“It's about being there with open empty hands. Like holding a hand in water. Water cannot hold you, but it can momentarily flow through you and be pleasant. If you make a block of your hand, it flows next to it and you have nothing to do anymore with the water. “
This quote is from Dora van der Groen, one of the most influential figures in the Flemish theater world, and portrays the actor's sensibility on stage.
In a lecture performance Assia Bert brings stories of, and conversations with former students and former colleagues, and books from the Dora cabinet on stage. She gives the actress, pedagogue and director a symbolic place on the art campus.
Met open lege handen is also presented, a book in which Assia brings Dora van der Groen into a conversation with Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and Herman Teirlinck, who were both influential for Dora. Met open lege handen was made in collaboration with Track Report, the publication platform of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp.
PRACTICAL
Met open lege handen
The legacy of Dora van der Groen, a lecture performance and book presentation by Assia Bert
Wednesday, May 2, 2018, 8:00 pm
Yellow hall, Royal Conservatoire Antwerp
Free after registration via tinyurl.com/metopenlegehanden.
In collaboration with the Royal Academy for Fine Arts, deSingel
This evening is the final piece of Assia Bert's research in which she investigated the vision of acting education at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp. How, for example, does the course positions itself in this 'post-Herman Teirlinck and post-Dora van der Groen' era?
Read more about the research The actor of today and tomorrow by Assia Bert with promoters Clara van den Broek and Luk Van den Dries: https://bit.ly/2GWmq01
Image: Noortje Palme