Nina Simone's voice was more than music — it was an act of resistance. It carried historical weight, moral clarity, and uncompromising artistic force. She sang when silence was safer. She demanded justice through melody and truth.

Her Voice is an evening of movement, music, and film responding to that enduring presence, engaging the urgency, defiance, and depth that define her legacy.

The production is conceived as a modular work and can be presented in multiple formats depending on venue and context. In its core form, the performance is built around Nina Simone's original recordings. The choreography engages directly with her voice as a structural and emotional force, creating a physical dialogue between body and sound. Live music and choral participation may be integrated depending on the hosting institution's capacity and artistic framework.

 

ARTISTIC STATEMENT

 

"For me, Nina Simone has always been more than an artist. She is a source of truth and a force of nature. Her music has been a constant companion in my work, shaping my understanding of movement, presence, and artistic urgency.

Throughout my career, I have sought to embody the same honesty she poured into every note, whether through my own choreography or my collaborations with Alan Lucien Øyen.

In Her Voice, I am honored to share the stage with artists whose commitment to their craft reflects that same integrity. Shelmith Øseth brings extraordinary strength, depth, and physical clarity to the solo Feelings, a work we created in close collaboration. Marion Barbeau carries precision and emotional intelligence into each gesture. Maria Radutu shapes the musical dimension with breadth and sensitivity. And Alan Lucien Øyen, whose work has intersected with mine for over two decades, continues to expand the language of dance.

Together, we shape an evening of movement and sound in homage to a voice that remains urgent."

— Daniel Proietto

 

THE PROGRAMME

 

Prologue Film — Nina

The evening opens with Nina, a short film composed of archival footage of Nina Simone interviews, performances, and photographic material, edited by Mauro Proietto.

Through Simone's own words and presence, the film establishes context. The audience encounters the clarity of her political thinking, the precision of her convictions, and the uncompromising alignment between her art and her activism. It offers a portrait of an artist who refused any separation between aesthetics and responsibility.

This opening sequence situates the performance within the intellectual and ethical landscape from which Her Voice emerges. It frames the evening not as tribute alone, but as continuation — an artistic response grounded in the urgency Simone articulated throughout her life.

 

The Birds Are Leaving

The Birds Are Leaving is conceived as a quiet premonition. The work emerged in a moment marked by fracture, political instability, ecological strain, and a growing sense that shared ground is no longer secure. The "birds" do not signify literal departure; they signal a shift in atmosphere. Something is receding. Something once assumed is no longer certain.

The choreography does not represent crisis. It sustains tension. The duet moves between attachment and separation, testing proximity as unstable terrain. Support becomes weight. Contact turns tentative. What appears aligned begins to loosen.

Nina Simone's voice carries intimacy and warning at once. The dancers do not perform the music; they inhabit its pressure.

The departure in The Birds Are Leaving is not abrupt. It is incremental. By the time it is recognized, it has already occurred.

Music: "For All We Know" (Sam M. Lewis / J. Fred Coots); "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" (traditional spiritual, arranged by Nina Simone); "Who Knows Where the Time Goes" (Sandy Denny) — recorded performance by Nina Simone.

 

Feelings

Feelings is a solo created by Daniel Proietto in close collaboration with Shelmith Øseth. Set to Nina Simone's interpretation of Morris Albert's song, the work approaches emotion not as confession, but as inherited force. 

The body carries more than the present moment. Gesture becomes archive. Weight holds memory. The choreography unfolds through grounded shifts of breath and direction, tracing something older than the individual — a lineage of resilience rather than display.

Øseth's presence is expansive and uncontained. Embodiment here is not fragility but strength drawn from depth. The choreography creates space for that force to stand fully, unornamented and uncompromised. There is nothing polite in this solo. It moves through intensity without apology.

The exchange between Nina Simone's rendition and the dance is neither illustrative nor devotional. It is pressure meeting pressure. The body does not yield, it answers. What unfolds is insistence: force without ornament. A body in full capacity, grounded, rhythmic, uncontained.

Music: "Feelings" (Morris Albert) — recorded performance by Nina Simone.

 

Stars

Stars was originally created by Alan Lucien Øyen for Paris Opera Ballet director and étoile Aurélie Dupont.

Daniel Proietto became the first male dancer to perform the solo, premiering it at the Kuopio Dance Festival in Finland in 2022. Later that year, with Øyen's permission, Proietto created a cabaret reinterpretation for his drag persona DRAMA.

Filmed at Chela in Buenos Aires, the work is presented on the digital platform Know Nation alongside Omar Saravia's Inferno and The Fundamentals of Movement, an academic methodology developed by Daniel Proietto.

Music: "Stars" (Janis Ian) — recorded performance by Nina Simone.

 

Sinnerman

Sinnerman is a signature solo in Proietto's repertoire. Originally produced by Winter Guests with support from Arts Council Norway and The Norwegian Opera & Ballet, it premiered in January 2014 at London's Coliseum as part of Ivan Putrov's Men in Motion.

Created by Alan Lucien Øyen for Proietto, the work engages the traditional spiritual as a structure of pursuit and reckoning. Built on repetition and rhythmic escalation, the choreography unfolds as a durational test of physical and psychological endurance. The solo accumulates momentum and exposes vulnerability through persistence.

The work has been presented at Sadler's Wells in London and at opera houses in Oslo, Dortmund, Yekaterinburg, and Kyiv. It received strong critical reception at the International Ballet Festival of Havana and at Festival Łódź in Poland. It has toured extensively in Italy, including performances at Rome's Auditorium alongside Alessandra Ferri.

Seen live by more than 50,000 audience members, Sinnerman was filmed by Nick Knight for SHOWstudio and released in March 2015. 

Music: "Sinnerman" (traditional spiritual) — recorded performance by Nina Simone.

 

LIVE MUSIC & CHOIR

 

In Her Voice, live music may play a central structural role. Nina Simone's repertoire can be revisited through new arrangements for a small ensemble including piano, guitar, and drums. Pianist Maria Radutu leads the musical direction.

A local choir may join selected sections of the performance, contributing vocal responses and collective textures that deepen the architectural and emotional dimensions of the work.

 

Performance Format Options

• Base Version: Recorded music only
• Extended Version: Live musical ensemble (piano, guitar, drums)
• Expanded Version: Live ensemble + local choir participation

All versions maintain the structural and artistic integrity of the work.

 

TEAM

 

Artistic

Concept, Choreography & Artistic Direction — Daniel Proietto

Choreographic Contributions & Artistic Collaboration — Alan Lucien Øyen

Performers

Marion Barbeau, Shelmith Øseth and Daniel Proietto

Music

Musical Direction / Piano — Maria Radutu

Live Ensemble (when included): Electric Guitar — Andreas Erd; Drums — Andi Senn

Live Musical Arrangements — Bernhard Eder 

Technical

Sound — Mathias Grønsdal

Lighting Design — Sigve Sælensminde

Choir (Optional / Venue-Based) — local choir participation in collaboration with the hosting venue

Production

Producer — Irhana Šehović

Produced by — Know Nation

Commissioned by — Maison de la Musique de Nanterre

 

Film Documentation

Cinematography — Zacharie Ellia

Editing — TFMauroleus

 

FOR BOOKINGS

 

Her Voice is currently touring. For inquiries regarding presenting the work, contact:

Irhana Šehović

KNOW NATION — Creative Producer

irhana@know-nation.com