Alexander Vantournhout

© Tom Van Mele
© Tom Van Mele

Bio

Alexander Vantournhout (1989, BE) studied single wheel, juggling and dance acrobatics at ESAC (Ecole Supérieure des Arts du Cirque) and contemporary dance at P.A.R.T.S. He has created several solos including CAPRICES (2014) and ANECKXANDER (2015, co-created with Bauke Lievens), which won the Circus Next award and the Public and Young Theatre Prize at Theater aan Zee, and was selected for the Aerowaves Network and Het Theaterfestival. For Raphaël (2017), Alexander and Bauke became artists-in-residence at KC nona. Alexander is Cultural Ambassador of the City of Roeselare, associated artist at PERPLX (Marke) (2017-2019) and artist in residency at Vooruit (2017-2021).

Alexander has taught regularly at ESAC and ACAPA (Academy for Circus and Performance Art, Tilburg). As a guest lecturer, he has taught at P.A.R.T.S., CODARTS and Vertigo. After graduating from P.A.R.T.S., Alexander continued his studies, travelling to Vermont to study (contact) improvisation with Steve Paxton and Lisa Nelson. Recently he has become connected to Movement Culture, the company founded by Ido Portal, through which he has exchanged information with, and studied under, Martin Kilvady, Ido Portal and Fighting Monkey. Alexander has been a member of the Fighting Monkey Research Team (Rootlessroot) since 2017.

Alexander's movement language is influenced by different pedagogical processes and by working across several fields within the arts. Two constants within his artistic pursuits are a search for creative and kinetic potential in physicality and an investigation into the many aspects of the relationship between performer and object.

Projects