02/03/26 – 11/03/26
Performing arts
Title of the project: “WUTBRUST”
Switzerland/Germany
Description of project:
This work is a personal and feminist exploration of female-socialized anger. Growing up as a girl, I learned to be “nice,” “beautiful,” and “harmonious.” This conditioning has shaped not only my identity but also how I move and create in dance. Beneath the smile, however, there is a lingering sense that something is missing—an unease, a silenced energy. In WUTBRUST, I investigate repressed, tamed, and internalized anger—the one hidden behind politeness, the one that turns inward and makes us sick—and that, in its self-abusive form, ultimately perpetuates victimhood and sustains patriarchal structures of power and dependency. I want to give space to the grotesque, raw, and “unfeminine” emotions that have long been stigmatized. Through the raw physicality of dance forms like Krump and Butoh—both emphasizing authentic, vulnerable expression that challenges mainstream aesthetics of “beauty”—I search for a movement vocabulary to embody these emotions. WUTBRUST combines contemporary dance, performance, and theatrical imagery in a deliberately raw, colorful, and contradictory aesthetic. The project seeks empowerment through embracing anger in its productive power as a transformative force—toward liberation from internalized norms and genuine equality.
Open presentation: Saturday March 7th 2026
20:00, Free Entrance
Masterclass:
shake the nice girl out! – dance & improvisation workshop around female socialized anger
Sunday March 8th 2026, 11:00 – 13:00
Free submission
Mara Natterer
Mara is a dancer and craniosacral therapist. She teaches contemporary dance, movement, and contact improvisation in Switzerland and internationally. She studied International Relations in Geneva and later worked in the field of human rights for the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Brazil. Mara holds a Master’s degree in Community Dance from the Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London and has led community dance projects in England, Brazil, Spain, and Switzerland, as well as with students from various universities in Germany and Switzerland. As a freelance dancer and co-choreographer, she has collaborated with numerous choreographers in Switzerland and abroad (e.g., Rahel Lopez de la Nieta, Heidi Rustgaard, Alexandra Prici, Elenita Queiroz). She also choreographs for large-scale theatre productions. In 2022, Mara received a Dance Grant from the Appenzell Ausserrhoden Cultural Foundation for her project BERÜHRBAR. Since 2023, she has been the director of Laboratoire Paul, a format for interdisciplinary collaboration as part of the Paula Interfestival (www.paula-interfestival.ch). In 2024, she received the Canton of St. Gallen’s Work Grant for her project Hauten Baby!, which explores trauma-sensitive practices in the performing arts.
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Project Overview & Research Focus
From October 22nd to November 13th, 2025, choreographers Ermira Goro (Athens) and Ildikó Tóth (Leipzig) conducted a three-week research residency for their new collaborative project, “Akómi,” at the Akropoditi Dance and Performing Arts Centre on the island of Syros, Greece.
The purpose of this residency was to establish the foundational choreographic and spatial framework for Akómi. The work investigates how individual perception is shaped by dominant collective narratives, drawing conceptual inspiration from Christa Wolf’s book Kassandra and the aesthetic minimalism of the Cycladic Spedos figurines.
Residency Process and Methodology
As this was the first time the two artists collaborated, the residency provided the essential studio time required to develop a shared movement language and identify common choreographic interests without the pressure of performance expectations. This dedicated research phase was crucial for exploring the project’s core themes—internalized pressure, stillness, and latent resistance—and translating them into a minimalist movement vocabulary.
The use of a video camera served as an additional tool in the research, enabling the exploration of the moving body through different angles, frames, and excerpts—including close-ups, frog, and bird views. This approach was vital for not only documentation and reflection but also for deliberately distorting conventional visual perception and investigating new forms of physical intimacy and fragmentation within the developing material.
Public Engagement
At the end of the residency the local community was invited to an open presentation on Wednesday, November 12th, 2025 (13:00). This event offered the public direct insight into the evolving dialogue between movement and the core conceptual concerns of Akómi.
Conclusion
The time spent at Akropoditi successfully established the artistic foundation for Akómi. The residency allowed for a focused, deep dive into conceptual sourcing and material development, providing both artists with the groundwork necessary to transition the research into a full-scale production phase.
