Belgium’s national broadcaster RTBF unveiled exclusive footage from Essyla’s Eurovision 2026 rehearsals, revealing four professional dancers and the creative team behind the choreography for the country’s entry “Dancing on the Ice”.
Preparations for Eurovision 2026 in Vienna are stepping up: Belgium’s French-language national broadcaster, RTBF, has released an official glimpse into the rehearsals of the country’s representative, Essyla. The footage from the studio reveals that the singer will not be performing alone on the grand stage in Austria but will be joined by four professional dancers during her performance of “Dancing on the Ice“.
הצגת פוסט זה באינסטגרם
The national broadcaster wrote in a post: “We attended Essyla’s very first rehearsal — we watched the choreography and staging for Eurovision, and we can tell you it’s going to be… crazy!”
The creative team and dancers
The four dancers chosen to accompany Essyla are Max Lukaina, Axel Remezo, Maniquet Julien, and Tom Van de Weghe. Each brings notable experience from previous productions, including appearances in “Arabs Got Talent”, “The Voice”, and various music videos by prominent artists.
The choreography for the Belgian act is led by David Vandenplas and Elena Gambardella. Gambardella is already a familiar name to Eurovision fans, having served as the official house dancer for Eurovision 2021 in Rotterdam — highlighting the strong international expertise behind Belgium’s staging this year.
Belgium’s 2026 Eurovision entry
As a reminder, Essyla was internally selected by the French-language national broadcaster RTBF, which handles Belgium’s participation this year as part of its regular rotation agreement with the Flemish broadcaster VRT (responsible for last year’s selection of Red Sebastian). The song “Dancing on the Ice” was written by Essyla herself in collaboration with Barbara Petitjean.
Essyla – Who Are You?
Essyla, born Alice Van Aesbeck and hailing from Bruges, Belgium, is a singer-songwriter who first gained national recognition after reaching the final of the ninth season of “The Voice Belgique” in 2021. From an early age, she formed her first musical ensemble and later continued her formal training at IMEP, a higher academic institution for music comparable to a conservatory. Her musical style draws influence from French chanson while blending pop with elements of jazz, folk, rock, and funk. In her artistic work, she emphasizes themes of empowerment and contemporary issues from a female perspective. Among her notable songs are “Let You Go” and “Not My Kind of Dude“.
Belgium at Eurovision 2026
“Dancing on the Ice” is the title of the song to be performed by singer Essyla, who will represent Belgium at Eurovision 2026, set to take place in Vienna, Austria. Belgium will compete at the 2nd half of the First Semi-Final on May 12th. The song was written by Essyla herself, alongside songwriter Barbara Petitjean. Belgium is currently ranked 28th on the beeting charts towards Eurovision 2026.
Eurovision 2026: This will be Belgium’s 67th participation in the contest. Belgium joined Eurovision in 1956 as one of its seven founding nations. The country’s best result came in 1986, when Sandra Kim won first place with “J’aime la vie”.
