[1] He trained as a remedial educationalist, working with physically and mentally disabled children, but continued to study mime (with Wim Vandekerckhove) and later to take courses at the Paul Grinwis Academy of Ballet.

[9] Stabat Mater was the first in a succession of small-scale productions made by les ballets C de la B during the late 1980s and early 1990s, for which Platel shared directing roles with other members of the company.

[3] Between 1993 and 2003, les ballets C de la B produced an increasing number of larger-scale projects, securing international commissions and state funding from the Flemish government.

[3][5] Run as a collective, the company's performers were encouraged to develop their own choreography and Platel shared directing duties with other members including Hans Van den Broeck, Christine De Smedt and Koen Augustijnen.

[12] Platel's productions included three collaborations with the author and theatre-maker Arne Sierens and Ghent-based youth theatre company Victoria (Moeder en kind, Bernadetje, allemaal indiaan).

The first competition was won by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, who subsequently performed in Iets op Bach and would go on to choreograph many of les ballets C de la B's productions.

[3] During his hiatus from directing, Alain Platel studied sign language and continued to work with amateur and semi-professional performers from varied backgrounds, as documented in his collaborations with the documentarian Sophie Fiennes (Because I Sing, 2002; Ramallah!

This production cemented the director's collaboration with the composer Fabrizio Cassol, which began with the participatory choral project Uit de Bol (2006), and would continue with pitié!

[1] In his own productions and in his influence on the overall aesthetics of les ballets C de la B, Alain Platel's work is characterised by the extensive, often chaotic combination of dance, theatre, live music, circus and other performance styles.

This only goes to show that, by freely combining theatre, music and dance in the "family portraits" he renders so well, Alain Platel has succeeded in revealing the universality of human soul.