Arco Renz Choreographer

Arco Renz first studied theatre and dance in his home city of Bremen before moving to Berlin and Paris. In 1995, he settled in Brussels, honing his talents under the guidance of Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and joining the first generation of the Performing Arts Research and Training Studios (P.A.R.T.S.) where he choreographed his first pieces. In 1994, he began studying dance and theatre in Asia under the guidance of traditional masters. In 2000, he created the Kobalt Works company in Brussels. His choreographic approach aims to translate an abstract language of the body stripped of all the frivolity which defines the human experience. His choreographic works for that company include Think Me Thickness (2001), Mirth (2002), Dreamlands (2003), Opium (2004), Bullitt (2006), Crack (2011), Coke (2014), Alpha (2014), East (2015) together with the solo pieces .states. (2001) and Héroïne (2004). From 1997 to 2001, he worked as an assistant to Robert Wilson and participated in numerous theatre, opera, and ballet productions. He assisted Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker on the production of the operas I due Foscari (2003) and Hanjo / Hosokawa (2004), and he worked with Luc Bondy on the world premiere production of Julie (2005) at the Théâtre Royal de La Monnaie. Following these encounters, he created P.O.P.E.R.A a specific forum dedicated to opera-based installations and performances.
In addition, Arco Renz has also been involved in contemporary dance workshops for actors and singers in Europe and Asia since 1998 and he has collaborated with the Bali Purnati Foundation for the Arts in Indonesia to promote exchanges between contemporary and traditional artists from Europe and Indonesia—a project that gave rise to the stage performance Dreamlands. He also created Monsoon, a centre for research and the performing arts for Asian and European artists.