In Torments of Heart two singers and an ensemble of seven musicians give shape to different manifestations of loneliness triggered by four pieces of music from three different centuries: Two contemporaries, J.S. Bach and Johann Philipp Krieger, are accompanied with Gustav Mahler and joined by Hendrik Lasure’s contemporary compositions.

The set design is conceived as a ceiling, a ‘sky’ that floats above the podium, consisting of suspended nets that are used on construction sites for safety. The knots, the regular pattern of the nets are a metaphor for the entanglements of the heart, the connections of feelings and thoughts. Illuminated from above, the overlapping nets create complex, multi-layered patterns on the podium and on the dancing bodies. When the light comes from below or from the side, the nets become a dreamy, floating line drawing above gracefully moving figures and the small orchestra.

Choreography: Femke Gyselinck
Dance: Amanda Barrio Charmelo, Femke Gyselinck, Thomas Vantuycom
Scenography: Aslı Çiçek
Scenography assistant: Olivia de Bree & intern Francesca Desantis
Lights: Elke Verachtert
Costumes: Nel Maertens in collaboration with Woche Jewelry (Clarisse Bruynbroeck)
Dance dramaturgy: Steven Michel
Sound: Milan Van Doren
Technician and execution scenography: Jan Lettany
Music concept: Femke Gyselinck, Jan Van den Borre
Music: Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Philipp Krieger, Gustav Mahler, Hendrik Lasure
Orchestra: B-Rock Orchestra | Cecilia Bernardini: violin and artistic direction, Nele Vertommen: oboe, Jonathon Adams and Kristen Witmer: vocalists, Rebecca Huber: violin, Raquel Massadas: viola, Julien Barre: cello, Tom Devaere: double bass, Claudio Ribeiro: harpsichord & organ
Production: GRIP & B-Rock orchestra
Co-production: Concertgebouw Brugge / Dans in Brugge, STUK, Perpodium
Photography: Robbrecht Desmet

Link to review in PZAZZ by Pieter T'Jonck