Mythical whispers of the inner wounded.
A performance as Living Exhibition by Robbeduz and Valentina Gal

Children of Zeus is a living exhibition and an intuitive journey. This living exhibition questions our relationship with nature, the body, and spirituality within today's technological lifestyle.

The premiere of Children of Zeus will take place 12th of May 2026 at Bellevue, Amsterdam.

Two queer Children are discovering the healing power of water within a mythical swamp. Here, they manifest their freedom, free from the oppressive patriarchal powers of Zeus. Old paradigms fade, but not without obstacles. Through their transformative powers, the children will create a fluid world in which they attempt to restore the balance between humanity and nature. The knowledge of their ancestors is found here in breath and rhythm, and is discovered through the body, water, and installation. The friction between forgotten histories and the rise of technological humanity forms a key starting point of their journey into this mythical swamp.

Dancemaker Robbeduz (them/their) and visual artist Valentina Gal (she/her) jointly create an installation consisting of water and sculptures. The collaboration arose from a shared fascination with water, which serves as a metaphor for fluidity and healing powers. Based on this installation, they explore how a sustainable relationship with nature can be created, which includes using natural materials and recycling. Children of Zeus builds on the makers' previous works, Cyborg DNA (Robbeduz & Lux Nautilus, 2023) and Troubled Waters (Gal, 2024). Objects from these earlier works are sustainably rediscovered within this research, aiming for a tangible transmission and contemporary translation of queer ecology.

Queer ecology offers an alternative framework centered on non-binary fluidity. The lived embodiment of queer ecology provides a lens through which this artistic team shares liberation movements in various ways. Seeking liberation from Western patterns and oppression, maker and performer Robbeduz, explores their Thai heritage more deeply and connects this to the creative process for both installation and performance. In Thailand and Buddhism, the lotus symbolizes purity and spiritual awakening. This journey embodies all the emotional aspects encountered during such a profound transformation: from mud to the beauty of the lotus.

“Listen to the forgotten melodies,
wounded children follow the wind
trusting the rhythm of nature to find healing and transformation.”
-Children of Zeus

Credits
Artiest (initiator), dansmaker, productie
Robbeduz (Robin Nimanong)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robbeduz/
Website: www.nimanong.com & DOX: https://wijzijndox.nl/producties/agenda/children-of-zeus
Scenografie en sculpturen, beeldend kunstenaar & co-creator
Valentina Gal
Website: https://www.valentinagal.com

Uitvoerend dansers
Qiqi (Qiyun Zheng), Fleur van der Schaaf, Robbeduz & Jieon Ko
Dramaturgy
Suzy Blok & Sophie Cohlen
Coaching
Hildegard Draaijer (DOX)
Co-production
Dox Utrecht
cCreative production support & dramaturgy
Athina Liakopoulou
Movement Research & Ballroom Artist
Shiva Mugler
Music
Guenter Raler, Nils Davidse, Robbeduz
Costume
Reconstruct & Eva Marie-Louise
Light Design
David Vermeulen
Residency 2025 (work in progress)
Huis Conny Janssen Danst, Pleintheater, Hollandse Luchten,
What You See Festival 2025 (Theater de Kikker), RightAboutNow, Magnezy
Video’s online
Filmed by MMMViideo (instagram personal: tremattia)
Artistic research
Dovilee Krutulytė & Jordan Achiano

Supported by: Cultuurfonds, Stimuleringsfonds, Fonds 21, Diorapthe, Fonds Podiumkunsten (De nieuwe makers regeling with DOX Utrecht), Gemeente Utrecht, Norma.

Oliver is an artist, engineer and architecture student focused on integrating queer ecology into every discipline imaginable. They are researching trans-species collaborative design and have applied their research to Children of Zeus by growing decor pieces together with more-than-human colleagues.

Sophie Cohlen (1998) is a Dutch dramaturg, curator, and moderator specializing in dance. She studied Theatre Studies and International Dramaturgy at the University of Amsterdam. She currently curates the Theatre & Dance program at We Are Public, moderates context programs at a.o. Het Nationale Theater and International Theatre Amsterdam, and works as a dramaturg with emerging dance makers. Her work focuses on experimentation, social and political themes, and the intersection between performing arts and nightlife culture.

Agatha Prieto Jeanty (she/her) is a multidisciplinary visual artist and design researcher working between the West and the Caribbean. She reconfigures realities through a diasporic imagination and a travelling stance. Rooted in community, she explores decolonising practices through embodied experience and a feminine gaze. Influenced by Afrofuturism, her work weaves contemporary narratives with ancestral wisdom to challenge dominant histories. For this project, she will be moderating and being a part of the conversation for the after-talk that will take place on the 12th May.'

Zahira Mous (she/they) is a dance theater maker, performer, writer, and guide of collective processes through movement and magic. For Children of Zeus, Zahira is involved as an archivist, putting the work (part process/part performance) in writing in contexts of decolonization, queer theory, and feminine dramaturgy.

Zahira

Guenter Råler is a music producer and sound artist based in Rotterdam. By shaping textures and atmospheres, they create evocative and emotionally-charged musical pieces. For this project they explored different sonic palettes around the themes of nature, water, healing and transformation, bringing together electronic and acoutisc sounds that would embody the narrative and visual nature of the performance.

Music Credit

Remix Robbeduz: Canoe – Taylor Dupree
Spoken Text voice: Maya Link – written by Robbeduz
Bells, Piano to Glitch track - Nils Davidse
Knife music – Guenter Raler
Spoken text voice: Som Schouten – written by Robbeduz, supported by performers and translated to Thai by Som Schouten.
Remix (small adaptations) Chant Pearson Sound edit and mastered – Guenter Raler
Storm and Glitchy birds track – Robbeduz
Singing by Robbeduz
Spear song – Blue Heron – Milan W.
Sounds – Nils Davidse
No hoist Total Internal Reflection - Raii point of view ASL – Robbeduz Minor Remix
Frequency and drumm – Robbedyz and mastered by Guenter Raler
Underwater – Guenter Raler & Nils Davidse