BodyBodyBodyBodyBody is difficult to categorize using standard art categories – it’s a dance concert, an opera, a wild dance that invites viewers to celebrate movement, dance, love, sexuality, and freedom from pain, stress, and negative feelings. It is the gateway to a healing trance for all involved. The basis of this stage ritual is an ecstatic musical composition by Dag Taeldeman and Andrew Van Ostade, which began in 2017, inspired by the “tarantella,” an ancient southern Italian folk dance.

The concept was later developed by dancer and choreographer Matteo Sedda, originally from Sardinia, for whom the tarantella was a well-known folkloric element. In medieval times, this ecstatic dance was believed to have the power to ward off evil spirits and diseases and help with tarantula bites. The wild rhythm, repetition, and electrifying oscillations between drums, guitar, soprano Lies Vandewege’s powerful operatic vocals, and dance make BodyBodyBodyBody a tidal wave of suggestive experience that blends ancient ritual tradition with contemporary dance, sonic magic, and thrilling rhythm. 

Dag Taeldeman is a Belgian composer and musician. He studied jazz composition and guitar in Antwerp. In 2002, he formed the band A Brand, with which he recorded five studio albums and toured the world. He composes and records music for films and stage projects, including for Jan Fabre’s Troubleyn ensemble. Andrew Van Ostade is a drummer, composer, actor, film director, and screenwriter. In addition to his musical productions with the band School is Cool, with whom he has released two studio albums and won the prestigious Belgian music competition Humo’s Rock Rally, he collaborates as a composer and performer on productions by Jan Fabre. Matteo Sedda is a dancer who graduated from the Academy of Contemporary Dance in Milan and has performed with Troubleyn/Jan Fabre since 2015. In 2018 he created his first dance project, “POZ!”, which he performed in Belgium and several European countries. In 2019, he founded the art project Vitamina with Alessandro Ferreri and Joshua Vanhaverbeke, which focuses on hybridizing dance, visual art, and performance. Lies Vandewege is a soprano who graduated from the Royal Conservatory in Antwerp and went on to study at the Muziekkapel Koningin Elisabeth, Hoge Vorming voor Stem under the guidance of the world-renowned baritone José Van Dam. For the past four years, Lies has been on a world tour with Jan Fabre’s Troubleyn ensemble performing Mount Olympus 24h, To glorify the cult of Tragedy. As a soloist, Lies has had the opportunity to sing under the direction of many outstanding European conductors. She is part of the 2021-2023 production of The Time of Our Singing, an operatic creation by Kris Defoort in La Monnaie/De Munt. 

https://dagtaeldeman.com/ 

Credits

Music: Dag Taeldeman & Andrew Van Ostade
Concept: Dag Taeldeman & Andrew Van Ostade
Choreography: Matteo Sedda  
Dance: Matteo Sedda  
Soprano: Lies Vandewege  
Light design: Helmut Van Den Meersschaut  
Sound: Saul Mombaerts / Bart Vincent  
Artistic coordination, production, communication: Floria Lomme  
Diffusion: Key Performance  
special thanks to: Lore Borremans, Edith Cassiers, Ellen Kromhout & Moreno Perna