portrait 17 – Helma Melis
creating dance as living symbols

Helma Melis is the driving force behind dance company ‘LaMelis’. She creates the choreographies, designs the decor and costumes, and chooses the music. In her working method, image, movement and content are created synchronously against the background of social phenomena. Dance and environment are inextricably linked and the content is a sum of all these elements.

Helma Melis is de drijvende kracht achter dansgezelschap ‘LaMelis’. Zij maakt de choreografieën, ontwerpt het decor en de kostuums, en kiest de muziek. In haar werkwijze ontstaan, tegen de achtergrond van maatschappelijke fenomenen, beeld, beweging en inhoud synchroon. Dans en omgeving zijn onlosmakelijk met elkaar verbonden en de inhoud een optelsom van al deze elementen.

plea for the unknown
pleidooi voor het onbekende

“creating dance as living symbols”

starring artist:
helma melis

text notes

petit louvre*)
the characterization of the house of helma melis as ‘petit louvre’ refers to the world-famous ‘louvre’
museum in paris, france. in 1791, the legislative assembly decided that a museum should be established
in the louvre palace. in 1793 the museum was officially opened as one of the oldest in the world. after
several extensions with new wings the museum was ‘crowned’ with the glass pyramid building, designed
by the chinese-american architect i.m.pei.

catholic*)
catholicism is considered the largest movement within christianity. the term is derived from the word
catholic and comes from the greek καθολικός (katholikos), which means ‘general’ or ‘universal’.

opera*)
opera is a form of musical theatre. in an opera, classical music and drama are combined and each
character is portrayed by a classical singer. opera is part of western culture, but there are also non-western
forms of musical theatre that are called opera, such as chinese opera.

turnhout*)
turnhout (1186) is a small city in the north of belgium, located in the province of antwerp. it is the capital
of the district.

steensel*)
steensel (1224) is a small dutch village that is part of the municipality of eersel, province of north brabant
and is located in ‘the kempen’-region. steensel is one of the so-called eight beatitudes.

mia kokhuis*)
mia kokhuis was in 1967 the first dance teacher who came to teach at the dance school ‘sidanza’
(means in italian: dancing together) in steensel. besides dancing she also organized trips for the members
to dance performances and theater performances. she taught classical dance, jazz and tap dance.

audition*)
an audition (or trial performance) is an entrance exam or job application within the performing arts world.
students who wish to study at a ballet school, drama school or conservatory must first audition to be
accepted into the course.

simon andré*)
after completing his training at the hague dance academy, andré joined the national ballet (previously called
the dutch ballet) in 1961. in 1971, he left the company to become principal teacher of classical ballet at the brabant conservatory (now fontys), where he later also became artistic director of the ‘hbo dance department’. in the late 1990s, to conclude his career in dance, he created his own versions of ‘swan lake’ for the ballet company in belgrade and ‘giselle’ for the greek national ballet. he passed away in 2020.

fontys dance academy*)
fontys academy of the arts (faa), known as fontys university of the arts until 2023, is part of fontys university
of applied sciences. the school is divided into four sectors: visual arts, theatre, dance and music. the former
dance academy brabant was founded in 1965.

best body act*)
theater a/d/ werf 1996 – helma melis won the first prize which included: studying dance in new york.
theater a/d werf 1997 – helma melis won the public prize.

moving mime*)
moving mime festival including a solo by helma melis took place in 1999 in the main theater of tilburg
(schouwburg).

piet-jan dusee*)
after graduating from the tilburg academy, piet-jan dusee became a member of the music and theatre
company ‘de grootse luxe na de kleurenteevee’ and ‘de maatschap’. from the early eighties he was active in the development of theatre facility ‘theks’. after that, dusee worked at its successor, theatre ‘de vorst’. in 1999 he became artistic director of ‘productiehuis brabant’ and later artistic director of theatre festival ‘cement’. and dusee wrote theatre texts for various theatre companies.

production house brabant*)
under the supervision of ‘productiehuis brabant’ (1979 – 2012), different productions were created each
season: theatre and dance performances, travel productions, cross-border projects and a festival, but
also master classes, workshops and debates. for creators, ‘productiehuis brabant’ was not only an artistic
but also a business support point. during the creation of performances and projects, the organization offered
shelter to people who work on a project basis: actors and actresses, dramaturges, designers and technicians.
the collaboration with the stages in brabant was of great importance.

