Sophie Yukiko and ZOE present BODEN at tanzhaus nrw Düsseldorf
Date and Time
Location
Price
About this Event
Mood
Venue Type
BODEN: Dance, Ritual and the Question of Shared Land
With BODEN, Sophie Yukiko and ZOE present a contemporary dance performance on December 11, 2026, at the tanzhaus nrw in Düsseldorf. The premiere combines Voguing, political art, and historical reflection into a physically immersive engagement with land, belonging, and power.
When Land Becomes a Contested Memory
The starting point of the work is the transformation of European concepts of land, community, ancestral lines, and ownership described by Silvia Federici. Where land was once thought of as a shared good and communal responsibility, a system of private appropriation, social control, and violent displacement increasingly took hold.
BODEN traces these historical linkages into the present. The performance examines the construction of a German nation, the associated national pride, and the invention of a demarcated, non-German and non-white identity. At the core is the question of who is granted the right to existence, memory, and roots.
Voguing as the Language Art of the Body
Sophie Yukiko and ZOE approach these themes from a Black German perspective. Their artistic medium is Voguing, a dance form from the queer ballroom culture. Precise lines, expressive poses, and ritual movements transform the body into an archive of resistant history.
The linguistic and bodily narratives of BODEN connect political analysis with sensual stage presence. The archetype of the witch does not appear as a historical marginal figure but as a symbol for exclusion, persecution, transformation, and the reclamation of space. The legibility of the body becomes a choreographic counterstatement.
Sophie Yukiko and ZOE: Two Perspectives on Ritual and Space
Sophie Yukiko works as a German-American artist in the fields of film, theater, and dance. Her practice combines text, performance, and choreography with questions of ritual, love, violence, origin, and collective experiences. As a co-founder of the German ballroom scene and Mother of the international House of Laveaux, she shapes an art in which subculture, political reflection, and performative energy intersect.
ZOE is an interdisciplinary performance artist and curator from Düsseldorf. In her work, she explores rehabilitation, transformation, and the reclamation of body and space. Her art questions dominant narratives, makes marginalized perspectives visible, and understands performance as a language of resistance.
A Premiere with a Clear International Perspective
BODEN will be presented in German and English, each with subtitles in the other language. The approximately 60-minute performance focuses on national identity, racial exclusions, and the political dimension of dance. This creates a literary-like stage event without classical text: The bodies write their own story in space, rhythm, and gaze.
The atmosphere of a spoken discourse gives way to a concentrated dance performance, where voice, movement, and silence correspond with each other. The audience experiences an authorial encounter with political ideas that become physically tangible rather than merely explained. Contemporary dance becomes a language art, a practice of remembrance, and a cultural discourse.
Conclusion: An Intense Literary Experience Without Words
Sophie Yukiko and ZOE transform the tanzhaus nrw into a resonance room for questions of origin, ownership, and belonging. BODEN promises a concentrated, sensual, and politically alert stage experience. Anyone wishing to experience contemporary dance, ballroom culture, and socially critical performance in an extraordinary connection should attend this premiere live in Düsseldorf.
Official Channels of Sophie Yukiko and ZOE:
- Instagram: no official profile found
- Facebook: no official profile found
- Website: no official profile found
- Publisher: no official profile found
