AWOL
By Alesya Dobysh en Simon Bus
Maker duo Simon Bus & Alesya Dobysh are rooted in hip-hop and draw inspiration from performers' individuality, visual art and street and club dance styles. In their work, they intertwine distortion, confusion and discomfort with humour.
At AWOL three dancers search for what it means to live in a society of strict rules and set standards. Three men trapped in a system. Military discipline, tight suits, camaraderie and competition.
The performance exposes the tension between individuality and uniformity, between vulnerability and authority. What happens when you break free from a structure dominated by power and expectations? What if a perfectly trained body begins to falter?
Living painting powerfully bends boys will be boys symbolism.
"Dobysh and Bus thus prove themselves once again as the strong professionals they are. Like William Forsythe does with ballet, in AWOL they take the dance techniques they are masters of out of context (performers and creators come from the world of club and street styles). They bend these to their will to shine as abstract 'language'."
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Theatre newspaper * critic's choice Jordi Ribot Thunnissen September 2025
Read more about Simon Bus and Alesya Dobysh
Credits
Theatre newspaper about AWOL
"Dobysh and Bus thus prove themselves once again as the strong professionals they are. Like William Forsythe does with ballet, in AWOL they take the dance techniques they are masters of out of context (performers and creators come from the world of club and street styles). They bend these to their will to shine as abstract 'language'. The austerity in set and music (a very elegant and ominous sound score with lots of silences designed by Boris de Klerk) reinforces this: The movement score is and remains the thread that holds our attention."
Jordi Ribot Thunnissen - Theatre Newspaper 26 Sept 2025