My Wayang and I

"My Wayang and I" is a powerful dance performance exploring how our past can continue to haunt us. It delves into the tensions that settle in the body, the feelings of exclusion, and the pain of not being accepted. Yet it also celebrates the strength of imagination and the longing to break free from what once was. Last year, Afra Ernst returned to Indonesia after eighteen years. Born in Jakarta and raised in the Netherlands, she questioned why she and her mother had to leave. Her gut feeling was confirmed: it was pure necessity; they had no choice. A shadowy past that Afra, no matter how hard she tries, cannot shake off. Afra intertwines dance, poetry, and Indonesian imagery into a carefully layered production. Choreographers Mauri Kierindoongo, Christiaan Hendriksen, and Moze Naél guide the audience through a profound internal struggle in learning to accept one’s shadowy past. "My Wayang and I" poignantly illustrates that we are always stronger than our shadows, leaving one lingering question for the audience: Are you brave enough to confront your shadows? ABOUT AFRA ERNST: Afra Ernst is a choreographer, dancer, and creator with roots in both Indonesia and the Netherlands. Her work is deeply personal but resonates universally: the quest for identity, heritage, and the imprints left by the past and the body. With "My Wayang and I," she connects dance with memory, corporeality with cultural heritage, inviting the audience to witness their own shadows without fear. MY WAYANG AND I: A production by Rumah - Afra In collaboration with Café Theater Festival and Stadsschouwburg Utrecht Thanks to: Fonds Podiumkunsten, Dioraphte, Gemeente Utrecht, het Cultuurfonds (in part thanks to the Karel van Muijden Fund), BNG Cultuurfonds, Gravin van Bylandt Stichting.