Date: 12/09/2006
Place: Laster Studio

Khosro Adibi says he does not belong to the so-called ‘Brussels dance community’, which he experiences as an artificial construction of people who mainly care about themselves. He intends to create his own community, which is not geographically determined and feels part of a bigger community of artists who are often gypsies like him. He does not have the need to stay informed about what is happening in the dance community and about the work of others. He simply does not have the time for it, being too busy with his own work. Adibi does not care much about visibility, as long as he is visible in his own community. Not belonging to the dance community gives him freedom : he does not have to meet the standards set by the community and can concentrate on his own work. As a consequence, recognition from the community is not important, but he does care about the opinion of the people he works with.

Adibi believes that the attraction of Brussels can be attributed to the few ‘giants’ (big recognized companies) : people move to Brussels because they want to get connected with those companies. Adibi has seen many dancers hanging around, waiting for a job in a big company and losing their spirit and physicality in the meantime. His advice to them is to keep dancing, even on their own or on a small scale to keep their most important instrument in shape : their body. Brussels does not really feel like home to him. What Brussels offers him is a rehearsal space and a curriculum vitae : his teaching and performing jobs in Belgium allow him to realize his own projects elsewhere. Not only financially, but also because the name of a big company on his cv via teaching company class convinces people and makes things possible. Travelling is a deliberate choice for Adibi. He travels to realize his projects and to find a place where he belongs.

Adibi believes that dance in Belgium is too bureaucratic and institutionalized. He does not feel like spending time at auditions or on complicated applications for subventions, which would only disconnect him from the essence: dance. Of course money is necessary to realize things. He finances his dance projects with the money he earns by teaching. Another kind of material support of his creativity is his rehearsal space. But he stresses that the focus should always be on dance for the sake of it. He gives the example of dancers who take workshops to become able to distinguish themselves from others in auditions. The investment of doing a workshop should not be made to gain prestige but for the sake of dance itself.

According to Adibi, society supports artists who choose one segment of art and stick to that for the rest of their life. He does not adhere to this system : when he masters something, he wants to move on to something different.


(Remark : a possible explanation of the high importance of dance/images for Adibi is that this is a more effective way of expressing himself than spoken/written language. He has no mother tongue : he lost his native language by not using it anymore so he has to rely on English now.)

abroad – registered – discriminated – tolerant – aiming for – gypsies – excluded – no man’s land – feeling of sharing – international network – giants – spirit – attitude - bombarded – feel connected – space – grow fast – at midnight best focus- crystallize – cv - flexibility – improvisator – challenge - wave length – adjust – catch up – choices – sensitive people - no logic – uncomfortable – breathe – survive – focus – cook – another trick – complication – flow – film – desire - energy – bubble – about to leave to Argentina – artificial – filter through the mind