City Talks Amsterdam: Belonging in Mythology

As a professional dancer and model, Diede Vermeesch is specialised in ballet, hiphop, and contemporary and celebrated for her improv skills. From an early age on, Diede wanted to make her way into the (dance) world without having to confine to societal norms. To define is to limit - how do you hold space for yourself? With her artistic work, Diede defies boundaries through movement, sharing stories via body language about identity and belonging.

Growing up on a farm, Marleen Hendrickx spent her childhood dancing amongst strawberry fields. Commencing her professional journey as a dancer and later evolving into a maker, she crafts stories that she believes must be heard, envisioning tangible change. Her solo piece X Y I and the group performance X Y WE - both exploring the experiences of intersex people and how the gender binary became the norm in recent Eurocentric tradition - make you rethink everything you think you know about sex and gender.

With a background in Art & Architectural History and Design Cultures, Mayim Frieden researches how the history, design, and mediation of our environments influence how we perceive space, ourselves, and others. With a focus on the lived realities of moving through space while trans, they explore the ideologies and social codes that have been woven into our urban fabric (and how that sustains gender inequalities towards trans and gender fluid people), and the promises and pitfalls of employing queerness within spatial practices.

Originating in clubs and community spaces, SasaHara's multidiscplinary work focuses on creating a world through text, installations, music and performance. Drawing inspiration from ancient mythologies, they rewrite and craft queerophantasmic narratives and work with self-made queer myths. In addition to their personal artistry, SasaHara is enrolled in the Sandberg Institute's Re:master Opera programme and serves as a creative producer supporting various artists and collectives.