Viktorija Ilioska is a choreographer, performer, and artist who explores choreography through various mediums, including movement, text, voice, and sound. She studied at the Faculty of Music Arts in Skopje (BA in Dance Pedagogy and Repertory) and at the Institute for Applied Theater Studies in Gießen (MA in Choreography and Performance).

She views choreography as an evolving, expanded practice that transforms into the organization of space — a toolkit for analysis that functions beyond mere expression. For her, it becomes a critical field of knowledge. In this framework, performance and dance are employed as strategic tools to navigate the tension between structures, order, and procedural systems. She relates to artistic practice as a relationship between doing and becoming, a process shaped by both research and the pursuit of knowledge. The term “procedure,” in her understanding, extends beyond mere methodology; it signifies an open space, a pre-existing region that holds the essence of the research itself. She believes that it is within this space that the true meaning of choreography as an inquiry emerges.

Viktorija’s artistic practice is rooted in research and shaped by thoughtful action and exploration. Her process involves reflection, theoretical analysis, somatic research, and creating work that evolves during the process itself, rather than adhering to predetermined scripts or rules. Rejecting the concept of the mute dancing body, Viktorija incorporates elements of provocation and engages with themes such as labor, gender issues, the portrayal of women in public spaces, the body’s relationship with nature, and the influence of gendered perspectives on identity.

As an artist rooted in the field of choreography and performance, Viktorija has always been, and continues to be, deeply concerned with movement and the body — what moves this body and what movements can influence entire masses of bodies. In recent years, she has approached the body as a resource, intentionally ‘exploiting’ it to raise deeper questions within the discourses of materialist ecofeminism and extractivism. Through choreography, she seeks to create works that question, provoke, and invite reflection, positioning dance as a critical discourse that challenges conventional boundaries.

Read more about Viktorija Ilioska here.