Dance Touring Partnership, Ultima Vez

The amazing debut of Wim Vandekeybus and Ultima Vez in 1987 stunned the world of dance at the time. Vandekeybus and composers Thierry de Mey and Peter Vermeersch received the prestigious Bessie Award in New York for this ‘brutal confrontation of dance and music: the dangerous, combative landscape of What the Body Does Not Remember. 28 years later and with a new cast, the show still stands as one of the most exciting pieces of dance ever made and is once again on an unmissable world tour.

Vandekeybus’ first piece of choreography balances on the razor edge of attraction and repulsion. Dancers are driven to act and react at high speed and with split second timing, to each other, and the music. Moments of humour thread through explosions of aggression, fear and danger in this adrenaline-fuelled distinctly physical performance.

“Tough, brutal, playful, ironic and terrific. Adjectives seem unduly passive in describing What the Body Does Not Remember, an extraordinarily innovative dance piece.” The New York Times, November 22nd, 1987