"They didn't know it was impossible, so they did it" – Mark Twain
With this punchy one-liner, we can best describe the driving forces behind Junior Ballet Antwerp: Alain Honorez & Altea Nuñez, a dynamic duo. Two artists with an impressive portfolio. With their years of stage experience on national and international platforms, they now guide and inspire emerging talent. Over the past decades, Belgium has evolved into an international dance hub, an ideal foundation to build upon, and they're doing so with gusto. This tandem has delivered outstanding work in recent seasons through their strong and inspiring leadership. Their approach with this experience-focused program for dancers is to facilitate the complex transition from student to professional. Excellence and performance are paramount. Equally important: understanding and respect among dancers, teachers, dance coaches, and choreographers. Meanwhile, JBA has grown into an organization that's made its mark nationally and internationally, boasting an impressive track record with 80% of alumni finding work within and outside Europe within two years of completing the program.
Previous productions have been impressive: Cinderella, James, Furore… so expectations are sky-high. 'FLOW' is a triptych of contemporary creations, inspired by the fluidity of dance and brought to life by three distinct makers: Altea Nuñez, British choreographers Douglas Lee and Ihsan Rustem. Each chose a different soundscape.
'Horizon'
Choreography by Altea Nuñez, music by Hans Zimmer and Jan A.P. Kaczmarek
The talent of in-house choreographer Altea Nuñez has had time to mature. She doesn't rest on past successes but continues to evolve. For an artist, adaptation and renewal are never-ending processes. In this choreography, she no longer sticks to a predetermined framework; this is a creation that has taken a different path and developed stylistically. She chose the music of Hans Zimmer from the film 'Dune' as her catchy hook, evoking images of deserts, rituals, and colors. The beautiful lighting by Gloria Montesimos creates atmosphere and completes the picture. In improvisation sessions with the dancers—a creative group—she found the images she was seeking. Exploring, experimenting, without being heavy-handed. The movement process unfolds organically. In every creation, it's about finding and releasing each other at the right moment.
The opening image shows dawn breaking: an orange-red background, colors that gradually transform to grey and blue throughout the work. Colors that embrace and reveal the shift in action. The stage is empty, like the immense expanse of desert. Deep in the back right of the stage, there's a writhing mass of bodies in dark outfits on the ground. Standing in the middle is a figure in white—a messiah. They crawl diagonally forward, undulating like ever-changing sand dunes. The movement is displayed by the men, with bare torsos, in all their muscular beauty; the women showcase girl power. Alongside groundwork, there's plenty of spatial movement too. There are beautiful and intimate partner moments: man/woman, man/man, and trios alongside ensemble scenes. A group of 21 dancers moving simultaneously or in canon makes an impact. Nuñez has studied the music score in its utmost refinement. Carried by the composers' strong signature, a beautiful artistic symbiosis emerges. Every possible variation is explored, including often technically difficult lifts. The young dancer in white, Italian Ludovic Gallo, impresses with his feather-light jumps; he moves through space almost like a puff of down.
This choreography by in-house choreographer Altea Nuñez is surprisingly distinct, testament to professional maturity and development.
'Double Future'
Choreography by Douglas Lee, music by Mika Vainio, Peter Scherer, Nicolas Sàvva
For this commission, Douglas Lee wanted to create a choreography that draws a kind of relationship between human impulse and mechanical logic. Humans and machines aren't opposites but entangled systems that rewrite each other's contributions into a new reality. With AI on the rise, a very timely proposition. This also fits with JBA's multifaceted approach and broad range of dance forms. The piece opens with thirteen sharply defined silhouettes at the back of the stage. Douglas Lee completely turns conventional codes on their head with robotic movements, blurs visual boundaries, and developed a complex narrative language infused with subtle humor. Human and mechanical movement compete in repetition and tempo. Switching from standing like a monolith, slow motion, uniform steps, intense movements to turbulence in a visual interplay of lines. Everything fits together perfectly; the group of bodies works sometimes like a mechanism, sometimes like an organism. The message is clear: beauty lies in imperfection, cracks tell stories, and music bridges vulnerability and strength.
'The Winding Road'
Choreography by Ihsan Rustem, music by Johann Johannsson, Ezio Bosso, Caetano Veloso
Ihsan Rustem is an extremely original choreographer currently in high demand worldwide. A man with expansive ideas. JBA was already able to collaborate with him in 2023 for his version of Ravel's iconic Bolero.
As the curtain rises, the stage is shrouded in a dark, misty universe. The dancers wear purple/brown outfits; only their hands and heads stand out pale against it. The movements the group makes aren't spectacular, but through perfect synchronization they're visually powerful. The compelling concentration is fascinating. The dancers dive, glide tirelessly across the stage. Again, beautiful lighting here, playing with shadow and light, negative and positive, constantly providing a contrasting color. Toward the end, the grey fades away and gives way to a warm glow. Ihsan Rustem lets the music shift multiple times from fast to slow, contemporary classical, and toward the end, the playful, warm song by Brazilian singer and composer Caetano Veloso from the tropicalia movement, where the dancers move groovy and looser, and which instantly fills you with joy as a spectator.
FLOW can be summed up as a physical tour de force full of dedication and commitment, pure dancing passion, an extremely varied soundtrack, and atmospheric lighting.
This young group of dancers is impressive. They're multi-talented and versatile, possess exceptional technique and overwhelming stage presence. In a word, it was: a joy to watch.
After the final performance of the season on Sunday afternoon, an entire cohort spreads its wings. Wonderful all-around dancers to whom we wish a brilliant future. A whole stream of new candidates from all corners of the world is already ready to join JBA during the '26/'27 season.
