Brown Madonna

Coincidence or fate? Filipino choreographer Ea Torrado shares not only her birthday with American pop icon Madonna – their biographies also have many striking similarities: their first steps in classical ballet and modern dance, a strict Catholic upbringing, the permanent fight for self-determination. But while Madonna can freely switch between identities thanks to her millions in wealth, Torrado is forced to fulfil various roles at once. Why are women in Filipino culture conditioned to be such spectacular givers: mothers, martyrs, entertainers, saints? In her solo, Brown Madonna, she takes her similarity – and difference – to Madonna as the starting point for a living, breathing ethnography. In collaboration with the visual artist and fashion designer Leeroy New, Ea Torrado has created a dazzling costume that constantly changes: with every step she takes, another role is made visible, which she then takes on. A feminist DIY spectacle about the pressure to perform, identity and the search for liberation.

Ea Torrado (born 1985 in Quezon City) is a contemporary queer choreographer, performer and educator. Her work explores the overlaps between identity, eroticism, spirituality, ecological awareness and cultural memory – often blurring the boundaries between dance theatre, ritual performance, group practice and experimental film. As founder of the Daloy Dance Company and Daloy Movement, she creates spaces for embodied resistance, healing and radical joy at a local and international level.