Ictus
Presented in collaboration with Le Vivier as part of La Semaine du Neuf, a festival dedicated to new music, Holding Present brings together choreographer Ula Sickle and the Brussels-based contemporary music ensemble Ictus. Together, they create a performance where music and dance merge into a powerful collective gesture.
On stage, seven performers—three musicians and four dancers—share the same space, blurring the boundaries between bodies and instruments. The piece explores how an individual movement can transform into a collective act.
Inspired by protest movements past and present, Holding Present becomes a staged reflection on community: a space where shared presence, common rhythm, and mutual listening shape a form of collective action. Interweaving existing works and newly commissioned pieces by Alvin Lucier, Pauline Oliveros, Didem Coskunseven, and Stellan Veloce, the performance offers a different way of inhabiting the present together, with rare physical and symbolic intensity.
Ictus is one of Europe’s most important contemporary music ensembles.
Ula Sickle (CA/PL) is a Brussels-based choreographer and performer whose work spans dance, visual arts, and contemporary music. Her performer-centered creations delve into the cultural and political dimensions of movement. She holds a PhD from KU Leuven and LUCA School of Arts, and her performances have been widely presented across Europe.
Tom Pauwels (BE) is a Belgian guitarist and the artistic director of the Ictus ensemble. Active in the field of contemporary music on both classical and electric guitar, he has collaborated with composers and choreographers across Europe. A former professor at the Ghent Conservatory, he now teaches at P.A.R.T.S., Brussels’ contemporary dance school.
March 13 2026 – 7:30 p.m.
March 14 2026 – 3 p.m.
Duration : 90 minutes
25$ | 35$ | 45$
Meet the artists, March 13 2026 at 6:45 p.m., before the performance
Artistic Directions Ula Sickle + Tom Pauwels (Ictus)
Choreography Ula Sickle
Musical Direction Tom Pauwels (Ictus)
Dancers Amanda Barrio Charmelo, Marie Goudot, Mohamed Toukabri
Musicians Marina Delicado, Ruben Martinez Orio, Michael Schmid, Tom Pauwels
Lighting Design Ofer Smilansky
Sound Design Ofer Smilansky
Technical Support Joëlle Laederach
Costumes Wang Consulting
Dramaturgy Persis Bekkering
Tour Manager Joëlle Laederach
Composers Alvin Lucier, Pauline Oliveros, Stellan Veloce, Didem Coşkunseven (Commande de Ictus + Ircam-Centre Pompidou)
Invented Instruments Gert Aertsen
Set Design Richard Venlet
Coproduction Ictus, Ircam/Les Spectacles vivants-Centre Pompidou, Concertgebouw Brugge, Perpodium
Co-presentation Le Vivier, Agora de la danse
Creation Residencies Rosas (Brussels), A two Dogs Company (Brussels), Concertgebouw Bruges, KWP (in Pianofabriek)
Production & Tour Management Ictus + Outline
Support Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government, Flanders State of the Art, Conseil des arts du Canada
Photo Credits
Holding Present © Bart Grietens, Ras Juskeviciute, Herve Veronese, Marin Driguez
Ula Sickle Portrait © Ania Rosinska Luczak
Tom Pauwels Portrait © elbphilharmonie hamburg
A co-presentation with Le Vivier
Ictus
