Samodiva

Credits:

Idea & Choreography Marchela-Vasilena Merchant

Dancers Lily Armah, Marchela-Vasilena Merchant, Nina Tomlinson, Noemi Gunea, Stephanie Handjiiska, Thea Chamberlain

Costumes Freya Thomas-Taylor Set Design Abi Wood Music Dan Hibbert

Executive Producer Stephanie Handjiiska Consulting Producer Lydia Wharf

Associate Producer Ella Natalia Hopkins Photography Sophie Dunne Studio

Samodiva is realised with the financial support of National Lottery Project Grants by Arts Council England.

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Samodiva

opens a door to an ancient world, immersing the audience in traditions, beliefs and creatures seen in Eastern European Folklore. They emerge from mist and myth—barefoot spirits of the forest, fierce and free. Samodiva awakens the ancient tales of the Balkan wild women: guardians of nature, shape-shifters of fate, voices of forgotten power. In this living ritual of movement and presence, time bends, and the lines between performer and witness dissolve.

  • “Working with really ancient material that your body hasn’t necessarily generated is extremely powerful. When everyone has the context of the movement, we all feel a deep communal power.”

    - Georgia Howlett

    Dance Art Journal

  • “A lot about Samodiva is rewilding the human. It was important to collaborate with people who share our ecological values.”

    - Marchela-Vasilena Merchant

    Choreographer