Mette Ingvartsen

Delirious Night

VIERNULVIER

Wed 01.10

20:00 - 21:00

De Vooruit, Gent

THEATERZAAL

Past event
Thu 02.10

20:00 - 21:00

De Vooruit, Gent

THEATERZAAL

Past event

Trigger warning: strobe lighting effects are used during the performance.

Free for Different Class members.

Do you dare to surrender to the delirium of the night?

Nighttime wants to be celebrated collectively as a space for pleasure and delight, yet is also dangerous and bewildering. What do the night hours bring that temporarily suspends daily duties and rules? Choreographer Mette Ingvartsen, after 'The Dancing Public', continues her research into historical dancing manias and is a guest of the festival for the first time with this new performance.

Nine performers indulge in a delirious night of dance and music, inspired by the anonymous freedom of masked balls, strange carnivals, and derailed parties. Their bodies are propelled by contagious outbreaks of unstoppable dance and immersed in an ocean of uncontrollable sensations. Sometimes they fight the strong current, other times they surrender to the wild waves. Accompanied by live music from Will Guthrie, the dancers effortlessly navigate between hedonism and exorcism, joy and sadness, their bodies thriving in an intoxicating mood of togetherness. How can a state of de-control and excess drive the crowd to act?

Ingvartsen approaches bodily excesses as a reaction to exhaustion, stress, and emotional strain connected to a contemporary desire for transgression and transcendence. The result is an intense ode to the freedom the night brings.

Free for Different Class members

"Ingvartsen captures that feeling of being out late,
passing revellers, unsure whether they’ll prove to be jubilant or malevolent."
– C. Wiegand, The Guardian, 22/7/25

"In Delirious Night, Mette Ingvartsen proposes a sensory, almost delirious journey — an immersion into trance, rhythm, and the power of the collective body. (...) The piece was one of the standout performances at this year’s Madrid en Danza, confirming Ingvartsen’s place as a leading voice in politically engaged contemporary dance."
– D. Prieto, La Lectura, 2/5/25

Part of

2025 - 26 | PODIUM

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Zoom in

Concept and choreography: Mette Ingvartsen -Performers: Dolores Hulan, Júlia Rúbies Subirós, Fouad Nafili, Jayson Batut, Mariana Miranda, Olivier Muller, Zoé Lakhnati, Thomas Bîrzan, Elisha Mercelina - Live music: Will Guthrie - Lighting design: Minna Tiikkainen - Dramaturgy: Bojana Cvejić - Costumes: Jennifer Defays - Vocal training and external ear: Fabienne Séveillac - Technical direction: Hans Meijer -Sound engineering: Milan Van Doren - Lighting technician: Bennert Vancottem - Technicians on tour: Jan-Simon De Lille, Filip Vilhemsson, Julien Rabin - Production management: Oihana Azpillaga Camio -Administration: Joey Ng - Communication: Jeroen Goffings - Management: Ruth Collier - Production: Great Investment vzw - Coproduction: Kaaitheater, Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Kunstencentrum VIERNULVIER, Charleroi danse centre chorégraphique de Wallonie – Bruxelles, Le Lieu Unique, Le Cndc – Angers, PACT Zollverein, Theater Rotterdam, La Comédie de Clermont-Ferrand, Théâtre National de Bretagne - Centre Dramatique National Rennes, Le Quartz - Scène nationale de Brest, Festival Madrid en Danza, Perpodium - Residency: Charleroi danse centre chorégraphique de Wallonie – Bruxelles, Rosas, Le Lieu Unique, P.A.R.T.S. - Supported by: Fondation d’entreprise Hermès - Great Investment is supported by: The Flemish Authorities, The Flemish Community Commission (VGC), Tax
Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government, The Danish Arts Council