Tanzquartier Wien

Storm is a versatile artist who serves drama, sexiness, and camp. She uses drag as an outlet to express her emotions without having the fear of being judged or misunderstood.

The group piece Maria Cencaru – A Southeast Asian Cis-Sis Reunion by Raymond Liew Jin Pin, in turn, provides an extraordinary insight into the work of an artist whose queer identity originated in a courageous act of self-development. As a child, Raymond’s mother dressed him up in a gold sequined dress and took him to a talent show – even though cross-dressing and homosexuality were and still are illegal and taboo in Malaysia. More than 20 years later, Raymond returns to that moment in drag as Maria Cencaru with friends from the Southeast Asian diaspora. A queer memory of traditional, urban, and contemporary dances, images, and words is formed from their shared movement. Maria Cencaru is a desire to relive a childhood memory, the commonality of their different identities, a collective movement and the long overdue cis-sis family reunion.

‘I fear for my trans-/queer siblings who are constantly resisting, I fear for what the country will become, I fear for my future. Before we can say that Malaysia is a diverse country, trans- and queer people should be able to exist there. Sometimes, I wish that Malaysia would recognise how the colonial past still shapes our society – in terms of queerness – how much erasure has been done and how much freedom we have lost. Malaysia should be celebrating the diversity it naturally possesses. My gender and queerness are not a threat to anybody.’ — Paula Pau

Daily schedule
Thu 27.06.

10.00–13.00
Workshop Embodied Echoes by Aaron Josi Sternbauer & Crystal Wall

18.30
Meet & greet / Supporting programme

19.30
Festival opening & start performance programme including Storm and Raymond Liew Jin Pin