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THURSDAY MAY 7, 5:30PM
TURN ON
Event
In TURN ON, Swiss-Moroccan dancer and choreographer Soraya Leïla Emery embraces her dual culture as a prism through which to examine the experience of female pleasure. She doesn't undertake this exploration alone: two other artists accompany her, nourished like her by an upbringing between two identities. Drawing on different physical techniques, taken from dance as well as martial arts, and also on Orientalist representations, they explore the notions of gaze and consent. In a shifting space, constantly redrawn by light and sound, where they move alone and together, each asserts her place with strength and delicacy. They free themselves. And us with them.
Soraya Leila Emery is a Swiss-Moroccan choreographer and dancer based in Zürich. She graduated in contemporary dance from CFPArts Geneva in 2014 and SEAD Salzburg in 2017, then completed her Masters in choreography at ZHdK Zürich in June 2024. She works around the theme of female pleasure, seeking to define what pleasure is and translate it into choreographic scores to redefine narratives around female sexuality, bodily autonomy and empowerment. She explores pleasure through a feminist lens, and her research examines the preservation and transmission of cultural identity as well as the representation of the Arab female body. In 2023/2024, she was an associate artist at TanzPlan Ost, where she created the piece TURN ON. In 2025/2028, she is an associate artist at Tanzhaus Zürich, where she will premiere the solo Coming Soon in March 2026.
Concept, Artistic Direction, Choreography: Soraya Leila Emery
Co-Choreography, Performance: Soraya Leila Emery, Donya Speaks / Hakima Sinekli, Lena Sophia Bagutti Khennouf
Sound design: Sinan Moses
Costume & stage design: Moni Wespi
Dramaturgy: Lyn Bentschik
Light design: Patrik Rimann
Mentorship: Ulduz Ahmadzadeh
Videography: Michelle Ettlin
Dramaturgical support TanzPlan Ost: Mona De Weerdt, Simone Truong
Production management TanzPlan Ost: Romeo Oliveras, Mona De Weerdt, Miriam Haltiner
Production: hot stuff
Coproduction: TanzPlan Ost
Production: Romeo Oliveras
Distribution: Simon Fleury