Hendrickx has been supported by Get Down for four years. After the release of her first creation, Blind, she is now preparing two new creations. A performer, choreographer, dancer, and activist, she has made her mark through an expressive and committed style of dance, one she also passes on to a new generation. We met her to look back on her journey, Blind, and to talk about her upcoming creations Féex and Nùsa.

Hendrickx started dancing at 16, almost by chance. She gave it a try after seeing people dance at the local youth center. Her teacher immediately encouraged her to keep going, even though her parents weren’t on board at first. She then discovered hip-hop, but people always told her she had “too much energy” and needed to control it. Very shy, she found in dance a way to express herself.

How did you discover Krump ?

Hendrickx: “One day, on television, I saw krump dancers performing after the 2018 attack in Liège, as a tribute to the victims. It hit me right away, I completely connected with that energy.

“I found one of them on Facebook and asked if I could learn krump. At the first session, the group showed me the basics in ten minutes, then they threw me straight into a cypher. I came from hip-hop, I didn’t know how to ‘krump’ but I went for it. Everyone encouraged me. I felt an immediate strength and kindness I had never experienced before.

“That’s when I understood: I could release all my energy without being judged. I knew krump was what I wanted to do.”

A long-term commitment

Hendrickx has now been practicing krump for 13 years and is active in the community. She helps pushing the movement forward in Belgium and internationally, both on stage and in battles.

Hendrickx: “At first, I worked with places like the Théâtre de Liège and Zinnema, and I began to understand that I could structure a real creative approach. The turning point was the 1000 Pièces Puzzle training program (created by Cindy Claes). After I won the competition, the financial support allowed me to launch my first creation around 2015. Then I kept going with projects and training, with support from Lezarts Urbains (especially Flora Chassang), which professionalized my writing and helped my ideas to grow.”

At the same time, her battle career accelerated, she became a two-time world champion at the EBS battle in one category and a three-time finalist. Then everything aligned, she became an associate artist at the Théâtre National, collaborated with Alessandra Seutin and Séverine Chavrier, and worked on more commercial projects (Camille Lellouche, Fresh La Peufra, The Chemical Brothers).

What pushed you to create stage work?

Hendrickx: “I’ve always wanted to create, to go further. The day I understood you could make shows to express themes, life questions, things you can’t necessarily do in a battle, I thought “OK, now I can really tell something.”

“I’m not someone who expresses herself easily, but on stage it’s different, there’s an audience, a story to share, meaning to convey. In a battle, you’re facing an opponent, the goal isn’t the same. And that’s exactly why I like both formats, they’re very different, but complementary in my way of being an artist.

“When I realized that, I knew I wanted to create. And I also discovered that creating isn’t just lights and dance, it’s a real process, sometimes long. So you might as well do it with subjects that matter to you. If I can help, open up questions, make people think through my art, I’ve won.”

How did Blind, your first creation, come about?

Hendrickx: “Blind came out of a conversation. I often create like that by talking with people close to me. For me, it was essential that the subject involved the whole Konzi company. When everyone is involved, we work better and go further.

“With Blind, there was already this question: to what extent are we manipulated? The system tells you how to live, think, function, sometimes to the point where you no longer know whether you’re really thinking for yourself. The real question was: do we still have critical thinking? Do we take the time to think for ourselves? At the time, co-choreographer Pierre Dexter Belleka was living in Africa and I was in Europe, two different realities, but the same conclusion. We move forward, we follow… without always questioning things. That’s where the title “Blind” comes from: we are the actors of our lives, but sometimes we move forward blindly.

“The creation process was intense, especially musically. I worked with musicians Joshua Twambi, Jeanel Ambrosio, Thierry Massenba, and beatmaker Morf Muzik to rebuild the full soundtrack. And there too, I didn’t want them to be ‘just’ there to make music, we discussed the theme together, and those conversations fed the piece.”

Blind was created in 2022 and has been touring for four years, in Belgium and internationally. In Belgium, it has been presented at Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles, Charleroi danse, Théâtre de Liège, and deSingel in Antwerp. Abroad, it has been shown at FLOW in Lille, La Villette in Paris, Summer Dance Forever in Amsterdam, and the San Francisco International Dance Festival.

Can you tell us about your upcoming projects?

Hendrickx: “Right now I’m in a very concrete phase: two new creations are coming—Féex and Nùsa.

“Féex means ‘emptiness’ in Wolof, and Nùsa means ‘to feel’ in Swahili.

“Féex is almost made with the same team as Blind. There are three of us around the project, with artists like Israël Ngashi, Arias Fernandez, and me as choreographer and performer. And everything starts from our discussions, in the dressing rooms, while eating, everywhere. We kept talking about spirituality, what we’ve lived through, what we’ve felt. We don’t all share the same beliefs, and that’s normal. Féex comes from that shared obsession with the invisible, what we feel, what may exist depending on our beliefs. The idea is to stage it, to make it tangible, without imposing a single truth.

