TWOOLS INTERNAT10NAL

It is a celebration because TWOOLS is turning ten. This is reflected in the spelling of this edition: TWOOLS INTERNAT10NAL. So far the format has provided a platform for almost forty choreographers, many of them young, most of them working freelance in the Netherlands.

For this anniversary edition, Ed Wubbe has invited four young, promising choreographers who work with international companies. The conditions are the same for them: the piece must be made in a short period of time and may last no longer than ten minutes.

The group of dance makers consists of Melanie Teall from Rambert Dance Company in London, Valerio Longo from Compagnia Aterballetto in Reggio Emilia, Loïc Perela from Donlon Dance Company in Saarbrücken and Eric Gauthier from Gauthier Dance in Stuttgart. Alongside them, Scapino dancer Lucas Jervies makes his debut as a choreographer. Between the guest choreographies, Ed Wubbe will create two short pieces with all the dancers of the company and five urban guest dancers. With them, he searches for a new dance style.

The much-praised dancer Melanie Teall started working as a choreographer in 2003. For TWOOLS she was inspired by the English romantic poet William Blake. She calls her piece Abstract Human. Valerio Longo made the transition from dancer to choreographer in 2004. His Hasmu shows four dreamers looking for true love. Loïc Perela won the Scapino Production Prize at the Choreographers' Competition in Hanover in 2007, and joins the Scapino dance team. For TWOOLS10 he created A Porte Fermée. Lucas Jervies previously performed as choreographer during Korzo's Spring Awakening. His Dream Masquerading, a chorus is a strikingly designed metaphorical piece with an abstract spoken text about chess.

Eric Gauthier, who just founded his own Gauthier Dance in 2007, presents a funny solo for dancer Min Li. Ballet 101 is a crash course in classical ballet. Critic Sander Hiskemuller of Trouw appreciates the humour in this work and writes in his review: "The funniest ballet lesson you can have comes from the Canadian Eric Gauthier. In his 'Ballet 101', dancer Min Li uses the five classical ballet positions and a compelling voice-over to knit a hilarious choreography of one hundred (and one!) phrases from ballet classics. And that rightly results in many open wipes for this audience favourite."

To make the premiere night of this anniversary edition extra festive, the audience will be welcomed with live music by Rotterdam's Hellendaal Violin Institute upon entering.