ICK Amsterdam x Kris Verdonck  I/II/III/IIII

The balance exercise between human control and submission to the machine is kept up until the end. This is precisely what makes I/II/III/IIII so intriguing ......

—De Standaard

Fascinating visual art with moving bodies

— Parool

But then there is also the unpredictable movement and balance (or imbalance) of the mobile beam at whose mercy the dancers are and which forces them into a sophisticated interplay with the machine, sometimes creating order and at others leading to chaos. ...... and thought that you would want to see the whole thing four times over.

—Francine van der Wiel in NRC Handelsblad

Each new constellation follows the same rules, but the impact gradually increases, further highlighting the key theme: Where is the line between machines that are convenient extensions and machines that determine our actions and perhaps even our thinking?

—Trouw

Verdonck stylizes and slows this performance down in complete detail

—Volkskrant

A timeless swan song

—Theaterkrant

I/II/III/IIII is a theatrical installation created in 2007. Four "identical" female dancers hang like marionettes in a huge “machine”. Performance artist Kris Verdonck generates the choreography: a solo, a duet, a trio and a pas-de-quatre. They seek the greatest possible freedom from the machine, but sooner or later it sends them in the direction it decides. The images evoked by I/II/III/IIII are multi-layered and ambiguous. The dancers remind us of graceful swans, but also of animal carcasses being dragged along, hovering angels, falling human bodies and everything in between.

In directing this piece, Verdonck attempted to connect the opposing forces of freedom and determination. How can space be given to the dancers while functioning within the demands of the machine? The research conducted in I/II/III/IIII – just like in Kleist’s tale of the puppeteer and his puppet – consists of getting to know the machine and becoming subordinate to the movements it is able to execute.

Kris Verdonck, Concept & Director

Kris Verdonck was trained in visual art, architecture and theatre. These three disciplines influence his works, in which he stages intimate relationships between living beings and cold machines. Verdonck adapted the theatrical installation I/II/III/IIII in 2017 and is to develop a new creation with ICK Amsterdam in 2018.

As director and visual artist he has had wide-ranging projects, such as END (2008), Actor #1 (2010), K, a Society (2010), M, a reflection (2012), performance H, an accident (2013), UNTITLED (2014), ISOS (2015), and IN VOID (2016). Recently, Verdonck directed BOSCH BEACH (2016), an opera based on a libretto written by Dimitri Verhulst with music composed by Vasco Mendonça. Verdonck is currently associate artist at the University Paris-Sorbonne.

ICK Amsterdam

ICK, directed by Emio Greco and Pieter C. Scholten, is an acclaimed dance platform that produces international performances, guides guest artists and initiates various education projects. As the Amsterdam City Company for Contemporary Dance and as the resident company of Theater De Meervaart, ICK contributes to dance development in the city in which it is located. The dance ensemble of ICK is distinguishable by the specific dance language developed by the choreographers. The intuitively moving body is central to their works. The repertoire of ICK possesses a special quality of communicating deeper layers of meaning to the audience, while also attracting spectators who merely wish to enjoy the beauty of dance. The company has received various prestigious prizes and toured all over the world during the past 20 years.

Concept & direction / Kris Verdonck
Dancers / Helena Volkov, Kim Amankwaa, Natascha Dejong, Sophia Dinkel
Dramaturgy / Marianne van Kerkhoven
Costume design / Shampoo & Conditioner
Light design / Luc Schaltin
Music / Stefaan Quix
Production / ICK Amsterdam, A Two Dogs Company