UNARMED: Among the flowers I find myself is a trauma-informed performance and immersive installation that centres the lived experiences of Ukrainian veterans, military personnel, and civilian dancers during wartime.
Co-created through a feminist, trauma-informed lens, the interdisciplinary work examines kinship, survival, and healing.
“We are more-than-human
Our hearts are unyielding
And truth is on our side.”
Rather than following a linear narrative, this work creates space for the unspeakable—where bodies, geopolitics, and landscapes collide. From the wreckage of war, gestures and silences emerge, revealing truths too often left untold.
Developed within the Moving Kinship hub, this work emerged from a series of in-depth interviews led by transdisciplinary feminist artist Beatrice Allegranti. Blending dance, spoken word, and original music, it unfolds as a powerful collective act of memory, resistance, and renewal.
“See us.
Remember us.
Stand with us.”
“The role of women in war is multifaceted and complex. Their stories and experiences are rarely foregrounded in dominant narratives of conflict and recovery. This work reclaims space for their voices in Ukraine—and offers an embodied response that challenges reductionist portrayals of war.”
Beatrice Allegranti
Hnat Khotkevych Palace of Culture, Lviv
A beacon of resistance, solidarity, and civic imagination, the Hnat Khotkevych Palace of Culture is more than a venue. Built through the voluntary labour and contributions of Lviv’s workers in the 1930s, it was known as the “Red Fortress” of interwar activism.
Today, the Palace of Culture continues to uphold democratic ideals as a free, inclusive cultural hub—embodying the spirit of resilience and co-creation that defines this performance. Adapted to this local context, the performance becomes a living archive—where injury, trauma and repair, grief and hope, speak through the body.
“Working with the Ukrainian team, I experienced bravery, resilience, and presence in my body like never before. This was only possible through collaboration—through the embodied intelligence of dancers, musician, reportage illustrator, the veterans and military personnel who contributed their experiences of war."
Beatrice Allegranti
"Even in tears, even in war—we remain human.”
Audience member
Performance
Audience Participation
“I remembered writing a poem about Ukraine the night before the war began. This performance carried me back to that moment.”
"Remembering the dead is a political act."
Beatrice Allegranti
“Some experiences cannot be translated into words. They can only be felt. This performance created a space safe enough to release what holds us.”
"When watching I thought - this is the place where you voice yourself. "
“Here, I allowed myself to cry—and that was healing.”
“I chose not to put this performance into words. That choice felt extraordinary.”
“These real, embodied stories brought forward courage, resilience, fear, and terror all at once.”
“I noticed that healing can begin with something as small as a breath, or a hand resting on your chest.”
"I held my breath watching — even the second time."
Video Installation
“The war is there—it sits before us.”
Audience member
Illustration Reportage
“Real, embodied stories brought forward courage, resilience, fear, and terror all at once.”
Audience member
CREDITS
Artistic Direction & Choreography
Beatrice Allegranti
Dancers
Inna Falkova
Viktoriia Khoroshylova
Mariia Salo
Yuliia Skyba
Text & Dramaturgy
Beatrice Allegranti
Music & Composition
Robert Howat
Videography
Alexander Lopera
Reportage Illustration
Neil Max Emmanuel
Producer
Oleksandr Manshylin
Marketing & PR
Ukrainian Contemporary Dance Platform
Graphics
Nee Nee Creative
Translation & Interpretation
Olha Serha
Kateryna Vashtalova
Anton Ovchinnikov
Inna Falkova
Viktoriia Khoroshylova
Marta Tarkani
Cultural Manager, Hnat Hhotkevych Palace of Culture
Yuliia Kotyk
Lighting Design
Hnat Hhotkevych Palace of Culture
Photography
Khrystyna Korol
Livestream Camera
Yevgen Vasyliv
Livestream Editor
Taras Bohdan
With special thanks to all the veterans, military personnel and civilians whose experiences directly inform this work: Maryna, Oleg, Yuliia, Olga, Olena, Olga Sh, Yuiila, Yulia, Inna.
Moving Kinship Ukraine Team
Moving Kinship® Support & Partnerships
