Benjamin Abel Meirhaeghe & Wouter Deltour / Muziektheater Transparant

In a world marked by conflicts, uncertainty and collective mourning, 'Chapters of Celebration' poses an essential, almost defiant question: what is left to celebrate? When the world feels heavy due to war, injustice and alienation, joy can seem irresponsible or even impossible. And yet throughout history, even in the darkest times, people have sought refuge in rituals, dance and communal celebrations – not as a means of escape, but as a form of resistance and renewal.

'Chapters of Celebration' is an energetic performance with music and dance that pays tribute to the celebrating body over time. It is a full-evening dance marathon in which a ‘museum of party’ is constructed. The musical common thread is La Folia (‘folly’) or Folies d’Espagne, a fifteenth-century musical theme from Iberia that pulses through classical musical history like a heartbeat, thanks to adaptations by composers such as Bach, Vivaldi and Rachmaninov. Composer and pianist Wouter Deltour crafts the various compositions into a dazzling, contemporary whole.

Director Benjamin Abel Meirhaeghe invites six renowned choreographers to liberate the celebrating body, in ‘chapters’ that cross baroque dance with ballroom, jazz and rave. Like archaeologists of festivities, they join six singing dancers in search of the original freedom and folly of human communities. Thus, ringing out in 'Chapters of Celebration' are the political and ritual echoes of exuberance that humanity seems to have lost along the way.

Following the critically acclaimed 'Madrigals', director Benjamin Abel Meirhaeghe and composer Wouter Deltour reunite in their shared passion for classical music and ritual.

In a broken world, 'Chapters of Celebration' is a powerful reminder of the universal need to celebrate. So we don’t forget to keep on dancing, always.