Guests: Emma Elefánti, Qudus Onikeku, Mamela Nyamza, Igor Shugaleev, and Natacha Melo
Moderator: Prasanna Oommen
In Spoken English. With International Sign Language. Zoom subtitles available

With Talk & Connect #4, this year’s series of the international tanzmeeting enters what is, for the time being, its final round. To conclude, we ask ourselves: Facing a “Cultural Climate Change”, how can we carry on our artistic and curatorial work with humanist values whilst remaining resistant, resilient and empathic? How do we deal with the fact that restrictive extremist, nationalist or authoritarian politics are gaining ground in large parts of the world? What are the consequences for our transnational work, our networks and our artistic practice?

In short statements, dance professionals share their personal experiences of repression and restrictions on artistic practice, strategies of resistance, and how resilience - both individual and collective - can be built up. This event showcases both lived and successful forms of resistance and visions for the future of a strong international dance scene.

We specifically take a look into the future: How do we want to - and how can we - (net)work internationally as political conditions become more restrictive, borders are closing and international exchange is limited? How do we support one another? What helpful and positive experiences, strategies and connections can we already draw upon?

Talk & Connect #4 invites everyone who is wondering how international collaboration in dance can remain vibrant, effective and in solidarity.

Emma Elefánti
Emma Elefánti is a Hungarian dramaturg, cultural theorist and former cultural manager. She has worked in production and at venues specialising in contemporary dance. She also helped to found the Freeszfe Society, which offers Hungary’s first internationally accredited Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes in the arts. She is currently studying special educational needs and researching how the arts can strengthen communities.

Qudus Onikeku
The choreographer, artist, researcher and cultural producer Qudus Onikeku heads the J. Randle Centre for Yorùbá Culture and History and co-founded the QDance Centre in Lagos in 2014. His works combine Yorùbá traditions with kinesthetic memory and new technologies, and have been performed in over 60 countries, including at the Festival d’Avignon, the Centre Pompidou and the Venice Biennale.

Mamela Nyamza
Mamela Nyamza, a dancer, choreographer and activist from Cape Town, won the Silver Lion in the dance category at the Venice Biennale in 2026 and is one of the five nominees for the 2026 SEDA Award. Following her training in classical dance, she began exploring the politics of the body. In her work "Hatched", she deconstructed conventional standards of classical dance. Through her organisation, Mamela’s Artistic Movement NPC, she offers a safe home to other marginalised artists.

Igor Shugaleev
Born in Belarus, Igor Shugaleev now lives in Warsaw as a member of the Nowy Teatr ensemble. Since 2019, he has been developing interdisciplinary solo works that blend dance, physical theatre and activism, focusing on queer identity, migration and the body as a form of political expression. His piece “The Body You Are Calling Is Currently Not Available” was performed at the international tanzmesse nrw and at the SPRING Festival. “CLAP&SLAP” was named one of Aerowaves’ Top 20 in 2026 and was performed at the Tanztriennale, amongst other venues.

Natacha Melo
Natacha Melo is an artist, curator and cultural manager from Uruguay. She has been involved in major collaborative projects such as the South American Dance Network, the Ibero-American Dance Platform and the National Dance Plan of Uruguay. As a curator, she has contributed to, amongst others, Linha de Fuga (Portugal), Mentor-Protegé de Rolex (Switzerland) and Southern Exposure (USA), and served as an associate curator for the internationale tanzmesse nrw in 2022 and 2024.