SoBo Productions is a contemporary dance company creating raw, original and wholly visceral work that focuses on the interrelation and co-dependence of the movement of the body and sound of the voice.
The company, founded and directed by Darja Reznikova, was brought to life through her ongoing inquiry into the human body and its resonating chambers, particularly the vibrational and transcending qualities of the voice. The company’s productions stand in accord with Darja’s own integrative, abstract and transdisciplinary working method SoundBody and encompass the full breadth of work for stage-, screen- and cite-specific locations.
The aim is to generate visually, acoustically and emotionally transformative content. Thus, each production is treated in a unique way and strives towards a holistic constellation of space, sound and movement.
The company further delivers broad-reaching learning and engaging work in schools and communities and is involved in innovative collaborative research partnerships, particularly in relationship to the science of sound and vibration.
The association SoBo e.V. is currently in formation and aims to make contemporary dance accessible to all through the production of inclusive projects that challenge preconceptions about the body and our existence in this world.
“A sound body is a free, healthy and expressive body. Hence, the focus is on creating dance that is resonant, invigorating and enlivening to the spirit. My vision is to generate conscious work that captures the core of a person in a deep, authentic and empowering way, highlighting the ephemerality of the human body with its uniquely sonorous, visceral and intangible elements. With each project the further aim is to raise awareness of the healing qualities of vocal sound and movement through the art form of contemporary dance. The resonating state experienced by the dancer or audience member does not only merge the body and its environment, but also serves as a contribution to the expansion of human consciousness and thus wellbeing of all” – Darja Reznikova
Experience Us Live!
Join Us HereDarja Reznikova
“After dealing with the physical body in a very simultaneous and present way as a ‘silent’ dancer, I was drawn to create and produce work that deals with rather integrative aspects of the moving body and its sounds, crossing and even transitioning beyond the individual disciplines of Song, Dance and Drama“ – Darja Reznikova
Darja is a choreographer, dance teacher and researcher in the field of Interdisciplinarity. She is the founder and artistic director of SoBo Productions, her contemporary dance company based in Mannheim, Germany.
She was educated in the Ukraine, Germany, USA and Great Britain. She holds a Master of Arts in Dance Performance from Trinity Laban Conservatoire for Music and Dance, a BA (Hons) in Dance and Theatre Performance from Bird College and a PGCLTHE from Rose Bruford College in London.
In her freelance dance career, she has worked with many international choreographers, directors and companies including Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Joe Wright, Anh Ngoc Nguyen, Theo inArt, H2 Dance, Cameron McMillan, Angela Woodhouse, Colin Poole, Appetite Dance Productions and Joss Arnott Dance. She now resides and works as a choreographer, contemporary dance tutor and researcher in the Rhein-Neckar area, presenting her work across Germany as well as organising community projects. She is faculty staff at the Contemporary Department at Dance Professional Mannheim and after years of teaching and lecturing at Bird College in London, she continues to work there as an external academic tutor and marker.
Darja teaches Release Technique and explores the holistic integration of movement and voice. The latter led to the development of an innovative, integrative, and interdisciplinary training method called SoundBody, which focuses on performers in relation to the reciprocal nature and the inherent knowledge of the body. The findings of her research have been published as part of innovative assessment practices in Higher Education. Darja is fluent in three languages (German, English and Russian) and is a certified Reiki practitioner. Her further interests include holistic and somatic practices (e.g. Yoga, Feldenkrais, Alexander, Klein, Body Mind Centering, Authentic Movement) as well as spiritual and psychic studies.
Interested In A Collaboration!
Enquire HerePeople & Collaborators
Sabio Janiak
Music/Sound/Therapy
Composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, one man band, educator, cellular resonance therapist and sound alchemist based in London.
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Sabio associated himself with music and art since early childhood. In 2005 he obtained his Master’s Degree in Classical Percussion and in 2008 he studied music production at London Centre of Contemporary Music (UK).
He has over 20 years of experience as a composer and session multi-instrumentalist. His experience of working together with world-famous artists has developed his unique ability to be able to play more than 100 instruments. This particular skill allows him to be a very flexible musician, producer and composer.
Since 2008 Sabio has been working mainly as an accompanist, composer and performer collaborating with dancers, artists, choreographers and dance companies in the UK and abroad. Some of collaborations includes: Hofesh Shechter Company( Grand Finale, Political Mother Choreographer Cut, East Wall), Channel 4, Christies, Gallery, Jesus Carmona Company, Anna Morales, Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures, Umanoove/ Didy Veldman, Theo Tj Lowe – Inside out, Rich Mix, Ella Mesma Dance Company, Hagit Yakira Dance, The Place, Royal School of Ballet , Trinity Laban, School of Machines, Roehampton Uni, RAD , Richard Alston Dance Company, Central St Martins College of Art and Design, London College of Fashion, International School of Costume and Fashion Design in Warsaw, LCP dance theatre ,YLE.-Finnish Broadcasting Company, SYD-Shoreditch Youth Dance, Deborah Galloway(Needlefoot), Victor Fung, Nuno Silva, STDM, Arts Odyssey, Dance Digital, Alchemy Project, Darren Ellis Dance – Arts Trust.
