Still Standing You

Campo /

Ghent (Belgium)

#FTA_standing

Man to Man
No taboos, no pretence. The relationship between Guilherme Garrido and Pieter Ampe is built on contradictory urges, and the Portuguese-Belgian duo portrays them unabashedly in still standing you. Are they friends, lovers, brothers, rivals? Impossible to say, but what is obvious is that their confrontations are rough-and-tumble. From slaps on the back to strokes of a leather belt on bare skin, from power struggles to acts of rebellion, they test the strength of their bond, each constantly pushing the other against the ropes of an imaginary boxing ring. The violence is nonetheless softened by scathing humour. Their gasping, sweaty bodies are rooted above all in complicity, trust and mutual tenderness.

These two young atypical European artists have been pursuing their dance research for a number of years. Tearing apart the silence of a bare stage with raw, virile power, they offer a novel take on masculinity and dance. Testosterone guaranteed!

Guilherme Garrido

Guilherme Garrido, Eclectic Nomad
Initially trained in visual arts in Portugal, Guilherme Garrido worked as a dancer and musician, but also filled in as a writer or videographer if need be. His encounter with Ampe led to Still Difficult Duet (2007) and Still Standing You (2010) as well as the amateur musical group Di CAMPO Boys, named after the Ghent arts centre that gave them an artistic residency and produced their first piece. He spends his time between Portugal (where he co-founded the cultural centre 555), Belgium and Holland, where he also works with the choreographers Maria Clara Villa-Lobos, Ibrahim Quraishi and Tommy Noonan.

Pieter Ampe

Pieter Ampe, Flemish New Wave
Trained in dance and theatre, the Flemish artist Pieter Ampe had already begun his professional career while studying with Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker. While still a student at her school, he created with Garrido Still Difficult Duet and On Stage at the CAMPO centre, an incubator and showcase for choreographers of all ages and backgrounds. That led to several other pieces, including Maria Theresia entdeckt die zeitgenössische Kunst, a collaborative work created with a visual artist, a choreographer and two performance artists. Always keen for new experiences, he occasionally dances for other artists and also for a noise-rock group.

Press Quote(s)

“And my God, I haven’t been this excited by a dance work in years. (…)There’s no music, no set, nothing on the well-lit stage bar our odd couple: Garrido a swarthy Portuguese chatterer; Ampe a wiry, wordless, ginger-haired mega-bearded Belgian. (…) Siamese dancers, noisy molluscs.”

Tim Atack, Inbetween Time Festival, 12/15/2010

“The result? A very entertaining farce that gives not only a portrait of a friendship but also raises questions about the strengths and limits of the physical body.”

Critical Endeavor, 10/27/2010

« Si confrontation il y a, c'est (…) en puissance et en acrobaties : corps catapultés, pirouettes rebondissantes, joutes ludiques d'une violente puissance. »

Pieter T’Jonck, De Morgen, 22/04/2010

“Two years after their first collaboration Pieter Ampe & Guilherme Garrido decided not to worry about what the current dance scene dictates and to chose radically for one light position and no set. They fight with their bodies: starting of as two bad boys, going into dangerous physical behavior and ending up really hurting each other, to end in beautiful body sculptures. Men never looked so beautiful”

De Morgen, 04/24/2010