BELGIAN artist, choreographer and director Jan Fabre has been given an 18-month suspended sentence today, after being convicted of sexually harassing and, in one case, assaulting dancers in his company.

Prosecutors sought a three-year custodial sentence for the 63-year-old, but the court in Antwerp ruled that half of the alleged incidents have not been proven or happened too long ago.

In all, Fabre was found guilty in six cases.

Twelve ex-members of his Troubleyn dance company complained of sexual harassment at work and one alleged an indecent assault.

The accusations relate to incidents going back to 2002, but came to light in 2018, during the #metoo movement – a global effort to empower victims of sexual abuse and harassment to speak out.

Fabre did not attend the trial or sentencing.

In March, during his trial, several dancers portrayed Fabre as a tyrant during rehearsals – “a toxic working universe” – humiliating his cast and company and blackmailing women into sex.

Some complained that they were tricked into taking part in erotic photography sessions under the pretext that they will appear in artistic magazines.

Fabre’s defence counsel admitted that he is a strong and anarchic character and that working with him “is to give 100%” in gruelling performances ending in “real exhaustion, real emotions”, but denied he is a criminal. – AFP, April 29, 2022.