In 2009, Sarma, the Brussels centre for criticism, research, dramaturgy and creation, will be compiling a collection of writings by the theatre and dance critic Pieter T’Jonck. An initial selection will be published online in April and on that occasion Sarma will be organising a lecture demonstration in which T’Jonck both explains and stages his thoughts on theatricality.

Press is based on childlike fantasies about monsters: how in the darkness and shadows objects or body parts can assume monstrous shapes, become unrecognisable and frighten us. The French choreographer and dancer Pierre Rigal finds himself in a sort of box: a small, empty space which changes mechanically and to which the body has to adapt. The result is an absurd performance that is both frightening and amusing.

‘Is it possible to have a robot that is able to say or act lines from Beckett?’ This question is the basis for Actor # 1 by the artist and theatre-maker Kris Verdonck. You will have the chance to look at his research process. Writing by Beckett will be ‘brought to life’ by means of interactive media (Felix Luque) and a voice. We shall hear ‘live’ reactions to this from the geneticist Jean Jacques Cassiman, the neurosurgeon Dirk de Ridder and the philosopher and mathematician Jean Paul Van Bendegem.

A spoken word reading by the Berlin-based Swedish artist Karl Holmqvist (1964), that mixes pop culture with song lyrics and political slogans. This text was first written for The Serpentine Gallery Manifesto Marathon (London, October 2008) where artists were encouraged to present manifestoes for the 21st century.

How can we work on scenarios for the future in such harsh times? Beyond dystopia, beyond the apocalypse! How can we work on the future the way we would really like to, as a community. What would the transition to a low-oil society look like? Sometimes utopian, sometimes real, but always full of imagination.

In the twentieth century, mobility became the symbol of freedom and progress. But at a time of greenhouse gases and peak oil, the symbolic value of mobility is being rapidly reversed. And a different, more distressing form of mobility is making its appearance: that of climate refugees.

The writer and theatre-maker Peter Verhelst is creating a new piece for three female dancers and one voice in the Kaaistudios. It’s called Headbanger’s Wall and is primarily about consolation. There is a passage of music from Requiem for my friend, the music Zbigniew Preisner wrote for his dead friend, the film maker Krzysztof Kieslowski. There are three female bodies trying to overcome gravity. There are minor rituals that bring the women together. There is a voice that says we shall never give up. There is strength. Obstinacy. The will to remain standing.

WORKING TITLE FESTIVAL - In the past decades, a wave of "self development" theories and practices has invaded the planet. ‘The body is the physical aspect of the personality and movement is the personality made visible’, writes Mary Starks Whitehouse, who developed  the “Authentic Movement” practice in the fifties. In a humorous way, The Visitants invites spectators to witness the 'inner journey' of the performers, exposing  their intimate experience to the public’s gaze.

WORKING TITLE FESTIVAL - Eleanor Bauer (ex-PARTS) has created a dance performance full of references to and influences from street dance; at the same time it is also a book, a website, a series of new songs, a screensaver and a dance fad. The New York Times: ‘Dynamite to perform a dance that makes you think’. De Morgen newspaper: ‘A stiff cocktail of images and statements that leaves you feeling completely confused at the end of the performance’.

WORKING TITLE FESTIVAL - An intimate dance performance about relationships. Our relationships are generated by convictions (or the shadows of them), feelings, experiences, winks, expectations, secrets, and so on. When a third person looks at us from the outside…

WORKING TITLE FESTIVAL - Around the Corner is a series of dance films that were made in the street. The camera records not only the dancing but also the architecture, the passers-by and the memory of every street corner. Niko Hafkenscheid (singer and songwriter in MAYBE FOREVER by Meg Stuart/Damaged Goods) and Miguel Casaponsa play live music in Around the Corner 1.2 (Brussels).