Dancers

Opera Ballet Vlaanderen (OBV) brings opera, ballet, music and dance theatre as contemporary and living art forms. The house focuses on the great works of opera and dance history, contemporary creations and masterpieces to be rediscovered. In 2014, Opera Vlaanderen merged with Ballet Vlaanderen, which was founded in 1969 by Jeanne Brabants. She was successively succeeded as artistic director by Valery Panov, Robert Denvers, Kathryn Bennetts, Assis Carreiro and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. They all gave their very own artistic interpretation of what ballet can mean. What unites them was a desire for diverse programming. This also characterises the programming of Jan Vandenhouwe, current artistic director of Opera Ballet Vlaanderen. Focus points in his ballet programming are stylistic flexibility from classical ballet to contemporary dance, passing on contemporary Flemish dance heritage to a new generation and creating hybrid productions that combine opera and ballet. He will collaborate with three associate artists in the coming years: Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Jan Martens and Jermaine Spivey.