Iwona Wojnicka is an independent dancer, performer and choreographer who is particularly fond of early Ausdruckstanz. She explores the limits of reenactment in dance and develops the concept of a choreographic response. Her projects have won many Polish and European awards, including the annual scholarship of the President of the Capital City of Warsaw, as well as a three-year choreographic internship at Codarts in Rotterdam. She holds a master's degree in sociology and is actively involved in the development of the Warsaw dance community. Since 2020, Iwona has been exclusively dedicated to Practice Research PhD at the Research Centre of Performing Practices at the University of Huddersfield. This edition of the Body IQ Festival will host the premiere of her newest work “Vibrato”, performed by the Vira Realis Ensemble.

Vira Realis is a virtual persona and a choreographic response to the dance practices of pioneers of modern dance and the Dada spirit of their times. It was inspired by Nata Lerska, aged 101, the Polish pioneer of Ausdruckstanz. Vira has been created by Iwona Wojnicka and Angela Hoyos Gómez, PhD researchers in choreography and composition at the University of Huddersfield’s School of Art and Humanities; Diego Herrera, visual artist based in Bogotá, Colombia; and Juan Hernández, electronic music composer based in Leeds, UK.