Solange Theys

Solange Theys (59) started dancing in the 1980s and practiced a large number of dance styles in a short time. She has spent the last ten years specialising in Oriental dance, particularly Tribal Fusion, but she and her 50/fifty dance company for dancers aged 50 and over are now returning to her roots in Butoh, contemporary dance and contact improvisation. Solange’s strength is that she focuses mainly on the expressive development of her dancers and not so much on their technical skills. Butoh dancers give expression to repressed thoughts and feelings, the ‘dark side’ of humanity. By seeking confrontation with their own subconscious, they try to bring about change in themselves and the audience.

Solange: “Above all, I want to show with 50/fifty dance company through the Great Belgian Dance Showcase that dance doesn’t have to stop when you reach the age of 35. You can certainly keep dancing as long as you listen to your own body. Kazuo Ohno was one of the founders of Butoh, and he performed on stage on his 100th birthday. He died at the age of 104!”