Linehan’s choreographic work is intent on softly obscuring the line that separates dance from everything else. He approaches performance-making from the point of view of a curious amateur, testing various interactions between dance and non-dance forms, searching for unlikely connections, juxtapositions, and parallels between texts, movements, images, songs, and rhythms.
Linehan works with his dancers as collaborative artistic teammates. Through questions and guided physical improvisations, he invites them to explore their own personal connection to their dancing. Movement arises organically, nourished by imagination and memories stored in the body. There are no predetermined forms or ideals, but rather a biotope where the liveliness of each dancer can emerge.
A key foundation of his work is the way we relate to our environment. Ecological themes have become increasingly prominent in his recent creations. How do we care for the tissue that connects everything? How does the world around us shape our choices, our bodies, our dances? By keeping these questions open, Linehan creates space for a “living dance” — one that is sensitive, alert, attuned and responsive.
With the same intention, he develops workshops for both dancers and non-dancers, where connection and interaction are central. In Vita Activa, participants dive into a week-long exploration of the themes of “time” and “work”. Through intergenerational exchange, a temporary community with an alternative economy emerges. Open Monday is a monthly inclusive session where two dancers share their practice with anyone who feels like moving. Land Connection Practices invites participants to reconnect with a green space in the city through their senses. These are just a few examples of how Linehan extends his dance practice beyond the theatre, creating meaningful encounters in unexpected places.
Daniel Linehan studied dance in Seattle and moved to New York in 2004. That same year, he gained public attention with his solo Digested Noise. His international breakthrough came with Not About Everything (2007), a solo that has been performed in over 75 venues worldwide and continues to tour. In 2008, he relocated to Brussels, where he completed the Research Cycle at P.A.R.T.S. and founded his company Hiatus. Since then, he has created over twenty dance performances and was artist-in-residence at DE SINGEL, where he also developed A No Can Make Space, a performative publication offering a journey through his dance practice. As a mentor and guest teacher, Linehan is regularly invited by dance institutions and festivals around the world.
With Linehan, there is never any doubt that dance is not just an aesthetic medium: it is charged with a personal value that is also a means of survival.
Didier Péron, journalist Libération
Work overview