the Unites States. However, from what the (American) author hears of her recent work — despite her interest in non-linear narrative and despite the theatrical luxuries that she has access to — she's still engaged by the emotional power generated by formal manipulations of movement in relation to music. That is her greatest strength as an artist.