Rosas Hoppla

A film by Wolfgang Kold based on two choreographies of Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Mikrokosmos & Quatuor nr. 4

1989, 52 minutes, colour

In the film Hoppla! made by Wolfgang Kolb, two choreographies by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker are brought together and performed to the music of the Hungarian composer Béla Bartók: Microkosmos, seven short works for two pianos and Quatuor nr. 4, Bartók's fourth string quartet. The reading room of the University of Ghent library, designed by the famous architect Henry van de Velde (1863-1957), served as location.

During filming the music was performed live by the pianists Walter Hus and Stefan Poelmans on the one hand and by the Netherlands Mondriaan Quartet on the other. Mikrokosmos is a 'pas de deux': for the first time a male dancer enters Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker's universe. Four girls/women dancers perform to the string quartet. In Van de Velde's open space lit by large windows the black clothing of the dancers sharply outlines their movements.

One senses an immense complicity between the musicians and the dancers: the exhilaration of playing music together and dancing simultaneously is as it were the artistic motor of this project. In Hoppla!, Bartók's dansant music, De Keersmaeker's inventive choreography, Van de Velde's austere space, and Wolfgang Kolb's dynamic editing are equally merged into one enormous convincing composition: therefore Hoppla! can be rightfully considered to be one of the milestones of the, still in its infancy, 'video-dance genre'.

The choreography Quatuor nr. 4 was created in 1986 as part of the Rosas production Bartók / Aantekeningen (Brussels, 16-05-1986, CBA-theater).
The choreography Mikrokosmos was created in 1987 as part of the Rosas production Mikrokosmos / Monument / Selbstporträt mit Reich und Riley (und Chopin ist auch dabei) / Im zart fliessender Bewegung / Quatuor nr. 4 (Brussels 01-10-1097, Kaaitheater / Les Halles de Schaerbeek).