SPREZZATURA – Nika Disney

Work in progress

This work in progress documents the development of a dance duet that explores human relationships in a speculative future where artificial intelligence has been fully integrated into everyday life—and then, suddenly, disconnected. The piece delves into the uneasy rediscovery of intimacy through the bodies of two dancers, Ema and Arian, who portray a generation unaccustomed to direct, human contact.

As a choreographer, I ask: What happens when beings used to AI-mediated relationships are suddenly left to navigate raw, unfiltered human connection? How do bodies relearn closeness? What new movement vocabularies emerge in this process of rediscovery?

At its core, this work explores the tension between technological dependence and embodied presence. The dancing body becomes a site of resistance, adaptation, and potential transformation in response to shifting paradigms of connection. Through the physical expression of discomfort, discovery, and vulnerability, the work offers a somatic critique of our evolving relationship with technology—while simultaneously imagining possible futures of human connection.

Nika is a choreographer and dancer from Pula, Croatia. She graduated from the Academy of Theatre and Dance in Amsterdam as a performer, choreographer, and educator. Her recent works have been presented in Croatia with the Studio for Contemporary Dance (Murmurations, Summa Summarum) and at the Zagreb Dance Center (Unisono, Prolazno), addressing questions such as: “Are we ever truly alone?” and “How will technology shape our hearts?”

Nika’s creative process is grounded in trust, vulnerability, and openness. She encourages performers to bring their own experiences, dreams, and fears into the work, believing that this shared process builds a bridge between performer and audience—a space where recognition, connection, and empowerment can unfold. For Nika, a performance doesn’t end when the curtain falls; it continues through silence, reflection, and post-show dialogue.

She is especially interested in developing programs that foster dialogue between art and community—spaces where art is lived, shared, and transformed into a collective experience.