description

On the 17th of January, supported by the INKUBATOR ’25 @Rote Fabrik, we premiered Yugo’s work-in-progress version.

“Yugo” is: the old car of my grandfather, his legacy, a resemblance of stability, wisdom; an abbreviation for Yugoslavia, a country associated with socialist values and patriarchal norms; and a metaphor of my personal and collective identity shaped by war, migration, conflict, as well as a search for freedom.

The word “Yugo” itself embodies dualities—symbolising both stability and oppression, movement and entrapment, identity and erasure.

On stage “Yugo” is as an intense, experimental performance that explores the complexities of female rage, migration, and identity through the entangled and percussive movement of bodies. Developed in collaboration with composer Paul Taro Schmidt and dancers Sophie Larson and Coko de Windt, the piece explores rage as an invisible yet ever-present condition. Through intense physicality, body percussion, and playful dynamics that teeter on the edge of violence, we explore an “edgy space” where tension simmers beneath the surface. In its creation, we draw inspiration from personal narratives, historical contexts, and current socio-political realities of women affected by systemic oppression, war, and migration. “Yugo” is our anthem, a multi-layered exploration of the suppressed and unexpressed female rage, the rage of women who were asked to always be gentle, kind, soft, silent even when faced with injustice, oppression and violence.

We feel the urgency to create a space where women’s bodies, traditionally silenced and controlled, become sites of resistance, endurance, and transformation.