Ultima Vez /
Wim Vandekeybus
“VOID”
Opening
August 05 & 06, 2025
20.30 H
Muffathalle
22,- EUR / 12,- EUR / 30,- EUR Supporting price
Barrier-free
Physical Introduction with Judith Hummel August 06, 2025, 19.30 H, Muffatstudio, free admission
In “VOID”, the focus is on outsiders, those who deviate from social expectations and move off the beaten path. For Belgian choreographer Wim Vandekeybus, who has been recognized as one of the most radical voices in contemporary dance since the late 1980s, the stage is a place where conventions are questioned and personal extremes are explored through dance. Known for his physically intense, often risky movement language, with “VOID” Vandekeybus brings a piece to the stage that is equally wild and sensitive.
His characters embody the offbeat, the rebellious – characteristics that possibly, according to Vandekeybus, lie dormant in each and every one of us. With a suspenseful choreography carried by the stimulating sonic landscape of young composer Arthur Brouns – somewhere between jazz fragments and spherical sound design – “VOID” invites us to immerse ourselves in the complex inner world of such people. Letting ourselves be swept along by the current of our own imagination, we are allowed to fill in consciously created blanks ourselves: Who are these characters? What battles are they fighting? What makes them vulnerable, what keeps them going?
Even though the characters follow their own unusual paths, they coexist peacefully. We become witness as they whirl irrepressibly across the stage, finding in an embrace a fleeting moment of inner peace or a sense of home with the other. The desire for connection unites them more than any form of aggression or dominance. The tender, compassionate gaze of the choreographer makes us think anew about individuality and differences, about what separates us and what connects us.
“VOID” is one of the most captivating works Ultima Vez has brought to the stage in recent years – the characters are wild and authentic, the choreography brilliantly danced, and the theme is razor-sharp. It becomes all the more astonishing because what we see feels so familiar.
Direction, Choreography: Wim Vandekeybus
Created with Lotta Sandborgh, Cola Ho Lok Yee, Paola Taddeo, Adrian Thömmes, Hakim Abdou Mlanao, Iona Kewney
Performed by Lotta Sandborgh, Cola Ho Lok Yee, Paola Taddeo, Adrian Thömmes, Hakim Abdou Mlanao, Babette Verbeek
Artistic assistance, Dramaturgy: Margherita Scalise
Movement assistance: Maria Kolegova
Original music, sound desgin: Arthur Brouns
Stage design: Wim Vandekeybus, realisation: Pepijn Mesure
Light design: Wim Vandekeybus, Benjamin Verbrugge
Costume design: Isabelle Lhoas, assistance: Juliette Lejeune
Technicians: Schröder, Pepijn Mesure, Benjamin Verbrugge
Distribution: Julia Bouhjar
Production: Heleen Schepens, Kenneth Raemaekers
Musicians: Kristofor Parvanov (Violin), Fil Caporali (Double Bass), Simon Leleux (Percussion), Daniel Jonkers (Drum)
Other music: Hihats In Trees - Lander Gyselinck Obsequies
Co-production: KVS Brussels' Flemish city theater, Danseu Festival, Theater im Pumpenhaus, Emilia Romagna Teatro ERT / Teatro Nazionale
With the support of the Tax Shelter measure of the Belgian Federal Government, Ufund
Special thanks to Thi-Mai Nguyen, Jerry Killick, European Theatre and Film Institute
Ultima Vez is supported by the Flemish Community & The Flemish Community Commission