Giulia Damiani

Giulia Damiani’s residency at STUK continues her choreographic and sound research for Apology For Fire. The project began in the summer of 2026 with the support of Culture Moves Europe, Amarte, and Parasita Associação in Lisbon. Accompanied by choreographic advisor Oneka von Schrader, Giulia spent time in an area of Portugal heavily impacted by wildfires.

The piece moves through states of violence and vulnerability, confronting the emptiness of political speech and the failures of authority in times of climate crisis. Fire becomes a situation, a physical sensation, and a pressure on the body. During this residency, the artists work to trace the links between the symptomatology of fire on the flesh and local medieval manic dances — rebellions against shared extreme conditions. Vocal sirens and ancient call and response channel attempts to save matter that may come too late. But still, they try to connect with what exists beyond, at times with spectres more than spectators.

Supported by the Mondriaan Fonds

Giulia Damiani is a performance maker based in Amsterdam. She works through provocative performative situations often starting from a sound investigation, posing urgent questions about violence, vulnerability, language, and a mythical and ecological territory. Her work Heart Brake was presented internationally and at Frascati in December 2025. Her new project Apology for Fire originated at ImPulsTanz Vienna and Parasita Lisbon, and will be further developed at STUK, with a work-in-progress show at COKO Space on December 18, 2026 in Amsterdam. Her debut book Nemesis will be published by Silver Press in 2026.

Oneka von Schrader is a choreographer, performer, singer, and artistic advisor researching illness, anatomy, and feminism through conceptual somatics and dream work. She studied choreography at SNDO Amsterdam and Shiatsu in Vienna.

Leroy Chaar is an Amsterdam-based composer, sound designer, and audio engineer blending experimental electronics with classical structures and musical grammar. His latest release under Fien, World Service, was released in 2023.