While he was touring Iets op Bach as a dancer, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui was asked by Pol Coussement, artistic director of Polydans, to create a piece for his company in Kortrijk. Afwezen (fatalidad) was the result. A first take on realigning different composition techniques, it encompassed parts that were very mathematical, some more raw and visceral, mixing it with extremely minimal theatre expressions. In certain ways this show was a blueprint of Cherkaoui’s influences (Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Alain Platel, Wim Vandekeybus, Michael Laub,…) and the beginning of his own way of interpreting that knowledge, that ‘tradition’. The experience was very enriching for Cherkaoui and stimulated him to start a career as a choreographer. Polydans kept this piece on their repertory and toured it within Belgian cultural centra for several years.