Dubbelspoor

Between composer Andriessen and dancer/choreographer Blankert, there existed an intensive bond and deep personal connection since their collaboration for De Stijl in 1985. As a tribute to this important composer (who passed away in 2021), Beppie Blankert Dansconcerten presents a new Dubbelspoor: the project he loved so much. They created the performance in 1986 and chose, alongside the choreography and music, Samuel Beckett’s ‘Texts for Nothing #7’, which seamlessly aligned with the chosen theme for the performance: ‘waiting.’ Everyone knows the feeling of wanting to disappear, to not be here in this moment, in this place. This can be interpreted as the passing of time, but also as the vacuum that precedes making a decision. In Dubbelspoor it manifests as a woman waiting in the desolation of a platform for a train that thunders past without stopping. But she is not alone. Who is that second woman, who keeps disappearing? Is what we see even real? It expresses passion but is never sentimental, not a concrete story but rather threads of thoughts. Besides the shadow melodies, mirroring is used; in the music as well as in the visuals and set design.

The original cast (Beppie Blankert, Caroline Dokter) from 1986 has now undertaken a renewed exploration of the research of Dubbelspoor. Two monitors show the small station with passing trains and both performers in 1986. On stage, now 39 years later, the waiting continues. With the

passing of years, the fluid mobility of the performers has been exchanged for contemplation and reflection. As Bob Dylan once sang, ‘I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now.’