Interview by Marie-Pauline Cesari 

Belgian electronic open-air festival WECANDANCE announced Studio Dennis Vanderbroeck as its new Creative Director. Having collaborated in 2023 on an iconic stage that graced Zeebrugge's beach, the partnership with Studio Dennis Vanderbroeck exemplifies a shared commitment to innovation and creativity. In this exclusive interview, we explore his creative journey and the exciting future he envisions for WECANDANCE.

THE 2024 EDITION IS PLANNED ON AUGUST 3-4 AND AUGUST 10-11 FOR TWO BACK-TO-BACK WEEKENDS.

Hello Dennis! Congratulations on becoming the Creative Director for WECANDANCE! Your collaboration began in 2023 with the creation of ‘The Lighthouse’ stage. How did this collaboration come about, and what inspired the unique design of that stage?

Thank you so much, we are extremely excited to collaborate with WECANDANCE to create something exciting and inspiring. The conversation starter was a question that immediately popped up in my head: why does it seem that the visual codes for stage design within the realm of festivals are always the same? The crowd is usually facing each others back while worshipping a musical act rather than collectively celebrating the music. Quite a blunt question for someone who is not the biggest festival attendee and does not have any experience working in that landscape. That question triggered several creative conversations with the WECANDANCE team that were so inspiring. We wanted to explore on how to make the collective experience visually and physically the key element of the design. This is in line of our Studio’s practice that always evolves around those values, always start a design with the space and the guests experience rather than design for the clicks. 

With a background in theater and visual arts, how do you see your experiences in these disciplines influencing your approach to festival design and curation?

I consider my background to be the backbone of my artistic practice; therefore, it is without a doubt intertwined with everything that we do. The clearest example for the upcoming edition of WECANDANCE is that we work with an overarching conceptual narrative. A narrative that translates itself and influences all the different key experiences of the festival, starting with the theme, but also seeing an Instagram post, buying your ticket, entering the festival until the night ends—everything should fit within the story that we created on forehand. We did a lot of thinking and talking before even starting to sketch, and I do believe that this will have a triple-down effect on the exciting things that are coming up. 

Co-organiser Evelien De Lint mentioned that your previous stage design redefined traditional approaches and strengthened a sense of togetherness. How do you approach the challenge of creating spaces that enhance the festival experience and bring people together?

Big words! (laughs). A lot of things did work about The Lighthouse, I really felt a sense of togetherness that seemed new, to me at least. However, the research is not finished, and therefore we are even more keen on continuing our collaboration. We can dig deeper and take another step into this sense of togetherness at the festival as a whole, making it more radical. Our journey with WECANDANCE started with The Lighthouse last year, and therefore The Lighthouse will function, both literally and conceptually, as the beating heart of this year’s edition. The festival centers around the idea of The Lighthouse from a metaphorical perspective: guiding people to new places while connecting them at the same time. 

In your collaboration with WECANDANCE, you’ve been described as a “source of inspiration” for the creative team. Could you elaborate on the collaborative process and how your team contributes to shaping the festival site?

I am not good at taking compliments, and honestly, I still have no clue what I am doing (laughs). I share this “role” with my Studio team and the WECANDANCE team, who inspire me with their dedication. Basically, the only thing I really need to do is respond to that. All of a sudden, it all sounds so easy. I do not really believe in hierarchy or top-down creative processes. My work only exists by the grace of collaboration, by the fact that every voice matters and is being heard. In the end, the best idea always wins. I like to approach the people I am working with, with a soft approach, in order for me to have a razor-sharp approach to all the artistic elements. I strongly believe that when you create a team in which everyone feels seen, you will get the most inspiring space. When I think about it, this is also kind of how I approach the festival as well (laughs).  

The theme for this summer’s WECANDANCE is inspired by the festival community and the total experience it offers. Can you share some insights into how you arrived at this theme and what it represents to you?