Moreover, Sabio is a holistic wellness practitioner, polymath, sound and spiritual healer, laughter yoga leader, voice coach, educator on the science of vibration and founder of Mastering Harmony – Holistic Vibrational Medicine.
Mastering Harmony is a platform providing transformational mind-body tools to help us restore our original balanced state of wellness, inner peace and harmony to our everyday lives.
MH‘s aim is to provide simple applications to balance two main aspects of our earthly existence: mental(mind) and physical(body). By harmonising these two aspects of ourselves is crucial for re-connecting to our true, limitless potential as a fully balanced human being.
Restoring this most-important aspect of ourselves will help us to smoothly and peacefully navigate our personal space, and to achieve harmony and balance in every moment of our existence.
Synchronisation and understanding are the keys to knowledge, and knowledge is power.
By desiring harmony, you will balance your life. By becoming harmony, you can change the world.
MH programs are the result of many years of investigation into different disciplines such as vibrational therapy, neuroscience, psychoanalysis, psychosensory therapy, laughter yoga, breathwork, Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine, movement therapy, quantum physics, Qi Gong, breath work, the science of fasting, spiritual sciences, sound healing, and body detoxification.
MH service provides laughter session, sound journeys, voice analysis, finding your “home frequency” session, voice coaching, holistic Mastering Harmony workshops and conscious live improvised music journeys. All of those tools will give you instant results, providing you with simple shortcuts to being truly well.
Join the path of freedom and conscious living, where harmony and balance is your natural way of being.
Angela Wendt
Dramarturgy & Communications
Dr. Angela Wendt studied German, Media and Communication Studies and French and earned her doctorate in German Studies (Modern German Literature) at Mannheim.
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Dr. Angela Wendt studied German, Media and Communication Studies and French and earned her doctorate in German Studies (Modern German Literature) at the University of Mannheim. She has been a lecturer there since 2000 and offers seminars focusing on theater and theater practice.
At the National Theater Mannheim, she has worked on the International Schiller Days and the Mozart Summer, among others, and was responsible for the cooperation between the university and the National Theater.
Since 2015 she has been a freelance dramaturg in drama, and since 2018 also in dance. At Theater Felina-Areal Mannheim, she collaborates in drama with the Neues Ensemble and Rainer Escher, most recently on Wilhelm Reich’s “Rede an den Kleinen Mann” (2019), Alain Badiou’s “Ahmed der Philosoph” (2019), Anni Ernaux’s “Leben. Writing” (2020), Ferdinando Camon’s “The Horror of Therapists. The disease of man” (premiere 2021).
In dance, she collaborates with various choreographers including Stefano Giannetti: “The Power of Art” (2019), Amelia Eisen and Kirill Berezovski: “Project Warrior” (2019), Darja Reznikova and Katja Visschers: RAII 2020 Racism – Integration – Identity, a digital dance project as well as SoBo Productions most recent work “I Am…” (2020).
Together with Jan Roelof Wolthuis, she has been organizing various song projects since 2019, most recently “Traurigfroh, wie das Herz. Friedrich Hölderlin – Songs and Words” (2020) and Johannes Brahms: “Die schöne Magelone” (2021).
With the cultural office Chamäleon she has started her own business in 2019: www.kultur-wendt.de
Katja Visschers
Videography & Graphics
Katja finished 3 years of professional dance education in Mannheim. Since 2020 she works as a free lance dancer and choreographer in the commercial and …
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Katja finished 3 years of professional dance education in Mannheim. Since 2020 she works as a free lance dancer and choreographer in the commercial and contemporary scene while specialising in filming dance prodcutions.
She is interested in mixing urban styles with classical dance, as well as bringing different dancers together to develop new ways of movement. In the pandemic she felt the need of the community to capture dance for online formats, so she started working as a videographer and used learning by doing. Recently, she started her study in Human Resources Management, where she develops her management and organization skills. She moreover has a great passion for drawing which she releases in her further work as a graphic designer.
Miriam Markl
Art of Movement
One of Miriam’s main concerns with her artistic work is to inspire people for contemporary performance art who otherwise have little contact with it.
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She explores the interface between everyday life and art and has gained experience in street performances in Germany, Italy and Switzerland, presenting her own pieces at public parties in Berlin and Mannheim. With the LOBA Project she creates interdisciplinary dance pieces that illuminate social issues from a feminist perspective.
She has danced for, at and with: Lillian Stillwell at Theater und Orchester Heidelberg, Theater Carnivore, Staatsoper Stuttgart, Christina Liakopoyloy – Nostostanztheater, Darja Reznikova (Soundbody Productions), Theater Pfütze e.V., Amelia Eisen, Elisabeth Kaul and Catherine Guerin.
Michael Bronczkowski
Dance/Therapy
Studierte an der Duke Ellington School of the Performing Arts in Washington, D. C. und dem Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.
