“Work/Travail/Arbeid”
Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker
Museum of Modern Art
New York, New York
March 29, 2017
by Gay Morris
copyright© 2017 by Gay Morris
In creating “Work/ Travail/Arbeid” Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker asked an important question: “Can choreography be performed in the form of an exhibition?” Her answer is on view through Sunday in the Museum of Modern Art’s Atrium. “Work/Travail/Arbeid” is derived from a one-hour piece called “Vortex Temporum” (score of the same title, composed by Gérard Grisey) that was created to be performed in a theater. De Keersmaeker has transformed it into a nine-hour cycle, with the choreography changing each hour over five days. The work is danced by De Keersmaeker’s company, Rosas, in collaboration with the contemporary musical ensemble, Ictus. This is not the first time “Work/Travail/Arbeid” has been seen. It has also been performed in Brussels (where De Keersmaeker is based), at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and at the Tate Modern in London. In each venue De Keersmaeker adapted the piece to the particular space, which differed markedly in each instance. She has continued this process at MoMA.
Rosas company dancers in Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s "Work/Travail/Arbeid" at The Museum of Modern Art. Photograph © 2017 The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Photo by Julieta Cervantes.