Reynders will not get involved in La Monnaie budget decisions

Minister Didier Reynders (pictured), whose portfolio includes federal cultural institutions, has said he will not interfere with the artistic choices of the institutions, including La Monnaie. "They have reduced their number of staff and removed dance. That is their choice," he said in De Morgen.

General manager Peter de Caluwe announced this week that La Monnaie would scrap 16 full-time jobs in the coming months due to the new government’s austerity measures. La Monnaie also announced that it would discontinue its contemporary dance programme.

Internationally acclaimed Belgian dancer and choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker expressed disbelief over La Monnaie’s decision to do away with dance, and openly questioned whether she should move her company to a different city.