Patchwork

You’re trying to introduce a variety of concepts. What are some of the themes you’re exploring?

Gwen: We’re leaving the themes entirely up to the choreographers themselves; we won’t be imposing anything on them. Although the intention is for each piece to be based on a strong concept, that concept can be about anything.

Paola: Mestiza always presents work linked to women’s stories. We once staged a piece about motherhood, the moment of giving birth, and how important it is to have a tribe of women around you. This year, we’re creating a piece about the grieving process following the loss of a loved one. Beyond our own companies, it’s simply crucial for us that there’s a story within it. Creation isn’t necessarily about showing how many turns or jumps you can do. It is, however, about how you can tell a story. We want the pieces to explore that.

Eefje: First, I look at society, what’s going on there, and then I look at the people I have in my group that year. Right now, they’re young, adult women, a bit of an introverted group so we’re working on boundaries. That can apply to all areas: a collaboration, a friendship, inappropriate behaviour… When is it important to set a boundary, and why is it so important to dare to say no? We worked on that, because I wanted to convey the message that, as a young woman, you are allowed to set your boundaries. Other times I started from a particular art movement, something in the visual arts… Anything is possible!

Gwen: Sometimes I start with an idea I’ve come across myself. Other times it’s something that plays a role in society, for instance, last year I created a piece about herd behaviour. We also work in an interdisciplinary way. Two years ago we collaborated with a violinist, and from improvisation sessions a whole piece emerged based on that music. This year I’m working on the contrast between ‘on’ and ‘off’, in every sense of the word. The world is never completely ‘off’, and it’s difficult to find peace in that chaos. In short, we don’t want to create the pieces on our own, but together with our group. We are the choreographers, but we want the dancers to add value to this process, their input is invaluable. The festival is rather intimate, and the stories are almost always personal. I think you feel that as a spectator too, that each group can tell its own story. It’s not just beautiful to watch, but it really touches you.

The festival takes place three times a year: in Damme, Ostend and Ghent. How did you all come together? And how does the collaboration between the three cities work?

Paola: After Gwen had organised the first edition on her own, she started looking for co-organisers. We’d got to know each other through colleagues, and she brought the three of us together. We’re on the same wavelength when it comes to our ideas, creations and concepts, so it felt natural to team up.

Gwen: In terms of the programme, we offer partly the same line-up in each city. At the start of the year, we decide which companies we’ll be working with on a regular basis, and they perform at all three venues. Then we each supplement the programme with young artists, preferably from the local area. That variation per venue is what keeps Patchwork interesting: we can give more people a chance to perform, and it’s worth coming to see it three times.

Eefje: It’s also partly because we’re spread out that the concept works. We now bring the festival to theatres where our concept fits, which isn’t always a given. It’s also nice that the dance performances don’t always have to be in Ghent, but that we can also bring dance to Damme and Ostend. That way, we also encourage local people to come and watch.

Paola: It’s also nice for the companies that it’s in three cities, it feels to all of us like a tour of Flanders. And because there’s time between the different performances, we really see the pieces grow and evolve from Damme to Ostend and Ghent.

It’s incredibly inspiring to see how the three of you have been able to work so well together for so long. The respect you have for one another is really evident. What do you hope to achieve with Patchwork? When would you say an issue has really been a success?

Gwen: There’s still plenty of room for growth, and we aim to improve our operations year on year. Looking forward, we want to reach even more young creators and strengthen our existing connections. Due to the huge demand for performance opportunities, we sometimes receive too many applications, meaning we can’t actually offer a place to everyone, and we’d prefer to change that. We want to develop a new application procedure, and perhaps reach out directly to professional training programmes.

Paola: However, it is not our aim to organise a massive festival. At the moment, it is an intimate project with room for many personal stories, which is at the heart of our ambition. Every year, we are very pleased with what we have achieved! Patchwork is a win-win situation for each of us: we offer young creators a chance to perform, and we can showcase our own new creations. In that respect, we succeed in our mission time and time again, despite the fact that there is still room for growth.

Eefje: It’s essential that there’s room to give each other honest feedback, even if we don’t always want to hear it. The aim isn’t just to praise each other to the skies, or to gloss over everything, but to dare to offer constructive criticism. Not technical niggles, of course! I’m not going to say that someone needs to stretch their toes more, but rather how a concept can be defined more clearly. I really love that this openness exists and continues to do so!

Gwen: That’s precisely the strength of our approach. At Patchwork, there’s always a very supportive atmosphere between all the groups. Whether they’re working with amateurs, semi-professionals or professionals… everyone respects one another. There’s also a cross-pollination throughout the whole process, which strengthens every piece.

Paola: The programme also makes room for solos, for example. It’s not just companies that are welcome. We fill every programme with both recent graduates and fully professional dancers. We really say: come on! Join in! That variety is also something we strive for in every edition: so you don’t have to spend the whole evening watching only groups of 20 dancers.