LaMelis*)
‘LaMelis’ is the name of a dance company from tilburg with dancer and choreographer helma melis as
the driving force. she creates the choreographies, the concepts, the esthetics of decor and costumes and
supervises creation and/or choice of music. she works from a total concept with a specific title, which
includes all elements of the performance: decor, costumes, dance material, music. together with the dancers,
each performance is further developed and elaborated. helma melis finds the themes for her performances in
a fascination for both social phenomena and the associated images and materials.

the fourth wall*)
the so-called ‘fourth wall’ in theatre is an imaginary wall between the audience and the stage. the audience
can look through this wall at the events on stage, but for the characters in the play or the dancers of the
performance, the audience is invisible.

symbolism*)
the emergence of symbolism can be seen as a reaction to the realism and naturalism that dominated art around 1850. imagination, fantasy and intuition were central and are characterised by a strong longing for the past and a focus on the subconscious, the unusual and the inexplicable. the symbol was central to this, and becomes a sensory perceptible sign that refers to a gate to the non-sensory world.

special added text note:
prince bernhard cultural fund north brabant, 2003*)
helma melis won the award for dance

credits projects in the film
helma melis / LaMelis showreel 2012
choreography, concept, set-design: helma melis
performers: caroline lieffers
antonine bucherre
loes buenen
rikke baewert
brenda boks
stefan ernst
katja heitmann
margriet de rijk
birgit gunzl
tommy luyben
ellis pijnenborg
michelle rila
eelco roovers
jaako toivonen
ronald wintjens
sanne wutske
dorien wijnants
martijn kappers
winston arnon
batja ten kortenaar
camille vienne
ana cristina velasquez
aline mommers
ingetje wielenga
celine werkhoven
loes van asten
lotte van asten
decor: simon haen
costume: jolanda hendriks, elle kromhout, aukje koelstra,
music and video-editing: joost van dijk
video-powered by: ruimte-x / luycks gallery

helma melis / LaMelis ‘salpicar de puntos oscuro’ (‘splash of dark dots’), leiden, 2013
choreography and costume / set design: helma melis
performed by: winston arnon & caroline lieffers
camera, editing & music: joost van dijk

helma melis / LaMelis, joost van dijk i.c.w 13-hectare ‘cool down-freeze’, 2015
choreography, costume design: helma melis
camera, editing & music: joost van dijk
for the exhibition: ctrl+alt+del

helma melis / LaMelis i.c.w. production house brabant ‘le temps de isomo’, 2006
choreography, concept, beeld: helma melis
performed by: ingetje wielenga
caroline lieffers
loes buenen
tommy luyben
stefan ernst
ronald wintjens
loes van asten
lotte van asten
decor: simon haen, bernadette notten
costumes: elle kromhout
music: joost van dijk
photo: joep lennaerts
helma melis / LaMelis i.c.w. production house brabant ‘ok-ko nelly staircase’, 2008
choreography, concept, theatrical image: helma melis
performed by: helma melis
caroline lieffers
stefan ernst
stage design: simon haen
costumes: jolanda Hendriks
music: joost van dijk
film: marie-jose mols
photo: joep lennaerts
helma melis / LaMelis, joost van dijk ism 13-hectare, ‘Cool Down-Freeze’ (year unknown)
choreography, costume-design: helma melis
camera, editing & music: joost van dijk
Voor expositie Ctrl+Alt+Del

helma melis / LaMelis i.c.w. production house brabant, ‘qwiene’s van de t goes, one’ (year unknown)
choreography, costume, set design: helma melis
performed by: helma melis
photo: joep lennaerts
helma melis / LaMelis, ‘j’ai bu’, 2010
choreography, costume, set-design: helma melis
performed by: antonine bucherre
ingetje wielenga
loes buenen
eelco roovers
costume: jolanda hendriks
music: o.a. joost van dijk
photo: joep lennaerts
helma melis / LaMelis, ‘prado-ove-ja’ (year unknown)
choreography, costume, set design: helma melis
performed by: michelle rila
music: joost van dijk
photo: joost van dijk
helma melis / LaMelis i.c.w. production house brabant ‘ok-ko nelly staircase’, 2008
choreography, concept, beeld: helma melis
performed by: helma melis
caroline lieffers
stefan ernst
decor: simon haen
costume: jolanda Hendriks
music: joost van dijk
film: marie-jose mols
photo: joep lennaerts