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Nach einem Engagement im Tanzensemble der Königsfelder Festspiele 2012 kam er als festes Mitglied in die Tanzcompagnie des Stadttheaters Gießen, wo er bis zu seinem Wechsel ans Mannheimer Natonaltheater tanzte. Michael Bronczkowski arbeitete mit Choreografen wie Christopher Huggins, Tommy Small, Félix Duméril, Tarek Assam, Rui Horta, Marcos Marco, James Wilton und Pascal Touzeau.
Seit Sommer 2016 arbeitet Michael als freischaffender Tänzer, Choreograph,
sowie als Lehrdozent für Zeitgenössischen Tanz an verschieden Hochschulen inner- und außerhalb Deutschlands. Im Juni 2017 feierte seine eigene Tanzproduktion, namens ‘Temperature’ im Felina Theater Areal in Mannheim premiere.
Unter anderem leitete/ /leitet er den „Tanz- Club 7 Sachen” und ” Club der Olympstürmer” im Rahmen der Kulturschule des Nationaltheaters Mannheim in Kooperation mit der Stadt Mannheim, Fachbereich für Arbeit und Soziales.
Michael war in der Produktion „The Lions –
– I invented myself”, choreographiert von Jessica Nupen, im Rahmen de Hauptsache Frei Festivals, in Kooperation mit Kampnagel in Hamburg zu sehen und trat kürzlich in der Dampfzentale Bern/Schweiz mit T42 Dance Projects und dem
Variation Orchester mit der Produktion „Petruschka” auf – bisher sein drittes Projekt mit T42 Dance Projects.
Im Januar 2017 gründete er mit anderen Künstlern der Bildenden und
Darstellenden Kunst ein Künstlerkollektiv namens „Moving Rhizomes e.V”
mit Ihrem Hauptsitz in Ulm.
Neben seiner aktiven Tätigkeit als Tänzer an verschieden Häusern konnte er
Erfahrung in sozialen Einrichtungen und Projekten sammeln. Unter anderem war er für drei Jahre Facilitator/Dozent unter der Gesamtleitung von Prof. Dr. med. Burkhard Brosig an der Universitätsklinik in Gießen für das Kroki-Projekt tätig. (Körper-Kunst in der Kinderklinik – ein interdisiziplinäres Projekt zwischen Pädiatrie, Tanztheater und Psychomsomatik). Des Weiteren
war er als Künstlerischer Leiter mit „IGS-press yourself® tätig, eine auf zwei Jahre angelegte Projektkooperation zwischen der Tanzcompagnie Gießen/Stadttheater Gießen und der integrierten Gesamtschule Busecker Tal. Dieses Projekt wurde vom Tanzfonds Partner – Eine Initiative der Kulturstiftung de Bundes gefördert.
Neben seiner Tätigkeit als freischaffender Tänzer, Choreograph und Lehrdozent für zeitgenössischen Tanz ist Michael seit 2021 auch als Tanztherapeut tätig.
Susana Florencio
Costume Design
Susana is a state-approved fashion designer. She has been working in fashion, styling, work-film, television and theatre since 2005.
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Her main tasks include making costumes and show outfits. Since 2017, she has also been working in the field of patination and textile special effects. As a freelance costume designer and stylist, she has worked for Tanztheater Wuppertal / Pina Bausch, Freies Theater Berlin, Teeny Stuten (comedy), Cirque du Soleil (tour), Dance Dance Dance (TV), Got to Dance (TV), It Takes Two (TV), Art on Ice (TV), The Voice of Germany (TV), Clueso (tour), and King Ping (feature film), among others.
Mireille Solomon
Set & Lighting
A trade apprenticeship in a carpentry workshop formed a solid foundation for her studies in architecture in Kaiserlautern, from which she graduated as a graduate engineer.
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During a freelance project for the Chamber of Architects for the Long Night of Museums in Heidelberg, she discovered the importance of light for the design of space while working with Belzner Holmes Light-Design. As an employee at LDE, she has illuminated squares, bridges, exhibitions, churches and entire city centres in the years that followed. In productions of the Unterwegstheater Heidelberg, she also came into contact with the subject of stage lighting, which plays a decisive role in designing and staging with light.
She then worked as a partner at Eben Architektur in the fields of architecture, interior design and building in existing contexts, integrating her knowledge of furniture and light into her work. At the end of 2019, she decided to go her own way and reinvent herself.
Since the beginning of 2020, she has been focusing on interior, furniture and lighting design. In addition, free, interdisciplinary projects and collaborations in the fields of dance, theatre, film and art are the focus of her creative work.
Sade Mamedova
Artist & Choreographer
Sade Mamedova is a performer, choreographer and teacher based in Mannheim. After gathering her education as a dancer in Moscow, she has been touring internationally with the Riverdance Company for a year.
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In 2013 she got her bachelor at the Classical Dance University of Music and Performing Arts Frankfurt am Main. From 2013 was a member at the Theatre Regensburg and at the Lucerne Theatre. Since 2018 became a freelancer, who has received several awards for her dancing and choreography by reputable competitions and festivals around the globe including the Copenhagen International Choreography Competition, the ICC in Hannover, Dance Festivals in Taiwan, Peru, Mexico, among others. Sade currently teaches, conducts workshops, creates and participates in various artistic projects in Germany and abroad.