EXIT has been selected for the TheaterFestival 2023. The jury report states: "Four men encounter each other in an impressive installation of doors, walls, and floors. They try to find their own way, but crossing paths is inevitable. Sometimes they can go through a door together, while at other times, they deliberately obstruct each other. Like cat and mouse, support and adversary, individual and group, they appear and disappear in the whirlpool of social life. As they hurry faster, the patterns they traverse become more complex and thrilling. Is there any escape left?
With EXIT, acrobat and dancer Piet Van Dycke delivers a strong debut for his new company, Circumstances. The four virtuoso circus artists performing in it (Christopher Mc Auley, Luuk Brantjes, Samuel Rhyner, and William Blenkin) specialize in different disciplines: teeterboard, straps, trapeze, and acrobatic dance. Nevertheless, Van Dycke manages to choreograph them into one collective language through an exceptionally tight movement pattern.
For the jury, EXIT is the most thrilling circus performance seen in Flanders last season. It's not hard to understand why it also became a true hit among the general public: as the pace and music intensify, you find yourself on the edge of your seat. Wonder reigns, but it is never without purpose. Especially when the set itself starts spinning in a magnificent apotheosis, and the four acrobats become hamsters in a wheel, the risk of their daring game becomes a story in itself about our interpersonal interactions."
This work genuinely piques our curiosity about what else Van Dycke, as an 'up and coming' circus maker, has in store.
On a sunny afternoon, acrobat-teacher Aurelia Brailowsky, dancer-acrobat Det Rijven, choreographer Janni van Goor, and juggler Sander De Cuyper gather in the courtyard of Limerick to discuss a sensitive topic: aging.
Read the full article by Mahlu Mertens in Circus Magazine #75 (June 2023).
Choreographer Piet Van Dycke does not fit into pigeonholes. With his innovative mix of dance, circus and acrobatics, Belgium and the Netherlands have gained a new audience favourite. "Tricks don't interest me, but the way to get there."
Interview in De Standaard, by Charlotte De Somviele.
'EXIT' premiered during the Krokusfestival in Hasselt. This immediately generated some rave reviews in Focus Knack, Theaterkrant and Etcetera.
At the Krokusfestival in Hasselt, a children's jury voted for their favorite theater performance. EXIT is the winner of this edition.
The Oerol festival has not lost its appeal after two canceled editions. Also this year, the Dutch Wadden Island shows itself from its best side, with location theater in dunes, woods and barns (and sheep next to the stage). We premiered EXIT on the 10th of June at this beautiful festival with the location version.
Circus dance, music theatre architecture and worldly mime. Piet, Timo and Elias. Those are the names of the 3 new, completely original makers that will enthusiastically start this spring with a three-year PLAN trajectory.
ON/OFF premiered at Festival Boulevard and was performed at Festival Spoffin and Festival Circolo.
For the 23rd edition of DansClick, Piet Van Dycke was interviewed by Hasan Gök. The portrait video was shot by Conni Trommlitz and was shown on big screen after the performance during the DansClick tour.
“Danshuis” is a series about dance in which every episode a dance house is presented. During the various lockdowns, these kind of dance houses were the only places where dancers and makers could still work together. Hadassah De Boer meets the makers who continue to create new work despite the lockdowns. In episode 4, Club Soda takes centre stage.
Piet Van Dycke has won the BNG Bank Dance Prize 2021 and will be featured in the Netherlands next autumn during the DansClick23 tour. The prize for outstanding choreography talent was awarded on the 25th of June in Parkstad Limburg Theaters in Heerlen during the schrit_tmacher festival.
