Femke Gyselinck

Femke Gyselinck (b. 1983 in Belgium) is a dancer and choreographer. After graduating from P.A.R.T.S. in 2006, she worked as a freelance dancer with, among others, Eleanor Bauer, Andros Zins-Browne and Esther Venrooy. She worked for nine years as an artistic assistant to Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker/Rosas and is part of the P.A.R.T.S. faculty.

In her own work, Femke explores a dance language that is intricately interwoven with music, combining a brave performativity with subdued expression.

• Flamer (2018), a duet with brother and musician Lander, known for work on drums (with, among others, STUFF. and LABtrio).
• Lachrimae or Seven Teares (2018), a collaboration with Romina Lischka & the Hathor Consort, to the music of John Dowland & Annelies Van Parys.
• L’écho du Danube (2018), a collaboration with Romina Lischka & the Hathor Consort, to the music of Johannes Schenck.
• Pigmalion (2019), a miniature opera, a collaboration with dancers Bryana Fritz & Jasmin Gins Posada, set to live music by Apotheosis conducted by Korneel Bernolet.
• ERATO (2019), a short and intimate solo, set to the music of Palmistry, Gwilym Gold & Hiatus Kaiyote.
• Moving Ballads (2020), set to music composed by Hendrik Lasure, performed by Bryana Fritz, Hendrik Lasure, Sue-Yeon Youn & Femke herself.
• Letters 2 Dance (2022), a choreographic translation of Gymnastics of the Mind(2020), a research based on the book ABECEDA (1926).
• Change of Plans (2023), a musical dance performance co-produced by GRIP and Platform-K, in which Femke shares the stage with dancers Zanne Boon and Oskar Stalpaert and musician-composers Hendrik Lasure and Adia Vanheerentals.
• Currently Femke is working on 324 mountains between us, with musician Anushka Chkheidze, commissioned by europalia georgia, and premiering Nov. 18 2023 at arts centre nona, Mechelen. In 324 mountains between us, the artists show how Femke’s danced vocabulary and Anushka’s electronic compositions can sometimes bridge the distance between them but sometimes also increase that same distance.
• Femke is also working on Torment of Hearts, a collaboration with baroque ensemble B’Rock Orchestra that will premiere in 2025. Torment of hearts will be a dance performance that seeks to embrace the idea of loneliness.

Femke enjoys tapping into the creativity of others and is inspired by requests to collaborate from artists in theatre, dance and music.

• Choreographies for the following music performances: Court of Choice part I: PLAY(2019) and Court of Choice part II: ENTRE-CÔTES (2021), by Liesa Van der Aa & One Trick Pony
• Choreography for Faust Szenen (2022), an opera directed by Julian Rosefeldt, an Opera Vlaanderen & Montpellier Opera production.
• A project week with the dancers of Weld Company, Stockholm (2022) working from the sci-fi poem Aniara (1956) by Harry Martinson.
• Choreographic advice for Analoog (2022), a theatre performance by Louis Janssens & Willem de Wolf (De HOE).

Femke Gyselinck is one of GRIP’s artistic leaders. GRIP is a dance organization led by choreographers Jan Martens, Cherish Menzo, Steven Michel and Femke herself.