Laura Neyskens & Raphäel Vandeweyer

Laura Neyskens

Laura steps onto the professional stage for the first time at the age of 11 in Bernadetje (1996), a theatre production by Arne Sierens and Alain Platel, with which she tours all over Europe. She discovers that dance and travel are her greatest passions and continues her path with Platel’s contemporary dance company les ballets C de la B (1998). There, she meets Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, leading to a long-term collaboration. 

In addition to her career as a dancer in several of his productions (2000–2019), she also takes on greater responsibilities as a repetiteur and choreographer. Throughout her career, Laura develops a deep love for Indian dance. In 2017, she co-founds the platform Maghenta, which aims to make Indian dance accessible to a wide audience.
Between 2017 and 2023, she regularly collaborates with theatre maker Chokri Ben Chikha, taking on the role of assistant director and choreographer.

Raphaël Vandeweyer

Raphaël holds a Master’s degree in Dramaturgy from Utrecht University and a Bachelor’s degree in Arts & Culture from Maastricht University. After gaining experience at various cultural organizations in Brussels, he worked for many years as an in-house dramaturg at Action Zoo Humain. 

Currently, Raphaël works as a freelance dramaturg, writer, and communications advisor for a range of artists and companies. He has collaborated with organizations such as Muziektheater Transparant, Damaged Goods, the artist collective Het Verbond (NL), and youth theatres Tint and fABULEUS. He has also contributed to projects by artists including Chokri Ben Chikha, Maxime Waladi, Renée Goethijn, Jelle Stiphout, Jan Sobrie, and Wouter Deltour.

Laura and Raphaël worked as a new-makers duo under the wing of Inter:Action, the new-makers programme within Action Zoo Humain. As part of this programme, they created the dance theatre performance GAZE, with laGeste as executive producer.

GAZE premiered on 27 November 2025 at the NEXT Festival in CC De Steiger, Menen, and then toured Belgium and the Netherlands.