Ula Sickle - Clay Bodies
01.06.2026 — 12.06.2026
In Clay Bodies, raw clay and fired ceramic are used to generate movement, sound, and music. Kneading, striking, wearing, breaking: gestures that produce a vibration too persistent to ignore. Voices shift and tune into the rumble of destruction.
Loosely based on the myth of Pandora, the work recalls the ancient telling where the evils of the world were released not from a box but from an earthen jar—an all too human gesture almost inevitable. The performance unfolds after the rupture, in a time when what has been released cannot be taken back, and the only thing that remains is the ongoing task of inhabiting the consequences.
Concept, choreography Ula Sickle Creation, performance Amanda Barrio Charmelo, Sophia Dinkel,Jose Funnel, Amina Szecsödy Sound and light design Ofer Smilansky Ceramic objects Maika Garnica, Ula Sickle Costume design Wang Consulting Dramaturgy Martin Zicari, Persis Bekkering Archeologist and historian Savannah Marquardt Coordination Joëlle Laederach Production Outline Co-production Kanal / Centre Pompidou Brussels, Concertgebouw Brugge, Perpodium With the support of van the Flemish Community, Tax shelter of the Belgian government
Ula Sickle (CA/PL) is a choreographer and performer based in Brussels, Belgium. From a background in contemporary dance, she works across disciplines, drawing from the visual arts or contemporary music. Frequently centered around strong performers, she searches for forms of choreographic writing, where the cultural coding and political power of our movements and gestures are central.
Ula studied Art History at the University of Toronto and Performance Studies at Paris VIII, before attending P.A.R.T.S. Performing Arts Research and Training Studios in Brussels. She studied at Le Fresnoy, a post-graduate media program in the North of France. She was artist in residence at the Ujazdowski Castle, Center for Contemporary Art in Warsaw and Wiels Arts Center in Brussels. She is currently a PhD researcher at KU Leuven and Luca School of Arts in Brussels.
Ula has been presented in many international festivals such as Kunstenfestivaldesarts (BE), Wiener Festwochen, Donaufestival (AT), CTM Festival (DE), as well as visual arts venues such as Serralves Museum (Porto), Wiels (Brussels), Centre Pompidou (Paris), MACBA (Barcelona).
Ula is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Flemish Community.