helma melis / LaMelis, i.c.w. production house brabant ‘le temps de isomo’, 2006
choreography, concept, beeld: helma melis
performed by: ingetje wielenga
caroline lieffers
loes buenen
tommy luyben
stefan ernst
ronald wintjens
loes van asten
lotte van asten
decor: simon haen, bernadette notten
costume: elle kromhout
music: joost van dijk
photo: joep lennaerts
helma melis / LaMelis ism nature museum brabant ‘nocturne-neige-blanc’ (year unknown)
choreography, costume,set-design: helma melis
performed by: caroline lieffers
camera, editing, music & photo: joost van dijk
helma melis / LaMelis i.c.w. production house brabant ‘le black avec noir’, 2007
choreography, costume,beeld: helma melis
performed by: caroline lieffers
antonine bucherre
aline mommers
sanne wutske
margriet de rijk
decor: simon haen
costume: elle kromhout, aukje koelstra
music: joost van dijk
photo: joep lennaerts

helma melis / LaMelis ‘le black, 5 and a half pillow match’ (year unknown)
choreography, costume,set-design: helma melis
performed by: katja heitmann
michelle rila
music: joost van dijk
photo: joost van dijk
helma melis / LaMelis, family performance ‘zi za zussen zolder’, 2018
choreography, costume,set-design: helma melis
performed by: caroline lieffers
eloise bakker
batja ten kortenaar
helma melis
camera, editing: joost van dijk
helma melis / LaMelis, family performance ‘en het grenzeloze zwarte sleutelgat, puntje, puntje, puntje’, 2020
choreography, costume,set-design: helma melis
performed by: batja ten kortenaar
helma melis
music: o.a. joost van dijk
photo: joost van dijk

helma melis / LaMelis, family performance ‘hare koninklijke hoogheid, prinses palaver poederneus’, 2023
choreography, costume,set-design: helma melis
performed by: batja ten kortenaar
caroline lieffers / celine werkhoven
helma melis
music: o.a. joost van dijk
helma melis / LaMelis, ‘e-mod-e’, 2011
choreography, costume,set-design: helma melis
performed by: caroline lieffers
winston arnon
martijn kappers
antonine bucherre
ellis pijnenborg
photo: joost van dijk

helma melis / LaMelis, ‘solo’ (year unknown)
choreography, costume, set design: helma melis
performed by: helma melis
photo: joost van dijk
helma melis / LaMelis, ‘we go square’, 2002
choreography, costume,set-design: helma melis
performed by: caroline lieffers
dorien wynants
photo: joep lennaerts

helma melis / LaMelis i.c.w. station south ‘no dance one, pic-pic-ture’, 2009
choreography, costume,set-design: helma melis
performed by: caroline lieffers
eelco roovers
ingetje wielenga
antonine bucherre
loes buenen
photo: bart van geldrop
helma melis / LaMelis i.c.w. production house brabant ‘krak-kelee toto’, 2017
choreography, costume,beeld: helma melis
performed by: rike beawert
brenda boks
dorien wynants
caroline lieffers
decor: ward
photo: joep lennaerts

helma melis / LaMelis ‘papoter-ploef-noir’, 2010
choreography, costume,set design: helma melis
performed by: loes buenen
costume: jolanda hendriks
photo: helma melis
special thanks to:
to everyone with whom LaMelis has been able to work together.
including the members of the organization and the board.

portrait 17 – Helma Melis
creating dance as living symbols

camera and video editing: tom pijnenburg
research, editorial, text titles: jan doms

leader:
graphic design: jan doms
opening sequence: pieter reijnen & tom pijnenburg
sound: aspa petrov – prefuse 73 dvořák
ernst bonis – composition taksim

music end credits: joost van dijk