Abstract :
[en] This study applies aspectual semiotics to Rosas danst
Rosas (1983), the landmark choreographic work by
Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. Rather
than evaluating it aesthetically, the piece is used as a testing
ground for the semiotic theory of aspectuality, defined as a relational
structure linking an observing subject to temporal,
spatial, or bodily objects. Temporally, the choreography operates
through serial composition, producing inchoative and
progressive aspects akin to linguistic verb aspects. Spatially,
the piece is structured around a linear, one-dimensional arrangement
of dancers that gradually multiplies into parallel,
orthogonal, and diagonal lines – an idealised geometry made
legible to the attentive observer. On a bodily level, finally,
the dancers function as “moving bodies” (in Susan Foster’s
terms), creating an ambivalence between group cohesion and
individual autonomy that resists fixed representation. The author
ultimately proposes “constructivism” as a more fitting
label than “minimalism” for the work, emphasising its rhythmic
abstraction, embodied geometry, and invitation to active
spectatorial meaning-making.
