Online programmaboek Up & Coming Choreographers '26

Het kleinste hart hoort het gevaar vaak als eerste.

Geïnspireerd door het historische gebruik van kanaries in kolenmijnen onderzoekt CANARY de waarde van een kwetsbaar leven. Kanaries werden gekozen vanwege hun gevoeligheid en fungeerden als een vroeg waarschuwingssysteem. Hun kwetsbaarheid hielp het leven van anderen te beschermen.

Het werk ontvouwt zich in de spanning tussen begrenzing en openheid. Lichamen streven naar orde en beheersing, terwijl er onder die inspanning iets zachts en kwetsbaars naar de oppervlakte blijft komen.

De kanarie is meer dan een waarschuwing. Ze wordt een symbool voor het idee dat gevoeligheid ook een vorm van kennis is. Dat juist wat het meest kwetsbaar is, vaak het scherpst waarneemt wat werkelijk van betekenis is.

Terwijl we steeds sterkere systemen bouwen om ons te beschermen tegen onzekerheid, ongemak en verlies, rijst de vraag: welk deel van onszelf moet open blijven?

Misschien is het signaal wel dat iets essentieels langzaam verdwijnt: een stille afname van tederheid, verwondering, empathie en ons vermogen om onszelf in elkaar te herkennen.

Want als we het vermogen verliezen om geraakt te worden door het verdriet van een ander, om ons te verwonderen over schoonheid, om samen aanwezig te zijn in het niet-weten, dan zal de stilte al zijn ingetreden voordat we merken dat de lucht is veranderd.

"From the very first moment Rachelle stepped into the studio, we felt her warmth, her generosity, and her deep care for genuine connection. She created a space where curiosity felt safe, where vulnerability became a source of strength, and where every voice mattered. Meeting a woman who leads with such honesty, courage, and love has been profoundly inspiring.

Throughout this creation, we weren’t only creating movement, we were asking questions together. About love and loss, about memory, about the invisible threads that bind us to one another.

This piece carries fragments of all of us. It holds the tenderness and complexity of relationships, the weight of grief, the joy of being seen, and the quiet resilience we often overlook. These are experiences we all share, yet so rarely give ourselves permission to speak aloud.

I hope this work invites us all to be present, to listen a little more closely, to meet one another with compassion, and to find the courage to share our own stories.

As this is my final time performing on stage with NDT 2, I couldn’t ask for a more special  farewell than sharing it with this extraordinary group of artists, and under Rachelle’s guidance.

Thank you, Rachelle, for reminding us that somewhere within each of us there is still a little bird waiting to be heard."

"Working with Rachelle has been a bubble of intimacy and sensitivity. As soon as the process started, I immediately felt a genuine curiosity and excitement from both ends to get to know each other, both on a artistic and human level. Rachelle has opened up beautifully, which has given space for honesty and vulnerability in the room at any given moment. I truly appreciate her trust and desire to hear us out on however we feel throughout the piece, and regarding the process.

I think Rachelle’s world is filled with humanity, sincerity and poetry. Often times she will feel first how movement needs to come out and then explain where it might come from or why she felt a certain way while creating it ; and this has been interesting for me to follow her blindly and allow both of us to discover what can magically come out of it, or make sense in (un)expected ways. I feel grateful and happy to have been able to support Rachelle as she dove in this sensitive realm, and I hope people will get to see/feel all the light and darkness contained in the work. 

Much love, César"

An afterimage.

An orchestral, blackbox story ballet.

A mosaic, galloping to a kneel.

*A special thank you to Aurélie Cayla, Lydia Bustinduy, Yuka Hisamatsu and Matan Daskal for their contribution and craft.

"Once we expand someone's mind, it becomes similar like the body of an orchestra. It plays the same score, yet there are millions of ways of approaching it. And each one of us reflects the mind. We have the same melody, we have the same directions, but we all have different experiences and sensations. Some of us are the strings, and some of us are the percussion. Some of us see violet, and some of us smell it. Some of us feel pride, while others feel sorrow. And it all lives within the same score.

We, the orchestra, unfold a story. Until the volume gets too loud, and the orchestra starts sounding too similar. The symphony screams, and all that's left is everything happening within the mind.

Working with Tom has been an immersive creative journey. From the very beginning, he guided us through creative tasks and playfulness. A lot of trust in the unknown and an endless curiosity about discovering what we wanted this piece to be. Throughout the entire process, the work has morphed into a beautiful scene—something that exists somewhere between dance, theatre, film, a painting, and a musical score. Through it all, Tom made sure it remained deeply human. He gave us the opportunity to create from our personal sensations, which is why I feel like I can be all versions of myself within this piece.

Thank you, Tom, for your generosity and your richness. For diving into this new world together, for trusting us to shape it with you. And for the never-ending exploration. Because the world is ever evolving, so is art, and so are we."

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