Koen de Preter
Koen De Preter (1981, Belgium) is choreographer and performer. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in dance at Fontys Dance Academy Tilburg. As a dancer Koen has worked for several international companies and choreographers, including Sasha Waltz & Guests (Berlin), Raimund Hoghe (Brussels/Bruges), Fanny & Alexander (Ravenna), T.R.A.S.H. (Tilburg), Keren Levi (Groningen) and United-C (Eindhoven).
Koen got international acclaim with his breakthrough performance “We dance to forge” (2007) which toured for seven years in eleven different countries, and with his duet with 89-year-old dancer Alphea Pouget “J o u r n e y” (2013). In 2014, Koen created “15 Seconds of Fame”, a piece for young audiences, produced by Danish production house Aabendans (Roskilde).
In 2010 Koen made the duet Sometimes it’s there with Ulrika Kinn Svensson (Sweden). The duet was selected for the European Aerowaves tour and Dansclick in the Netherlands. At the beginning of his career he made a number of creations under the umbrella of fABULEUS (Leuven, Belgium), including the internationally successful We dance to forget with Maria Ibarretxe and his solo Les mots… toujours les mots bien sûr. Other productions were “The House That Built Us”, a site-specific collaboration with Antwerp based theatre collective UNM (2012), and “White things can change” with Maria Ibarretxe (Basque Country). This show was short-listed in 2011 for Circuit X, a quality label for young talent. The show was also presented at Het Theaterfestival in Brussels, which every year selects the best theatre and dance performances of Belgium and Holland.
From 2015 to 2017, Koen created three editions of “YoYoGi” at festival Zomer van Antwerpen. YoYoGi is a big participatory site-specific event, which transforms a park in the city into an artistic hangout full of dance, music, sports and games. Koen invited local artists and companies to give performances, concerts and workshops (Eastman, Koen Augustijnen, Jan Martens, Vera Tussing, Ann Van den Broek, Alek et Les Japonaises, Tuning People, Borokov Borokov, Katrien Oosterlinck…). YoYoGi was picked up by the European network In Situ and presented at Travellings Marseille.
In January 2020 Koen curated “Solo Night”, an evening programme of four short performances. Next to a rework of his own debut “Les mots…Toujours les mots bien sûr” from 2004, he presents the concert performance “Blade Racer”, created last year for Theater Stap performer Peter Janssens.
Koen got international acclaim with his breakthrough performance “We dance to forge” (2007) which toured for seven years in eleven different countries, and with his duet with 89-year-old dancer Alphea Pouget “J o u r n e y” (2013). In 2014, Koen created “15 Seconds of Fame”, a piece for young audiences, produced by Danish production house Aabendans (Roskilde).
In 2010 Koen made the duet Sometimes it’s there with Ulrika Kinn Svensson (Sweden). The duet was selected for the European Aerowaves tour and Dansclick in the Netherlands. At the beginning of his career he made a number of creations under the umbrella of fABULEUS (Leuven, Belgium), including the internationally successful We dance to forget with Maria Ibarretxe and his solo Les mots… toujours les mots bien sûr. Other productions were “The House That Built Us”, a site-specific collaboration with Antwerp based theatre collective UNM (2012), and “White things can change” with Maria Ibarretxe (Basque Country). This show was short-listed in 2011 for Circuit X, a quality label for young talent. The show was also presented at Het Theaterfestival in Brussels, which every year selects the best theatre and dance performances of Belgium and Holland.
From 2015 to 2017, Koen created three editions of “YoYoGi” at festival Zomer van Antwerpen. YoYoGi is a big participatory site-specific event, which transforms a park in the city into an artistic hangout full of dance, music, sports and games. Koen invited local artists and companies to give performances, concerts and workshops (Eastman, Koen Augustijnen, Jan Martens, Vera Tussing, Ann Van den Broek, Alek et Les Japonaises, Tuning People, Borokov Borokov, Katrien Oosterlinck…). YoYoGi was picked up by the European network In Situ and presented at Travellings Marseille.
In January 2020 Koen curated “Solo Night”, an evening programme of four short performances. Next to a rework of his own debut “Les mots…Toujours les mots bien sûr” from 2004, he presents the concert performance “Blade Racer”, created last year for Theater Stap performer Peter Janssens.
