mirabella paidamwoyo* dziruni

crying through my white mother’s tears

brut nordwest
Performance / Dance / Experience World premiere in English
imagetanz 2023
{White supremacy} {Together} {My Black experience}

Allyship and anti-racist ways of life, what does that even mean? Und who actually does it? Based on personal experiences as a Black child of a white mother, mirabella paidamwoyo* dziruni takes to the stage with a small BiPoC team including three white performance artists – Asher O’Gorman, Claire Lefèvre and Veza Fernández – to expose dynamics of power and care between Black People and People of Colour and the dominant white society. This dance performance is less a personal narrative and more a profound reflection on how love alone is not enough when it comes to the fight for race equality.

, © Ina Aydogan

mirabella paidamwoyo* dziruni – crying through my white mother's tears

, © Ina Aydogan

mirabella paidamwoyo* dziruni – crying through my white mother's tears

, © Ina Aydogan

mirabella paidamwoyo* dziruni – crying through my white mother's tears

, © Ina Aydogan

mirabella paidamwoyo* dziruni – crying through my white mother's tears

, © Ina Aydogan

mirabella paidamwoyo* dziruni – crying through my white mother's tears

, © Ina Aydogan

mirabella paidamwoyo* dziruni – crying through my white mother's tears

, © mirabella paidamwoyo* dziruni

mirabella paidamwoyo* dziruni – crying through my white mother’s tears

In their piece, mirabella paidamwoyo* dziruni wants to confront the white world with its complacency. Who exerts power and is at the same time systematically oppressed? The white woman with her multi-faceted character ranging from the loving mother to the clueless mother, from the girlfriend coming along on a protest to the violent girlfriend, from the kind-hearted female colleague to the two-faced colleague: All this could be in you! A dialogue between the four protagonists on stage tackles questions on privilege, commitments, internalised and external trauma, differences and likenesses.

most rooms I enter are dominated by white existence
most rooms I enter are dominated by white fragility
most rooms I enter are dominated by white guilt
most rooms I enter are dominated by white opinions
most rooms I enter are dominated by white movements
most rooms I enter are dominated by white fear
most rooms I enter are dominated by white insecurity
most rooms I enter are dominated by white dominance
… and as a Black artist I wonder: How can I show you this experience in a dance performance?

In places dominated by whites, the Black experience is always subject to racist guidelines. Looking at the history we see that our generations, including all human experience, have much to unlearn:

so that the Black experience can be uplifted
so that the Black experience can be seen

so that the Black experience can be enhanced
so that the Black experience can be held gently
so that the Black experience can heal

(mirabella paidamwoyo* dziruni)

Empowerment and communal healing processes dominate mirabella paidamwoyo* dziruni’s artistic practice. Inspired by everyday experiences, they use and devise decolonial and anti-racist methods to occupy space in various public and private spaces with their non-binary, queer, Black aesthetic. Moving bodies, self-staging, and a continuous exchange of energies are the main components of their complex creations made to set unmissable signs of change.

The performance on March 11th will be followed by an artist talk, moderated by Enesi M.

Credits

Choreography, concept, performance mirabella paidamwoyo* dziruni Performance, choreography Asher O’Gorman, Claire Lefèvre, Veza Fernández DJ performance MTASA Music Production MSTEAZAH

A co-production of BABY, MOVE-IT, and brut Wien. With the kind support of the City of Vienna’s Department of Cultural Affairs.

Dates & Tickets

The performance on March 11th will be followed by an artist talk, moderated by Enesi M.

March 2023

Fri. 10.03.2023, 20:00
Choose your price €22 / €16 / €11

Sat. 11.03.2023, 20:00
Choose your price €22 / €16 / €11 / *Followed by an artist talk, moderated by Enesi M.

Sun. 12.03.2023, 20:00
Choose your price €22 / €16 / €11

brut nordwest
Nordwestbahnstraße 8-10, 1200 Vienna
accessible

Downloads

imagetanz 2023 Programmfolder (PDF)
Evening programme crying through my white mother's tears (PDF)

 

Event recommendations

11.03.2023 - 12.03.2023

Sandra Chatterjee and friends

Smells of Racism

Dance / Installation / Lecture performance / Music
Austrian Premiere
in German and English

23.03.2023 - 25.03.2023

Potpourri

4 A.M.

A House Dance Piece

Performance / Dance
brut premiere
in English

October 2025
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
    01 02 03 04 05
06 07 08 09 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 31    

brut all over Vienna

brut nordwest

accessible

Nordwestbahnstraße 8-10, 1200 Vienna
Subway: U1, U2 (Praterstern), U4 (Friedensbrücke), U6 (Dresdnerstraße) Tram: 5 (Nordwestbahnstraße) Bus: 5A (Wasnergasse)
accessible

October 2025
Aperitivo
October 2025
Karin Pauer
LOW
October 2025
Matteo Haitzmann
Im Styx baden
November 2025
Veza Fernández
Chantal, the body is a text longing for perspective
November 2025
Aperitivo
November 2025
Elena Lach & Ema Benčíková
Spacing in: Relaxed Performance Lab
November 2025
DARUM (Victoria Halper & Kai Krösche)
[EOL]. End of Life
November 2025
Drag Show with the Dragsau Collective
November 2025
Touch tour
November 2025
Alex Franz Zehetbauer
An Evening with

studio brut

not accessible

Zieglergasse 25, 1070 Wien
Subway: U3 (Zieglergasse), Tram: 49 (Westbahnstraße / Zieglergasse)
not accessible

October 2025
Lens Kühleitner & Olivia Hild
trace my layers, thrust your guts
October 2025
Aperitivo
November 2025
François-Eloi Lavignac
Fifth position
November 2025
Laureen Drexler & Giorgia Scisciola
PIERRE

Breitenseer Lichtspiele

not accessible

Breitenseer Straße 21, 1140 Vienna
U-Bahn: U3 (Hütteldorfer Straße) Tram: 10 (Laurentius Platz), 49 (Hütteldorfer Straße)

October 2025
Alex Franz Zehetbauer
An Evening with

Shop in the 4th district (Theresianumgasse 35)

not accessible

Theresianumgasse 35, 1040 Vienna
U-Bahn: U1 (Taubstummengasse) Bus: 13A (Belvederegasse)

October 2025
Jan Machacek & Angélica Castelló
every day display

WUK performing arts

barrierefrei

Währinger Straße 59, 1090 Vienna
Subway: U6 (Währinger Straße / Volksoper), Tram: 40, 41, 42 (Währinger Straße / Volksoper), 5, 33 (Spitalgasse), 37, 38, 40, 41, 42 (Spitalgasse / Währinger Straße)

November 2025
Maria Mam & Flora Renhardt
sk8r grrrl
November 2025
Simone Lorenzo Benini & Miriam Budzáková
Sandpit