Compagnie Thor

To the Ones I Love

In To the Ones I Love, Thierry Smits puts nine dancers of African descent on the stage. More precisely, for this choice is a vital one, he uses nine dancers whose complexions hark back to Africa. In short, they are dark – either black or of mixed race.

Thierry Smits's message is not political, however. It deliberately sets out to be aesthetic and refuses all concessions to exoticism.

The principle is to set bodies used to "Western" choreographic techniques but nevertheless shaped by other traditions and dances in motion. They dance in a white decor and are literally transported by Johan Sebastian Bach's music, by its overflowing generosity and immense virtuosity. The challenge is obviously to manage the unexpected outcomes of the meeting of different cultural references.

Bach’s music, within a soundscape by Maxime Bodson, carries this abstract choreography. There is no story; the message does not direct itself to the mind but to the senses. To the Ones I Love is a return to pure dance within an aesthetic composition and tells about the body in movement, the pleasure of dancing, and wishes to lovingly share this energy with the spectator.

From the first season on, To the Ones I Love has met a huge success among the public in Belgium and abroad. The international tour, which started in January 2010, is currently still on. To the Ones I Love is travelling in France, Germany, Croatia, Middle East, Palestine, Denmark, Poland, London, New York, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Finland ...