New Animals (2025) Performance with Saman Mahdavi and YuJing Liu
Eyes are blinking, chains are swinging, bubbles are popping in the air. Through a process of composting and decomposing, a new animal emerges — one that moves through decay, recalls a forgotten language and plays with shadows.
Join us on October 3rd at 19.30 for the first iteration of New Animals (2025), a performance directed by Chupan Atashi, with Saman Mahdavi and YuJin Liu. Throughout the exhibition, New Animals will be performed four times, — each iteration revealing a new constellation, a different choreography of bodies, matter, and transformation.
New Animals is an immersive interplay between the sculptural installation Daddy Party آن نافه مراد که میخواستم ز بخت درچین زلف آن بت *مشکین کلاله بود and a shifting ensemble of performers, who both activate the sculptures and are, in turn, transformed by the materiality of the work. They move through a landscape that is oscillating and vibrating, where, in the pulsing repetition, the boundaries of time and space start to dissolve.
The performance has unfolded over two years under the direction of Chupan Atashi, developed from a text that serves as both concept and score. It began in close collaboration with Saman Mahdavi and later grew to include YuJing Liu and Yadin. Each performer brings their unique movement language into the work.
Throughout the exhibition period, New Animals will be performed four times, — each iteration revealing a new constellation, a different choreography of bodies, matter, and transformation.
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💧Date: 3rd October
💧Time: Doors open 19.30, 20.00(sharp) start, no entry possible after start performance
💧 Duration: ~ 60 minutes
💧Please RSVP here
Capacity is very limited, notify us if you’re unable to attend through info@metro.nl
CREDITS
Concept, choreography and score: Chupan Atashi
Performers: Saman Mahdavi, YuJing Liu, Yadin
Sound: Amirhossein Sadeghzadeh, Chupan Atashi
Live music: Amirhossein Sadeghzadeh
Costume: AVOIDSTREET
Saman Mahdavi (Tehran /Amsterdam) is a choreographer inspired by the body's capacity to achieve resistance, text and image. Navigating with ancient wisdom and contemporary crises, she explores bodily and territorial memory through black gold (oil) and the static of martyrdom. Movement becomes a vessel for emotions, honoring both what persists and what dissolves.
YuJing Liu, a choreographer and performance artist based in Amsterdam, graduated from SNDO in 2024. Rooted in movement, voice, and improvisation, her work bridges cultures, nature, and the body with emotional and spatial precision. She draws creative power from everyday life, believing performance is about connection between people, nature, and the universe. With a sharp sense for dramaturgy, YuJing translates environments into embodied narratives, fusing intuition with deep research. Her practice blends choreography, communication, and direction nourished by a holistic lifestyle, curiosity, and an unwavering commitment to presence and transformation.
Amirhossein Sadeghzadeh, also known as Sonic Nomad, is a sound artist and performer currently studying at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. He works with both acoustic and electronic instruments and frequently collaborates with creators in dance, theatre, and film.
AVOIDSTREET is a creative studio that fuses fashion, graphic design, and performance. Its projects remix cultural codes into new forms, while the slogan Clothes, Jpegs & Lyrics frames fashion as dialogue rather than commodity.
ACCESSIBILITY
The performance takes place in the exhibition space. We regret to say the exhibition space is not wheelchair accessible due to the restrictions of our space. A part of the performance includes loud music, darkness and flashing light.