In December 1997, Thomas Hauert creates his dance company ZOO. Along with four fellow-dancers (Mark Lorimer, Sara Ludi, Samantha van Wissen and Mat Voorter) he creates the project Cows in Space. The premiere takes place in Kortrijk, Belgium, in February 1998. It is a big hit from the start. The production receives the Author Prize and the Jan Fabre Prize at the prestigious Rencontres chorégraphiques internationales de Seine-Saint-Denis and is presented at lots of Belgian and international stages, taking the company as far as Japan. For its tenth birthday, ZOO took Cows in Space.