Leadership transition from 2027

Continuity and renewal: Charlotte Vandevyver to lead P.A.R.T.S. from 2027.

On 1 January 2027, at the start of P.A.R.T.S.’ new five-year management agreement with the Flemish Government, Charlotte Vandevyver will take on the role of director of the school. After more than 30 years, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, founder and director of P.A.R.T.S., will pass on the torch.

Charlotte Vandevyver is no newcomer to the organisation. She has been working at P.A.R.T.S. since 2019, first as coordinator of the master’s programme STUDIOS, before succeeding Theo Van Rompay as associate director in 2020. Since then, she has been responsible for the school’s operational leadership. Following the recognition of the Bachelor Training and the Master STUDIOS diplomas in 2019 and 2020, P.A.R.T.S. obtained accreditation for both programmes under her responsibility in 2024. That same year, the school was granted its own status within the Codex for Higher Education, allowing it to maintain its autonomous position within the educational landscape.

In the meantime, the existing buildings on Van Volxemlaan were restructured into a single cohesive site and expanded to include, among other things, three brand-new dance studios. This construction and renovation project by Ouest/Versa was funded by the Flemish Community, with Rosas acting as the client. The official opening took place in early 2026, during the 164VANVOLXEM Opening Festival.

Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, founder of P.A.R.T.S., will remain actively involved in the school, taking on a pedagogical and advisory role over the next ten years. In doing so, she will continue to contribute to the artistic and pedagogical legacy of her work in contemporary dance. Over the past 30 years, she has created 70 dance performances, which form part of her repertoire and are made available to P.A.R.T.S. The school thus continues to maintain a unique and privileged relationship with her work. Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker will also continue to lead the dance company Rosas as artistic director, alongside managing director Lies Martens. The leadership structure of Rosas will remain unchanged in the coming years.

The entire transition of P.A.R.T.S. has been carefully prepared in recent years by the school’s Board of Directors. The board itself has also undergone a thorough renewal and has become more diverse in its composition. The current chair, Hugo De Greef, will be succeeded in April 2026 by Karine Van Doninck, who has been a board member since 2021.

Karine Van Doninck is a professor at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB). Inspired by science, art, and education, she is committed to pushing the boundaries of knowledge and building bridges between disciplines. As a full professor of biology and cultural advisor at ULB, she combines her passion for research, education, and the arts on a daily basis. Drawing on her strong affinity with contemporary dance, she takes on the role of chair of the P.A.R.T.S. Board of Directors with great enthusiasm, alongside Charlotte Vandevyver.
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Even though this transition comes with a bit of emotion on a personal level, I don’t think it should be turned into something special. It’s just part of how an institution like this naturally moves and changes. If something wants to last, it also has to be able to let go. I’ve never really seen being the director of P.A.R.T.S. as a personal title. That kind of framing misses the point. What matters here is the pedagogical project itself —something aimed at others, at students, at a generation still forming itself and shaping what comes next.

I remember when we started P.A.R.T.S. in the mid-90s, I wrote something like: ‘I can’t teach anyone to dance’. And I still think that’s true. What we could do — and what still feels central — is create a place where dance is taken seriously. A place that is highly regarded for teaching craftsmanship and excellence in dance and choreography, and at the same time a community where people share work, and where desire is what drives study and creativity.

Looking back, things were pretty fragile then — contemporary dance was still in a state of pedagogical uncertainty. The fact that P.A.R.T.S. has grown into a respected institution really says something about a need that was there all along. And now this transition happens at a time when higher education is under real pressure — pressure that shows in how value and usefulness get defined. In that context, maybe the only meaningful thing to say is this: I hope the core ideas behind P.A.R.T.S. — excellence, imagination, and connection — stay alive as they move forward.

I have full trust in the new director, the team, and the board, and I’m genuinely looking forward to seeing how these ideas will continue to grow and evolve in the years to come.
- Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker

For me, P.A.R.T.S. is a place where craftsmanship and innovation have been challenging each other for over thirty years, and it is a privilege to help guide its future direction. In recent years, my focus has been on strengthening the school’s internal foundations. Today, all the conditions are in place to open a new chapter for P.A.R.T.S. I am more convinced than ever of the necessity and power of contemporary dance as a living, social art form.

It is an honour, together with a strong team, an international network of guest teachers, and a renewed board, to create a context in which young dancers and choreographers from all over the world can develop. For me, the core values established by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker at the founding of the school remain a guiding force, as does the presence of her artistic practice within the curriculum.

Looking ahead, I want to continue to invest in inclusion and diversity, giving renewed meaning to notions such as “excellence” and the “thinking dancer,” which are strongly associated with this place. Further developing the Master’s programme, with its focus on relationality and collectivity, will play a central role in this. In addition, I aim to work together with Rosas, Ictus, and partners such as Platform K and Accompany Class to make full use of the new infrastructure and strengthen connections with Brussels and the independent field of dancers and choreographers.
- Charlotte Vandevyver

𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘯𝘯𝘦 𝘝𝘢𝘯 𝘈𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘵