ZOO was established by Thomas Hauert (CH) and has Brussels as it's his home base. Hauert wanted to pursue his personnel research into dance vocabulary , movement composition, and structured improvisation with a close group of dancers. ZOO derives its name from a book on animals in zoos that the group used for improvisations, and also refers to 'looking at animals', and especially at the bizarre variety, 'the human'.
Most of ZOO's creations are performed by the same cast. Thomas Hauert met Mat Voorter (NL) and Samantha van Wissen (NL) when studying at the Rotterdamse Dansacademie; together with Samantha Van Wissen he joined Rosas which led to his encounter with Sara Ludi (CH) and Mark Lorimer (UK). In 2003 Chrysa Parkinson (USA) and Martin Kilvady (SK) joined the company.
Since the creation of "ZOO" other performers/dancers worked with the company on an regular or more punctual base: Ursula Robb (NZ), David Zambrano (VZ), Anne Mousselet (F), Mette Edvardsen (N), Pacale Gigon (F),...
ZOO profiles itselves as a choreographers' collective with Thomas Hauert as artistic director.
Since their first piece they engaged in artistic relationships with Manon De Boer (NL), Oscar van den Boogaard (NL), Boris Van der Avoort (B), Yves Pezet (F),... and with Simon Siegmann (F), Jan Van Gijsel (B), Guy Peeters (B) as set and/or light designers and Bart Aga (B), Philip Beloul (F), Aliocha Van der Avoort (B), Alejandro Petraso (I) as music composers and OWN/ Hervé Yvrenogeau & Thierry Rondenet, ... as costume designers.
ARTISTIC VIEWPOINTS: The body itself possesses a greater practical knowledge than the mind about its anatomy and its mechanics, their actions and reactions, and their interactions with external forces (gravity, centrifugal- and centripetal force etc.). Through improvisation we can take advantage of this phenomenon to create forms, rhythms, movement qualities and trajectories that go beyond what our mind could invent. As the mind is handing over more responsibility to the body, it is free to observe, to enjoy and to interfere by challenging the body with additional directions. The movement of an individual or a group in space can alter the spectator's and the dancer's perception and make the space between bodies visible. Formations, passing bodies and their in-between spaces create individual rhythms. The group and the in-between spaces become one elastic body through the organization of the spatial patterns and positions according to a common logic.