Fase II Fase

Dive into the compelling story of Lea Ved in this very inspiring episode. Lea is currently a dancer with the Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) in The Hague but she has traveled around the world a great deal way before she joined one of the best contemporary dance companies in the world. She has literally been going from phase to phase her entire life, moving a lot as a child, getting into Juilliard, breakdancing with Rubberband, joining the Royal Swedish Ballet and ending up at NDT. In this episode you follow Lea on her journey as she dives into the pilar moments that have molded her career as well as the small moments in between that enriched her as an artist.

Lukas Dhont (1991) is a Belgian movie director who received worldwide acclaim with his first feature film ‘Girl’, which won a ton of prizes at various film festivals across the world. In this conversation Lukas generously shares his thoughts on making his new film and opens up about the insecurities and doubts that arise during the creative process.

Ève-Marie Dalcourt (1997) is a Canadian freelance dancer and artist and a dear friend of mine. After dancing with the prestigious Nederlands Dans Theater in The Hague for three years, she decided to dive into unexplored territory and become a freelancer. Rather than seeing this new phase as a plan B - people may find her young to have detached from the structure of a big dance company - she is embracing this new journey and getting the best out of it despite the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19. I had the pleasure of catching up with her and talk about her new projects and experiences, friends, past and current insecurities and aspirations.  Due the interview being an online recording the sound quality is lower. Thank you for understanding and enjoy the listen!

 - Jesse - 

Christophe Dozzi (1976) danced in various leading contemporary companies around the world, such as Jeune Ballet de France, Ballet Zurich, Nederlands Dans Theater 2 & 1, and the Goteborg Danskompani In 2004, he started freelancing as a dancer and choreographer’s assistant, as well as a guest teacher in companies such as NDT, the Goteborg Danskompani, Wuppertal Dansteater Pina Bausch and the Forsythe Company…  I invited Christophe into my home - which by now is somewhat turned into a studio - for a deep conversation about topics that we don’t always take the time to reflect on, from the essence of classical ballet to the challenges of current contemporary choreographers. 

 - Jesse -  

This interview was recorded respecting the current Covid-19 measures in The Netherlands. 

Yoann Bourgeois (1981) trained as a cirque artist and founded his own company about a decade ago made up of a collection of artists that create and perform a variety of movement based work. Wether the set consists of multiple trampolines, a turning, floating or suspended platform, a water tank or a table with chairs, Yoann has a poetic, intelligent, almost philosophical approach to movement theatre. It is all about the game and its rules. He has since then expanded his material beyond his own company, which resulted in seeing his work in an Apple AirPods commercial to creating a new piece for the Nederlands Dans Theater 2 and 1.  

Marie Bourgeois has been working with Yoann for several years, both as a performance artist and as an assistant. She knows the 'ins and outs' of a creation process, grows with the work and feels like being on the outside - assisting Yoann - complements her abilities to contribute to the work. 

I couldn't be more excited for this creative duo to have accepted my invitation to be on the podcast, and I'm thrilled to share their calm, intelligent and inspiring words with you.  

- Jesse - 

Sebastian Kristensen Haynes (1994) is a Danish-American professional dancer who has danced with the Royal Danish Ballet for several years before joining Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) for 3 years. NDT is one of the most prestigious contemporary dance companies is the world and holds an extremely high standard for all of its dancers. Now, Sebastian is moving on to a new chapter in his life, leaving life as a company dancer behind in order to challenge himself creatively and artistically.