Amazing Alexander

Door: Lena Paulsen

Amazing Alexander

Aneckxander, which is the name of Alexander Vantournhout ́s acrobatic dance show, is an extraordinary performance, and something I had never seen before. He appeared onstage dressed in a suit, holding plateu shoes in his one hand and wearing boxing gloves around his neck.

Even though I knew he would dance naked, the moment he undressed came so suddenly that I was shocked. First, I was overwhelmed by his naked body and his defined muscles, and for the rest of the show I was overwhelmed by what he was able to do with his body. I almost forgot he was naked but it came back to my mind in some other shocking moments.

The artist started to perform (literally!) without anything and then began to use the props he brought little by little. What I really liked was that he did not need a lot to keep the audience attentive. From time to time he kneeled down to his keyboard in one corner of the stage. The melancholic melodies he then danced to were those that he had just self-recorded.

What I found really special about this play was the atmosphere. I had never experienced a feeling like that in a theatre before. The whole performance was very serious, but funny at the same time. Alexander mainly had a serious facial expression, and in some situations it even seemed to me that he was suffering. For me he expressed imperfection and human vulnerability. There were no words, but there was still nonverbal communication, especially through eye contact with the audience.

Seeing him stretching his neck or making other pretty awkward movements, I had to laugh. The artist himself smiled a couple of times, too. For me it felt like he wanted to fool the audience, for example when some lights around the stage seemed to catch fire and he waited for reactions. Also, in the end he seemed to test us. After a big applause people started to leave. The artist however continued his show. Everyone was confused. To be honest, it made me feel uncomfortable because I found it impolite that people were leaving, which caused me to then feel sorry for the artist. When there were only seven people left around me, I decided to leave too. Looking back on it now, I find it very fascinating how he could make you so unsure without saying anything.

If you want to see an acrobatic talent packed into an almost mystical atmosphere, you should definitely take the next chance to see the naked, dancing, Aneckxander.



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