Stanley Ollivier

Stanley Ollivier is a Brussels-based French-Caribbean dancer, performer, creator, and DJ. With a background in gymnastics, they chose to take a different path driven by a need for creativity, going on to study dance and musical theatre at the International Dance Academy of Paris (AID). They later pursued contemporary dance studies at the CNSMDP in Paris and at P.A.R.T.S., where they obtained both their Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Dance.

Stanley Ollivier explores alternative ways of being, dancing, and coexisting, while challenging dominant ideas of normativity and rigidity. Their choreographic tools use dance as a medium to create shifting spaces of ambiguity and fantasy, balancing between fragmentation and wholeness, deconstruction and construction, optimism and doubt. Their current interests include discovering new physical narratives and openings toward a conscious innocence, while delving into the practice of the crushed, joyful, and persistent body. Their work engages with questions surrounding the role of entertainment in contemporary dance, contextual shifts, identity, humor, care, and versatility.

They have collaborated with a variety of residency programs, productions, and international artists, including Kamel Ouali, Tatiana Seguin, François Rousseau, Lasseindra Ninja, Iván Pérez & The Heidelberg Dance Theater, Pippin, Disney Channel production, Lila & John, Nina Muñoz, Lila Magnin, Collective LA 360/Sarah Deppe, Cie Tabea Martin, Brahim Tall, Geert Belpaeme, Soa Ratsifandrihana, Léa Vinette, Calixto Neto, workspacebrussels, CCN Orléans, Tanzhaus Zürich, and others.

They are part of the Ballroom Scene and perform as a DJ under the name STANLEY. They have played at various venues and radio stations internationally, including Rinse (FR), Kiosk Radio (BE), The Lot Radio (US), Ola Radio (FR), Drift Radio (CPH), Radio Panini (CPH), DecorAtelier (BE), Atelier 210 (BE), Lafayette Anticipations (FR), and KFDA (BE). Additionally, they are co-founder of Entwined, a radio show in residence at Kiosk Radio that offers a platform for artists to present their work or research in relation to music.

Following earlier performance works such as Sorry not Sorry (2019), PARADE (2021), The Mirror Stand (2022), and Just A Taste (2024), Stanley is currently developing a new project: Spine Of Desire: Wounds without tears, out of one skin in diamonds and shit (2025). In 2024, they were nominated for the PrixFintroPrijs (BE), an award celebrating emerging authors, artists, and performers.