Dance constantly ruins my idea of who I think I am. It keeps introducing me to versions of myself I didn’t know existed, and just when I think I know my body, it opens another door. Dance reminds me that identity is not fixed, we are constantly shifting, stretching, becoming. I have a love–hate relationship with transformation and change. Maybe that is the most beautiful thing: discovering, through the body, that we are much bigger, stranger, and more infinite than we thought.
Manon is a performer, mover, and creator with a background spanning ballet, hip hop, tap, jazz, and musical theatre. She studied Contemporary Dance at de! Kunsthumaniora, where she was also a member of Retina Youth Company under the direction of Filip Van Huffel. In 2022, she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Dance Education from the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp. During her time there, she worked with choreographers including Tijen Lawton, Katie Vickers, Albert Quesada, Agostina D'Alessandro and Moya Michael. Following her graduation, she joined the SUB.LAB.PRO Ensemble Program in Budapest, founded by Jenna Jalonen and Péter Juhász. During this time, she collaborated with artists including Annamari Keskinen, Adrienn Hód, Csaba Molnár, and Manuel Ronda. In 2023, Manon joined Carte Blanche, the Norwegian national company of contemporary dance, as an apprentice, where she worked with artists such as Eszter Salamon, Tori Wrånes, Elle Sofe Sara, Roza Moshtaghi, and Frédérick Gravel. Over the past year, she has worked as a freelance performer with Ceren Oran and Joshua Monten. Alongside her performance practice, she is currently completing a yoga teacher training in Antwerp.