When visiting the festival last year, I was in awe of the location, more specifically how the aesthetic of the location changed as the festival endured. The festival is both a day and a night festival, starting in the boiling sun and ending under a dark, starlit sky. I believe this duality exists in all of us. The duality of the light and the dark, how we like to take care of ourselves and our surroundings but also crave another desire that might be more dark—this concept makes us all connected and unique at the same time. We translated that train of thought into the theme. With the theme, I hope to invite our guests to celebrate the complexity of their inner duality and share it with one another. It perhaps sounds quite vulnerable for an electronic dance festival, but I do believe that sharing this duality is the bridge that connects us with each other. The desire and longing, recharge and release, the day and the night, the drop and the rise—that sort of thing.

You mentioned wanting to encourage festival-goers to choose outfits based on personal feelings rather than following trends. How does this theme align with the identity of the festival and the current expressive nature of Gen Z?

I do believe the new generation does not necessarily care about following trends. They cherry-pick what they like, what fits their identity or helps them exploring it, and then use it in their own ways. At least, that is how I like to think about fashion in my life. To ask our guests to follow one specific trend would undermine all the other elements that are interesting or inspiring. We want an explosive celebration and want to collectively travel from day to night. I would love guests to integrate the idea of this transition from day to night into their outfits. Showing more skin while the sun goes down, or adding layers to try to merge with the night? As an invitation and source of inspiration, we are currently working on one merch garment that emphasizes the playfulness of getting changed. Inside, outside, what is the front, what is the back, the part close to your skin versus the other part that is exposed to the world—that sort of thing. 

Apart from fashion, this year’s theme aims to embrace interests in art, design, and music. How do you envision incorporating these diverse elements into the festival, and what impact do you hope it will have on the overall experience for attendees?

We use the overarching narrative to come up with different ways to communicate the same idea. We want to visually create a festival that has different Lighthouses but is coherent and, at the same time, connected by our overall aesthetic. We want to share our platform with people that we admire to commission work for the festival. We will work with partners that fit our narrative and a line-up that is the glue that connects all these elements together. I think it is so important to put as much fun as we possibly can into the preparations and that all of these ideas will eventually transcend into the moods, vibes, sounds and smells this upcoming summer. 

Studio Dennis Vanderbroeck operates on an international scale across various disciplines. How do you adapt your design language to suit different contexts, especially in the realms of theater, fine art, fashion, and music?

We basically don’t (laughs). The contexts may differ, but the way we approach projects is always the same. For every project, whether it is a small theater project, a huge fashion show, or a stage for a festival, we work with the same methodology: the dialogue between the guest and the designed space is key. In my opinion and through experience, every discipline or context, whether it is theater, fashion, art or music, is connected by the same fundamental core: creating a physical space where people come together to feel something. That is basically the bottom line of everything we do. You might need to change your tool set for a specific project, but we always strive for that same spark. 

In your career, you’ve collaborated with well-known names such as Diesel, Y/Project, TENT Rotterdam, Palais de Tokyo, and International Theater Amsterdam. How do these diverse collaborations contribute to your creative growth and influence your work with WECANDANCE?

One can say that this is something completely new for me. When working on a theater piece, the scenography that we are responsible for is one part of a bigger chain. I can always say, “Well, our scenography was amazing, but the rest was not” (laughs). However, with the work we are doing now with WECANDANCE I feel a responsibility for the festival as a whole. But then again, I am not doing it alone; it is an adaptation in mindset, I believe. I am still figuring out how to navigate around it. Sometimes it scares the living shit out of me, but a minute later I have a million ideas again. 

Looking ahead, what are your aspirations for the future of festival design, and how do you see WECANDANCE evolving under your creative direction?

The only aspiration I have is to create a playground in which we can explore new territory. I want to think limitlessly, but at the same time, do not put too much pressure on it. Do not get me wrong; I do have ambitions for WECANDANCE. I love that I am still figuring things out as we go; I almost want to keep it that way and keep my curiosity. What I do know is that I am having fun with a team of extremely inspiring people, and we are trying to make something cool that we want to share with others. That is it, period.