Work-in-progress presentation ‘AAA’ (working title)
Jana Jacuka (Latvia/Netherlands)In this work-in-progress, Jana continues to explore voice as a choreographic process, where the voice becomes an extension of her body and breath a tool of communication with the audience. As the doors close and we become contained within one space – sharing the same circulation of air, breath, and information, using voice becomes a way of filling the room with exhaled air. AAA (working title) departs from the vocal practice of yodeling, a “disobedient” vocal technique that resists the attempt to stabilize the voice and instead embraces instability. Through extreme vocal practices and unpredictable yodel flips, she oscillates between control and loss of control in both voice and body, inviting into an experience that is physically felt as much as it is heard.
EASY-READ VERSION
Artist Jana Jacuka is making a performance.
It is not finished yet.
She invites everyone to the rehearsal.
The working title of the performance is “AAA”.
In this performance, Jana explores the voice.
She also explores how her voice moves in space.
We watch the performance in a room.
The doors are closed.
We all share the same air.
We breathe the same air together.
We can breathe quietly.
We can also fill the room with our voice and our breath.
Jana shows that voice and breath can help us communicate.
The idea for “AAA” came from yodeling.
In yodeling, the voice makes unexpected jumps.
The voice does not stay stable.
The voice disobeys.
Jana does not try to make her voice stable.
Instead, she accepts these unexpected jumps.
She also uses other vocal techniques.
We can hear the voice.
We can also feel it with our body.
In this performance,
Jana invites the audience
to hear and physically feel the voice.
About artist
Jana Jacuka (1995, NL/LV) is a choreographer and performer, graduate of the DAS Theatre Master’s programme.
Her practice is rooted in vocal choreography. She explores extreme vocal practices and treats the voice as an (in)visible extension of her body, like another limb with which to move through space.
Jana is curious to create performances almost out of nothing. With no or minimal lighting design, no scenography, or sound design, she allows the voice and body to take the main stage. Her solo works emphasize the raw and essential elements of performance—the encounter with an audience.
Jana’s latest work HA was a source of inspiration for Dries Verhoeven’s work The Fortress at the Venice Biennale 2026 – Dutch Pavilion.
Her works have been presented at Santarcangelo Festival (IT), times New York gallery (USA), Frascati (NL), Arsenic (CH), AUAwirleben Festival (CH), Kanuti Gildi Saal and SAAL Biennaal (EE), Homo Novus Festival (LV), among others.
CREDITS
Choreographer, Performer: Jana Jacuka
Artistic Collaborator: eva susova
Dramaturg: Miguel Melgares
Styling, Photography, Inside Eye: Peteris Viksna
Vocal Coach: Sabine Pendry
Choreographic Advice: Melyn Chow
Outside Eye: Sam Scheuermann
Tour Production: DansBrabant
International Relations: Suzy Blok
Co-production: Ģertrūdes ielas teātris
Local Producer: Ieva Briede (New Theatre Institute of Latvia)
With support of: DansBrabant (NL), Homo Novus Festival (LV), Theater on Gertrudes Street (LV), State Culture Capital Foundation (LV), workspacebrussels (BE), Fair Performance Pact (NL), Het Cultuurfonds (NL), Culture Moves Europe, EFFEA – European Festivals Fund for Emerging Artists in collaboration with Homo Novus Festival (LV), Santarcangelo Festival (IT), Mladi Levi Festival (SI).
