Vibrant Matter is engaged in choreographic worlding through collective attunement with land, listening, moving, and sounding-with.

Founded in 2020, it is the association supporting the work of Tania Soubry and collaborators. Its mission is to develop artistic and research practices across contemporary dance, expanded choreography, sound, and ecological fields, informed by posthuman femininsm and decolonial approaches, and engaging with environmental justice. It supports transdisciplinary research, exchanges, conversations, and workshops; fosters collaborations with individuals, artists, and institutions; and facilitates the creation, production, diffusion, and communication of artistic work.

Team & Collaborators

Alexandra Baybutt (UK) – Advisory Board & Dramaturge

I am a UK-based artist, cultural researcher, and somatic movement educator (PhD, CMA, RSME), working internationally since 2004. Since 2019, I have worked with Tania Soubry as dramaturg on Brave (k)new Rave and Soul-Scapes, and I am currently collaborating on Dj Whimsy.

I was based at University College London, within the Institute of Advanced Studies, where I held a postdoctoral research fellowship in embodiment and equity (until September 2022).

My work has been supported by, among others, Greenwich Dance, Theatre Delicatessen, Bellyflop, The Lisa Ullmann Travelling Scholarship Fund, ERASMUS+, and the British Council.

Laura Doehler (DE/UK) – Advisory Board, Dancer & Performer

I am a dance artist who chooses improvisation and performance as formats to observe change and to develop embodied practices that shape social and environmental connectivity. I initiate collective processes through Exit Map, a non-profit body I founded and direct. Exit Map cultivates fluid and sensitive relations between self and other through choreographic works and participatory events that can be experienced through participation and/or witnessing. The questioning of fixed boundaries between self and other, and the integration of performance and practice into everyday life, are recurring threads in my work.

I currently work with and perform for performance artist Mary Pearson (US/UK/DE), and have recently performed with dance theatre companies h2dance (UK/SE), Codigodance (PT), and Perform(d)ance (DE). I teach movement analysis and contemporary dance at the National School of Circus Arts London, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, and as a guest lecturer at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, London. My teaching in Contact Improvisation has taken me to Turkey, Cyprus, Portugal, the Netherlands, France, Germany, and the Czech Republic.

Michael Picknett (UK) – Musician

I am a London-based composer, technician, and performer specialising in music for dance, stage, and film across the UK and internationally. I work closely with directors and choreographers throughout the creative process, developing scores that evolve alongside the work.

My practice is concerned with tactility and presence in performance, reflected in sound designs that often operate at the edge of perception or create spatialised, moving sound through multi-speaker setups. As a composer, I am interested in exploring the acoustic worlds of the artists I collaborate with, weaving texture and noise with pitch and harmony.

I trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where I completed both a Master’s and a Doctorate in Music Composition. In 2016 I was Artist in Residence at TripSpace in London, UK.

Pepa Ubera (ES/UK) – Dancer & performer

I am a Spanish dancer, choreographer, and curator based in London. My choreographic and curatorial practice is closely informed by an interest in social choreography and audience interaction, and is fundamentally collaborative. I work within international networks and with teams of collaborators across disciplines and contexts.

My interdisciplinary practice engages sound, video, and light, creating work for galleries, theatres, and site-responsive environments, as well as curating performance events. My current research explores narratives of progress and success in relation to the sensual body, the non-human, and technology.

From 2013 to 2015, I was a core member of TripSpace Projects. I co-curated PART-TY at BRUT Vienna, continuing collaborations developed through DanceWeb scholarships at Impulstanz. In 2016, I curated and performed The Palest Light as a Wild Card event at Sadler’s Wells, marking the continuation of an ongoing relationship developed through the Sadler’s Wells Summer University (2015–2018). In 2019, Dance4 supported a residency at Critical Path in Sydney, where I developed the foundations for CHARCO and The Machine of Horizontal Dreams. I also undertook residencies at TasDance (Tasmania) and taught with the Sydney Dance Company’s PPY programme. Dance4 additionally invited me as a UK delegate to the Dance Massive Festival in Melbourne. I have presented work at venues including Sadler’s Wells, Tate Modern, The Place, ICA, the Barbican, Critical Path, Matucana 100, and the Hayward Gallery. I am a Sadler’s Wells Summer University artist (2015–2018) and run Kimera Studio in London.

Henrique Furtado Vieira (PT) – Dancer & performer

I graduated in Energy and Environmental Engineering and currently work as a dancer, performer, and choreographer. I am based in Lisbon. I completed my artistic training across several French institutions, including INSA Lyon, Extensions – CDC Toulouse, Prototype II, and Dialogues III at Royaumont Abbey.

I develop my practice between choreographic creation and collaborative performance work with artists including Bleuène Madelaine, Eric Languet, Aurélien Richard, Céline Cartillier, Tino Sehgal, Salomé Lamas, Ana Renata Polónia, André Uerba, Sofia Dias & Vítor Roriz, and Vera Mantero. Alongside this, I occasionally engage in research, pedagogy, and writing in relation to dance, across different contexts and partnerships such as O Rumo do Fumo, Unlock Dancing Plaza, Ballet Contemporâneo do Norte, and festival END.

More recently, I have worked as a dramaturg on choreographic projects by Nicolas Hubert (Compagnie Épiderme) and Giulia Arduca (Compagnie Ke Kosa). My own works are often developed in synergy with other artists, such as Bibi Ha Bibi with Aloun Marchal, and Stand still you ever-moving spheres of heaven with Chiara Taviani. In these works, the overlapping of styles and genres, vocal presence in dance, and spaces of imagination play a central role.

I have presented work in institutions and festivals including Aerowaves, CDC Toulouse, Göteborgs Dans- och Teaterfestival, Romaeuropa Festival, DNA Network, Teatro Municipal do Porto, Temps d’Images Festival, Espaço do Tempo, and Centro Cultural de Belém (CCB), among others.

Executive Board Members

Gary Diderich (LU) – Treasurer

I am experienced in the creation and management of associations in Luxembourg. In 1999, I organised, in collaboration with Tania, the “LIFE Project – Nature and Culture” at KUFA, which became the founding moment of “LIFE, the ecoCreActive Plattform”. This project combined artistic creation with political engagement through a festival format, and explored practices of self-organisation—an approach that has continued to inform my involvement in various initiatives, including Ratelach, Infoladen, Queesch, Jugend fir Fridden a Gerechtegkeet, and 4motion.

I studied philosophy as part of a Bachelor in European Cultures. Professionally, I work as a facilitator, trainer, and consultant for groups, organisations, and cities. I contribute this experience to the development of Vibrant Matter.

Chantal Sabattini (LU) – Secretary

I am an art teacher based in Luxembourg. I studied fine art in Strasbourg and worked in Metz making theatre costumes. Alongside my teaching practice, I am currently learning classical guitar and singing.