good girls

Contemporary dance performance

OPUS Festival Young Creators + Plesni Studio Intakt

Premiere 4 April 2026, Slovene National Theatre Celje (part of OPUS I)

The performance lasts 21 minutes without intermission.

Concept and direction Helena Alemany Ortiz
Makers and performers Kati Markschat, Helena Alemany Ortiz
Research collaborators Klara Mandahl, Anaïs Van Caekenberghe
Research outside perspective Ulrike Doszmann, Nienke Rooijakkers
Advising Nina Meško, Nataša Tovirac
Music ‘Let Me Out’ - Dover, ‘Café Tropical’ - LA LOM
Production OPUS Festival Young Creators, Plesni Studio Intakt, Ljubljana, Slovenia 
With the support of Makershuis Residency, Dans Brabant, Tilburg, The Netherlands

 

good girls is born out of the desire to connect with the inner child. Fragments of memory, instinct and play become seeds of moving landscapes. Approaching the body through curiosity, intuitive and contradictory logics, rather than certainty. We draw inspiration from our childhood, not for portraying a child, but for allowing certain traits to emerge: spontaneity, inventiveness, the freedom to change course with no explanation. Permission to play, to propose, to not know. A gesture of tenderness and, at the same time, the possibility of laughing at oneself. It approaches identity, complicity and femininity. Subtle reconciliation with who we are, what is missing and what is still possible. The ultimate aim is to foster playfulness in everyday life and not to lose the ability to imagine in adulthood.

Helena Alemany Ortiz and Kati Markschat graduated from Fontys Academy of the Arts, Tilburg, in 2025. They feel creative and connected to their essence through contemporary dance, improvisation, and physical theatre. Their dance expresses the human experience and imagination through the abstract, communicative body, transforming gestures and interactions into poetic moments. Through playfulness, humor, character-driven physicality, and speech, they question power dynamics, explore feminist ideas, and reveal the absurdity of human behavior with vulnerability and critical distance. Curiosity guides their journey of self-discovery. They dance to stay connected to their inner child, create honest exchanges, and build meaningful connections. They value commitment, warmth, sensitivity, and keeping the joy of dance alive.