ABOUT
(c) Wouter Van Looy
Welcome to De Wilderness, my ever-evolving playground and artistic habitat!
I am a singer, performer and maker, mainly in the field of music and music theatre. I’m particularly interested in how languages shape vocal technique, tone and expression. This curiosity leads me to dig into traditional popular repertoire from around the world and Western traditional popular and classical songs. I arrange and perform this music, often accompanying myself on instruments such as barrel organ, autoharp or hommel. Alongside this, I work in physical theatre and improvisation, both musically and performatively.
I studied at the Lemmens Institute in Leuven with Dina Grossberger and Katelijne Van Laethem, and continued my vocal training with Jard Van Nes. I’ve performed with ensembles and companies such as Correspondances, Servir Antico, Zwerm, Zefiro Torna, Imago Mundi, LOD, Zonzo Compagnie, Emily Wilson & Jos Houben, Ben Frost, Christina Vantzou and Frederik Neyrinck.
My own projects form the heart of my artistic work. Around the World in 72 Songs is a musical journey through traditional popular songs from diverse cultures, arranged for voice and barrel organ, and inspired by Nellie Bly’s 72-day trip around the world in 1889. Figurine is a solo installation-performance that reflects on the shifting female artistic identity through time. With Bel Ayre – a duo I co-founded with guitarist Peter Verhelst – I explore and co-create song repertoire.
Current work includes La Strada, a participatory and interdisciplinary performance that explores the roots of human wanderlust through community stories, music and shared meals; and Barellaboum!, a mobile puppet music theatre performance, inspired by object theatre, historical fairground figures, clowns and street performers.
In 2021, I received the Flemish Culture Prize (Ultima) for Music. Since 2023, I’ve been part of Walpurgis, an Antwerp-based workspace for music theatre, where I am part of the artistic coordinating team.
