I wanted to create something that feels like an experience, not just a performance. It was important for me to step outside of my comfort zone as a performer and really think about how to build an environment that people can enter and move through, rather than just watch from a distance. At Haus der Visionäre, I was interested in using the space without limitations and letting it shape the work just as much as the choreography does. The idea is that from the moment you walk in, you’re already inside the piece. It should feel immersive, almost like stepping into another world, an escape into our artistic universe.

When I started working with Christian Goss (Antidote.psd), the artist who created the projections and motion tracking, we spoke a lot about how technology and dance could exist together without one overpowering the other. For me, it wasn’t about adding tech as an effect, but about finding a real dialogue between the physical body and its digital extension. I think right now it’s important to push dance into new, innovative territories, but still keep the human presence at the center. There’s definitely a tension between the lived body and its translation into data or image, and that’s something I’m really drawn to. The body is messy, emotional, and unpredictable, while the digital layer can feel more controlled or abstract. In the piece, that contrast becomes part of the language. The projections don’t just mirror the dancer, they can distort, amplify, or even push against what’s happening physically. It creates this ongoing back and forth between what feels real and what’s being mediated.

I was really interested in breaking away from the norms and trying something I genuinely haven’t seen before. When men are en pointe, it’s often treated as a parody or something very gendered, and I wanted to move away from that completely. In this piece, pointe becomes a space for fluidity rather than a fixed role. We play with shifting dynamics between genders, there are moments where the female dancer is partnering me, and
others where I’m lifting her while en pointe. That exchange felt important to explore. Within an artistic world that feels unstable and full of pressure, it felt important to question those expectations.

For this piece, I really chose to work with performers and collaborators I felt a strong connection with, both personally and artistically. When I approached them, it wasn’t just about their technique or abilities, it was about what this theme actually means to them. For some, it’s very political, for others it’s more personal or social. Everyone came in with a different perspective and their own story. I think that’s what made the process so interesting. Even though we’re all very different and don’t share the same dance styles, there’s a common thread in that everyone is dealing with some kind of inner conflict or sense of borders, whether that’s internal or something bigger and political. You can feel that in the work. There’s a real energy between us because everything comes from a personal place, and I think that’s what makes the piece feel extremely authentic.