Becoming Hardware Dance · Digital · Somatics · Wonder
How else might we experience being human?
Immersive worlds that awaken wonder and expand perception.
Body as portal.
Technology as spell.
Performance as world.
The question
Reality is richer than habit allows.
Performance, digital art and somatics for altered perception.
Zjana Muraro · dance artist · somatic researcher · digital choreographer
AboutCurrent portals
A body of work unfolding through movement, technology, imagination and wonder.
Motion / Tracking / AR
Moving Digits, Dancing Chaos and interactive motion systems.
See Moving Digits
Somatics / Perception / VR
Unruly, embodied research and neurodiverse performance practice.
Read ideas 
Moving image
Watch.
Play AAIS at Stone Nest on Vimeo Dance for Camera
Becoming Hardware
Play on Vimeo Glass on Glass
Dance for camera / reflective body study.
Play on Vimeo Play on Vimeo Pas de
Max/MSP/Jitter dance for camera.
Play on Vimeo
Play on YouTube Turner Contemporary
Two performers, two solos, collaged together.
Play on YouTube
Play on YouTube Touching from a Distance
Research and development rehearsal footage.
Play on YouTubeThese films open on their original platforms for reliable playback.
Artistic research project
Moving Digits
Digital Technology, Dance & Choreographic Practices
15 international dance artists 4 projects 7 institutions
Labs and performative events with movement devices, digital tools and motion tracking in AR settings.
Tallinn · Düsseldorf · Tallinn / 2019–2020
Visual archive
Bodies, worlds, glitches.
Ideas & research
Ideas that move.
Dance, somatics, XR, AI, motion data, perception.
Unruly: VR, dance and somatic practice with neurodiverse performers Becoming Somewhere Digital Dancing Chaos with Augmented Reality Somatics, technology and new materialism Portable interactive motion data systems for choreographers
In development · Dance / Neurodiversity / VR
Stranger
Currently in development
A new immersive work placing inclusivity, community and access at its heart.
15 neurodiverse Associate Artists Access All Areas Theatre Dance + VR research
Following a development through collaboration with 15 neurodiverse Associate Artists at Access All Areas Theatre (AAA) in East London, this new project places inclusivity, community and access at its heart.
Building on Dance & VR research, in which we found improved mood, confidence, autonomy and connection among these specific performers, we have been so inspired by our work with AAA.
Stranger draws audiences into a striking live world of movement, sound and interaction, inviting them to explore how technology and surveillance shape how we see ourselves, connect with others and move through contemporary society.
Using interactive environments, it will create accessible spaces where audiences can reflect, connect and participate on their own terms. Supported by residencies and mentoring, this R&D will lay the groundwork for an ambitious future contribution to England’s growing immersive arts sector.
Work with Zjana
Work with Zjana.
Performance · residencies · talks · workshops · research.
Present
Performance / new work
Immersive dance, digital performance, live experiments.
ResidencyResidency
Movement, XR, AI, somatics, perception.
LearningWorkshop / talk
Universities, festivals, labs and public events.
ResearchResearch conversation
Artists, technologists, researchers and institutions.
Zjana Muraro
Choreographer · Somatic Researcher · Digital Performance Artist
Creating embodied performance worlds across live performance, digital art and installation.
Services and Availability
Available for selected projects in:
Movement direction Choreographic development Interdisciplinary research and development Somatic and choreographic workshops Creative-technology consultation Live, screen, installation and immersive projects
Currently working across
New York · London · Sofia
For collaborations, professional enquiries and bookings:
About
Choreographer and interdisciplinary performance maker.
Zjana Muraro is a choreographer and interdisciplinary performance maker working across dance, digital art and installation.
Fusing classical dance and somatic practice with AI, biofeedback, motion tracking and immersive media, she creates visually distinctive performance worlds that bring hidden narratives and bodies in resistance into view. Her practice explores how bodies sense, remember and connect within social, political and technological systems.
Rather than treating the body as content for technology, Zjana uses embodied knowledge to question and transform digital environments. Emerging from experiences of in-betweenness, she creates spaces in which multiple identities, realities and ways of sensing can coexist.
Care, access, humour and collective experience are central to her process. She works collaboratively with performers, technologists, composers, researchers, producing partners and communities to develop work that is ethically grounded and responsive to context.
Selected experience
Performance and Presentation
Zjana’s work and performance practice have been presented internationally at Dixon Place in New York, REDCAT in Los Angeles, Mercat de les Flors during Barcelona’s Grec Festival, Oulu Museum of Art, Hong Kong Culture Centre, Suzanne Dellal Centre, Malta Society of Arts, Turner Contemporary, Roundhouse and The Place.
Her extensive performing career includes work with Hartford Ballet, Joffrey Ballet Ensemble, Vertigo Dance Company and Kiani Del Valle’s KVD Performance Group.
Her commercial performance credits include appearances alongside Shaggy, Chaka Khan, Jamelia and Sonic Youth. She has also collaborated with interactive-media artist Scott Snibbe and filmmaker Harmony Korine.
In development
Current Project
Stranger
Stranger is a new interdisciplinary performance project currently in independent research and development.
Wider practice
Cultural and Editorial Practice
Alongside her artistic work, Zjana contributes to community-led and critical conversations surrounding movement, bodily autonomy and collective action.
She has contributed to initiatives with Chisenhale Dance Space exploring dance’s role within contemporary protest cultures and politically charged public environments. Her wider practice considers movement as a form of resistance, resilience and shared agency.
Zjana is also an editorial assistant for the UK-based Journal of Dance and Somatic Practice, supporting research and discourse across dance, embodiment and somatic practice.
“Has magnetic appeal. The alchemy on stage is engrossing.”Jenny Gilbert, The Independent
“An experience full and complete. Remarkable.”Cathy Culver, Voice Magazine
“A wonderful mix of fluidity and strength.”iDance, NYC
Mailing list
Stay close.
Performances, workshops, research notes and strange digital worlds.
Contact
Let’s build.
Create · present · teach · speak · research.