Alain Platel (1956, Gent, Belgium) trained as a remedial educationalist and is a self-trained director. In 1984 he set up a small theatre group with a number of friends and relatives to work collectively. Emma (1988) signalled his concentration on directing. He was responsible for Bonjour Madame (1993), La Tristeza Complice (1995) and Iets op Bach (1998), which propelled les ballets C de la B (as the group was now called) to the international top. His collaborations with the composer Fabrizio Cassol (1964) go back to 2005, when he was invited to create the opening performance of the new Koninklijke Vlaamse Schouwburg (Royal Theatre of Flanders), in which he united various choirs from Brussels with varying cultural backgrounds. Up until 2006, Platel's work had been exuberant in both the diversity of performers and themes, but vsprs (Holland Festival 2006), based on Claudio Monteverdi's Vespro della Beata Vergine proved to be a new turning point in his career, revealing a world of passion and desire, which evoked a more profound and intense experience.

After the baroque pitié! (2008), which was performed at the Holland Festival in 2009, Out Of Context – for Pina (January 2010) was an almost ascetic reflection of the movement repertoire of spasms and tics. Since, Platel has continued searching within this movement idiom for a translation of feelings which are too powerful. The yearning for something transcending the individual has become increasingly palpable.

In 2012, Platel was back at the Holland Festival, stunning the audience with C(H)ŒURS, a living tableau dealing with the dangerous beauty of the masses, featuring the one hundred and fifty strong choir of the Teatro Real from Madrid and ten dancers from his own company. Coup Fatal will be Platel's sixth appearance at the Holland Festival.