Jan Fabre accused of sexual harassment. He defends himself, Flanders culture ministry investigates

The Ministry of Culture in Flanders has opened an investigation to ascertain the veracity of allegations that a group of twenty dancers have made against Jan Fabre (Antwerp, 1958), one of the greatest living artists who, as is well known, is also a theater director and choreographer: the twenty dancers worked for him in the Troubleyn company (founded by Fabre himself in 1986) and sent a letter, signed by eight of them (the other twelve remained anonymous), to the Dutch art magazine rekto:verso to denounce the alleged harassment to which they were allegedly subjected.

The lengthy text states that the letter arose as a collective response to an interview Jan Fabre gave to the TV channel VRT last June 27, in which the artist commented on the results of a survey on sexual harassment commissioned by the Flemish minister of culture himself, Sven Gatz (and according to which as many as one in four women had been harassed in the cultural sector in the past year). Fabre had expressed surprise but also added that people today are much more sensitive than they used to be. The collective that wrote the letter, claiming that some of the signatories were present at many of the moments described by Fabre in his account, described on the contrary a reality of constant humiliation, which according to Fabre’s former dancers would be “daily bread” within the Troubleyn company.

“Women’s bodies in particular,” they wrote, “are the target of painful sexualized criticism that is directed without spin, with no respect for the physical condition of women.” Again, “Fabre’s shifting attitudes and volatile behavior have undermined the self-esteem and self-awareness of many of his workers. Many of us needed to seek psychological support after leaving the company and described our experiences as something that left traumatic scars on us. One performer concluded, ’he calls us ’beauty warriors,’ but in the end you feel like a beaten dog.’” And there are also very serious allegations: “in the spring of 2018, a performer in the company quit, citing sexual harassment as one of the reasons. In written correspondence with the company, the performer explicitly stated, ”the impact of a disrespectful and painful #metoo experience has impacted my work and personal freedom.“ For her, work has become ”no longer a beautiful challenge and opportunity, but a manipulative battle and struggle." The winds also report that, following this latest incident, other dancers allegedly left the company for the same reasons. And again, we read of one performer invited to participate in a decidedly off-the-cuff photo session (and Fabre, to encourage the performer, allegedly offered her alcohol and drugs), of others who saw their roles in the company diminished for not agreeing to participate in racy photo shoots, of Fabre’s despotic attitudes within the company.

The Troubleyn company wanted to defend itself by the same means used by the accusers, namely a letter sent to the magazine rekto:verso, which reads, “We condemn this attack via the media because it represents an unfair public trial. Jan Fabre has been publicly pilloried without a chance to defend himself, based on anonymous testimony and allegations that are difficult to verify.” The company also complains that it was not contacted by its former dancers prior to the publication of the letter, and urges them to have a “calm and open dialogue on this matter.” Going into specifics, the letter acknowledges, “it is no secret that Jan has a strong personality and frank ways as a director. However, this does not mean that we are dealing with cases of sexual harassment. [...] There is a clear rule in Troubleyn: everything must be done according to mutual respect and with everyone’s consent. We do not force anyone to do certain actions that might be perceived as inappropriate. We have applied this philosophy for forty years, and we even explicitly emphasized it among ourselves after the media attention of 2017 [ed., refers to the #metoo case].”

Meanwhile, Minister Gatz said in a statement that he was very concerned about the content of the letter. “Any grievance about behavior that crosses boundaries,” he said, “must be taken seriously. I will make sure that all parties have the opportunity to speak. And I await the conclusion of the investigation to take further action.”

Jan Fabre accused of sexual harassment. He defends himself, Flanders culture ministry investigates

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.