Insomnia/Tossing & Turning [dance video]

I love dancing on stage. I enjoy taking class, teaching, choreographing... but performing in front of an audience, that's the ultimate dance experience.

And I will stumble and fall

Every two years I get the chance to perform with the Kriskin dance studio. But not this year. After rupturing the cruciate ligament in my knee in dance class, I spent the performances last May in the audience. The brace and crutches kept me in my seat but I knew all the steps, felt the sorrow when they danced to ‘Say Something’ by A Great Big World & Christina Aguilera.

When dreams disappear

There was a story to the show 'Als dromen verdwijnen' about a girl in charge of dreams, dispensing from her magic suitcase the proper dream to everyone: dreams about love, adventure, happiness, heroism… But her suitcase full of dreams is taken from her and the dreams disappear.

Insomnia/Tossing & Turning

What happens when you can no longer dream? You toss and turn because you can’t fall asleep. That's what my choreography was about. I started working on it in January and in February had to stop dancing because of the knee injury. Don't tell my physical therapist but I did find a way to finish the piece and teach it to the dancers.

Die Gedanken haben Nachtrundgang

Last october I saw Pina Bausch’ ‘Le sacre du printemps’. This breathtaking performance was an inspiration for ‘Insomnia/Tossing & Turning’, as well as the way supporting characters entered and left the stage in the play 'De verwondering’ by Hugo Claus and directed by Bart Meuleman. The music also guided me and determined in a way how the piece evolved. The Turnhout audience wasn't expecting anything like Einstürzende Neubauten or (String Quartet Tribute to) Sonic Youth, but that's what they got.

Kool Thing, Kool Thing

I didn't get to perform last May but I did enjoy watching my choreography from the audience. I was a bundle of nerves the full seven minutes of 'Insomnia/Tossing & Turning' but the dancers did not let me down. Actually... Next time I want to use attributes I should stay backstage and count the pillows before the music starts!

For the video we can always count on Dirk Van Royen from Studio Luminance to do a wonderful job. Enjoy:

Bekijk het filmpje op YouTube

Unfortunate pirouette, the English account

More than 17 years ago I lived in the US. In the nineties I studied dance at the University of New Mexico. The initial plan was to spend one year at UNM in Albuquerque but I loved it so much I stayed for 4 years until I had earned my bachelor degree in fine arts (suma cum laude no less).

Afterwards I spent another year in San Francisco working for Impact, a lighting company, and dancing as much as possible. I look back on those five US years as the most wonderful, challenging and exciting years of my life. The three fun facets were sun, dance and great friends.

Thanks to facebook I have kept in touch with many of my fellow dancers at UNM. Some of them still dance, like Adrienne Clancy and inspirational teacher Bill Evans, many of them have switched to yoga (Kate and Melissa among others) and the flamenco women Stephanie and Julia are still as feisty as ever. I usually post in Dutch but this time my worried American friends deserve a full report they do not need to put through Google translate.

I'm not a professional dancer  but I still dance about three times a week. I occasionally teach dance class (I've taught weekly classes for five years and then decided I preferred taking class to teaching). Every two years I choreograph a piece for Kriskin, the dance studio I take class at. I wish I had the opportunity to choreograph more often...

My choreography two years ago,

dancing first row on the right

Last February - I was working on my choreography for the Kriskin show (it's this weekend!), rehearsals had started - I went to my Tuesday dance class to work on my technique and flexibility. It was a fun combination with a double turn ending in a jump, open - close - open. Over the years I must have done that move about a hundred times, the fifth time I did it that evening I messed up: my foot went one direction, the knee another. Result: I tore the anterior cruciate ligament and the meniscus in my right knee.

ACL reconstruction

The ACL stabilizes the knee during turns and quick stops, you definitely need it in dance. Thank God we still have afffordable health care in Belgium (yes, I'm worried about the upcoming elections, also this weekend). I had to wait a couple of months but last Wednesday I finally got a brand new ACL put in place by one of the best surgeons in the field. Dr Lagae specializes in knee surgery and has helped many professional athletes.

It will take six months of exercises with a physical therapist before I will be able to dance again. The Move to Cure team will get me back in shape. The expertise of Lieven Maesschalck and his team of therapists will get me to dance again as I did before. They're the top as well, working with our Belgian Red Devils for instance (I'm talking soccer now).

So, dear American dance friends, no need to worry. I'll be back on the dance stage before you know it. Although switching to yoga doesn't seem like a bad idea either.

Miss you all very much

Heidi double U

Suki John's 'The Human Engine', Rodey Theatre in the Fine Arts Center at UNM - March 28, 1993