“Then there’s Nùsa, where I will be only the choreographer. Nùsa is completely different, there will be five women only. The project is inspired by the story of the 6888 Battalion, African-American women sent to Europe during World War II to reorganize and deliver soldiers’ mail, an essential job that was long ignored and only rediscovered recently, notably through the film Messagères de guerre (The Six Triple Eight). That film moved me because I’m very inspired by cinema, and my creations have a cinematic side, whether it’s Blind, Féex, or Nùsa. I recognized myself in the idea that so many things women do are forgotten, erased, or simply not highlighted. Nùsa speaks about that, transmission, feeling, the specific way women perceive things, and that’s exactly what I want to put in the center.

“Transmission is also in the casting for Nùsa, I’m working with five women I’ve watched grow, whom I’ve trained and supported. It’s a way to push the next generation and spotlight artists in Belgium who don’t always get opportunities spotting them, supporting them, opening doors is part of my role.”

These two new creations are entering the pre-production phase, with a trajectory planned between late 2027 and 2029. In parallel, the team is building the production setup and opening discussions with several partners, including Les Brigittines, Théâtre de Liège, Schouwburg Kortrijk, KVS, Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles, and Theater Rotterdam.

Why did you decide to bring krump to the stage?

Hendrickx: “I was among the first people to bring krump onto the Belgian choreographic stage, but I wanted to go further, to do 100% krump, without changing it, not a ‘krump-inspired’ piece. The music had to be krump, made by krumpers. The dance had to remain krump. And the choreographer had to be a krumper too. The creation spoke to me because in battle, you don’t have time. On stage, you can unfold, tell, build an argument. And since I consider myself an activist for the movement, I told myself: if I do it, I do it fully.”

Hendrickx wants to create without diluting anything, without needing to “make it more contemporary” so theaters will accept it. The movement and the way of choreographing remain krump. The writing can be open, because each artist’s writing is unique, but the gesture itself, she has always wanted it to stay krump.

Do you also work on other projects as a performer?

Hendrickx: “Yes, I’m also a performer in other creations alongside my own projects. Right now I’m touring with a piece by Séverine Chavrier, who is a stage director and the director of the Comédie de Genève. It’s a big production and it takes up a lot of my time. I was also supposed to be in a piece created by Alessandra Seutin, but I got injured, so I couldn’t do it as planned.

“I also have a project with Grichka Caruge that’s currently on hold. Besides that, I’m touring with Révolta, a piece with 50 classical musicians and four dancers. The piece toured last year and will keep touring. In June, I’m launching a new solo creation with four classical musicians. I’ll be alone on stage with them, and we’re preparing a first showing in June, before a tour that’s currently being set up right after.”

Why is it important for you to be in both battles and stage creation?

Hendrickx: “Judging gives me something creation can’t replace, it keeps me connected to my base. Battle is the street world; that’s where I learned and where I built myself. It’s also a question of credibility: in krump, in hip-hop, it’s not because you make stage work that you’re credible and people will invite you to battles. In battles, you’re invited because you prove yourself, because you’re active and you keep showing up.

“Of course people also look at your overall path: do you transmit, do you move the scene in your country, do you bring something to the movement. But I do it because it’s my original world, my source. Creation helped me develop my writing and open other horizons, but it doesn’t replace battles or sessions, and it shouldn’t replace them. And above all, I need that to feed myself, the creations inspire and motivate me, but battles will always be my base.”

Can you tell us about the EOTO Playground program by your Ruthless collective?

Hendrickx: “With Mouss, Chris Sarr, Oumar Diallo, and Flora Chassang, we created a training program for street dancers. We were lucky to have access to training and structures that opened doors for us, but in Belgium there’s been a big gap. For a while, there was no solid framework dedicated to street dances. Since transmission is central for us, we decided to build it ourselves: transmitting isn’t only through dance and battles, it’s also about providing tools, structure, and a framework.

“In the same spirit, I also created Ruthless, a collective of women in street dances. We do trainings and performances, and the idea is to push women forward in Belgium, create visibility, but above all to keep transmitting and helping people grow around us. Today I see that young people have more frameworks and more people building things, and I think that’s great, so for me, it’s important to be part of it. And I’ll say it clearly: I try to stay as active as I can, and the goal is also to train people so they take over and do it too.”

Between battles and stages, Hendrickx Ntela draws a clear line: she wants to move krump forward, transmit, and keep creating. With Blind, she delivered a powerful first work, which is still touring and will be presented at Le Delta on April 18, 2026.

Next, Féex and Nùsa are in development. Further announcements (dates, partners, tour openings) will be communicated progressively. All information will be available on Get Down’s website, on social media, and via the newsletter.