Dance in the Village: My name is Mrs. Troffea

A mono-performance inspired by the real story of 1518 and the so-called dancing plague, when hundreds of people danced in the streets of Strasbourg until physical exhaustion.

A dance work inspired by the real story of Mrs.Troffea in 1518 and the so-called dancing plague of that time, when hundreds of people danced in the streets of Strasbourg to physical exhaustion. When the contemporary Belarusian artist delves into this story, he tells of his own experience of traumatic obsession and a relentless search for freedom that seems painful and fatal. Through the shock of forced emigration from Belarus and the search for himself, he dissolves into Berlin’s attractive rave culture. Through an intense bodily ritual, he tells the story of a whole country’s illness and an obsessive search for the cure to freedom.

Igor Shugaleev is an independent actor and performer, a graduate of the Belarusian State Academy of Arts. As a student he became interested in performance practices, physical and dance theatre. He participated in workshops of contemporary dance, partner work, performance organized by leading teachers from the countries of the former USSR and Europe. As a performer in the Karakuli Dance Theatre and Korniag Theatre projects, he participated in several dance festivals in Europe and in the countries of the former USSR. He has collaborated on various occasions with TOK Theatre (Minsk), HUNCH Theatre Belarus. Since 2019, Shugaleev began working on solo projects. In collaboration with artists across creative disciplines, he seeks his language of artistic expression at the intersection of dance, theatre and performance. He emigrated from Belarus to Kiev, Ukraine in 2020 and has been living and working in the European Union since 2021, alternating between Poland and Germany.