Jan Martens

Born in Belgium in 1984, Jan Martens studied at the Tilbourg Dance Academy, then at the Antwerp Conservatory of Dance (2006). He worked as a performer for various choreographers (Koen De Preter, United-C, Mor Shani, Ann Van den Broek), before developing his own choreographic creations in 2009, nourished by the conviction that every body can communicate and has something to say. He defines his work as a retreat in which the notion of time becomes tangible once again, offering latitude for observation, emotion and reflection. To achieve this goal, he doesn't so much design his own gestural vocabulary, but works with and reuses existing idiolects in a different context to allow new ideas to emerge. He presents RULE OF THREE (2017) in collaboration with the American sound artist NAH as part of the Festival d'Automne in Paris, and any attempt will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones (2018) at the Festival d'Avignon. In 2022, his piece FUTUR PROCHE was presented in the Cour d'Honneur at the Festival d'Avignon. His work is regularly presented in Flanders, the Netherlands, France and Germany, as well as in theaters and festivals such as Dampfzentrale (Bern), Théâtre de la Ville (Paris), Dance Umbrella (London), Tanz Im August and Tanzquartier (Vienna), Usine-C (Montreal), Dansenshus (Stockholm) and Dansehallerne (Copenhagen).