Centre for Contemporary Performing Arts

In 1999, In Spite of Wishing and Wanting caused a huge stir. For the first time, Wim Vandekeybus created a performance not about the chemistry between men and women, but a primal desire in a world of men alone – fierce, wild, naive and playful. Spellbinding footage and dance sequences, supported by David Byrne’s sensual soundtrack, flow into monologues about fear, a desire for security and the magic of sleep. In 2016 a completely new cast takes on the challenge of this world hit.
The fear of being possessed by something or someone also has its reverse side: the longing to change into something or someone else. Fear and desire circle around the same core. This desire to transform is the central theme of ‘In Spite of Wishing and Wanting’.
Two short stories, one by Julio Cortazar and one by Paul Bowles, have been haunting Wim Vandekeybus for a while now. In both short stories the focus is on the movement between the familiar and the foreign, a movement that can never be resolved. These two short stories inspired Wim Vandekeybus while shooting the short film that is part of the performance.