A TRIBUTE TO EVERYTHING THAT BREAKS (ATETB)

is an anime-inspired performance that unravels a breakage. With the elements of light, dance, and visual art, Yoko Haveman deconstructs the non-linear tension between desire, control, and collapse. 

GENRE Performance
DURATION ± 40 min

Campaign Image by Lisa Schamlé, Graphic Design by Ringailė Demšytė

CONCEPT

A TRIBUTE TO EVERYTHING THAT BREAKS, by choreographer and performer Yoko Haveman, unfolds as a psycho-dystopian cinematic landscape. An isolated body navigates the tension between a fractured persona and its underlying protest. It stages a perpetual negotiation between control and resistance, drawing on the aesthetics and emotional intensity of neo-noir anime. The performance examines the erotization of violence while exposing a subtle progressive deconstruction. 

Positioned at the intersection of performance, visual art, and dance, Haveman constructs a hyper-stylized language that oscillates between restraint and rupture. What begins as a silent act gradually mutates into an erratic, uncontrollable outburst. Escalating through fetishization, infantilization, and isolation, the work exposes the power structures behind the Japanese notions of ‘Lolicon’ and ‘Hikikomori’. 

Central to the work is Haveman’s ongoing artistic research into the body as a living archive of memories and transfiguration. Rather than submitting to binary archetypes prevalent within anime, docility versus monstrosity, A Tribute hybridizes this dichotomy in order to reveal an unpredictable, complex, and self-determined character. ‘I want to disrupt and break what has been made consumable and allow the body to exist on its own terms.’

The soundscape is composed by Mara Lalihatu (Animistic Beliefs), who draws from two distinct genres, electronic and ambient. A layered sonic environment functions in close dialogue with lighting design by Chieljan van der Hoek, shifting between the ethereal and the abrasive. What emerges is a charged environment where exposure and concealment are held in constant tension, continuously redefined through their interplay.

A TRIBUTE TO EVERYTHING THAT BREAKS offers a raw and immersive experience that confronts and unsettles. Audiences are invited into a charged encounter with vulnerability and reclaimed agency.

Trailer ATETB (2026)

TOURSCHEDULE 2026/2027/2028

*Please note: More dates to be confirmed and added in due course.

*For bookings or inquiries please contact Yoko Haveman (info@yokohaveman.com)

  • 17th of February 2026 | Theater Rotterdam, NL
  • 18th of February 2026 | Theater Rotterdam, NL
  • 3rd of March 2026 | Theater Kikker Utrecht, NL
  • 4th of March 2026 | Grand Theatre Groningen, NL
  • 3rd of October 2026 | 19:00 | MURF/MURW festival Tilburg, NL
  • 4th of October 2026 | 14:30 | Nederlandse Dansdagen Maastricht, NL
  • 20th of November 2026 | 17:00 - 22:00 | KUNSTHAL, Rotterdam, NL
  • 4th of December 2026 | T.B.A. | Frascati Amsterdam, NL
  • 5th of December 2026 | T.B.A. | Frascati Amsterdam, NL
  • 30 & 31 2027 | T.B.A. | ROOMS & MARRES, Maastricht, NL
Action pictures by Esmee Regter

CREDITS

CONCEPT, DIRECTION, AND PERFORMANCE Yoko Haveman

ARTISTIC COACH Cherish Menzo

DRAMATURGY Courtney May Robertson

SOUND DESIGN Mara Lalihatu (Animistic Beliefs)

SCENOGRAPHY Lena Michel van Drie, Yoko Haveman

TECHNICIAN AND LIGHT DESIGN Chieljan van der Hoek

SET BUILDER Maarten Smids - Man Met Hamer

COSTUME Yoko Haveman

PHOTOGRAPHY CAMPAIGN IMAGE Lisa Schamlé

GRAPHIC DESIGN Ringailė Demšytė

PRODUCTION Dansateliers

CO-PRODUCTION Grand Theatre Groningen

WITH THE FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF Gemeente Rotterdam, NORMA fund

WITH THE RESIDENCY SUPPORT OF OFFSPRING Performing Arts Festival, Nederlandse

Dansdagen Virtual Residency, Studio FCP

THANKS TO Gideon van der Stelt, Vera Bonder, Charlotte Goesaert

“With a powerful work inspired by dark anime, martial arts, and paralyzing female imagery, YokoHaveman presents herself as a performance maker. Her physical language shifts from hunched and turned away to grand, supercharged, and willing to take physical risks.”
- Wendy Lubberding Theaterkrant

TECHNICAL PRACTICALITIES

  • TYPE Performance
  • PREMIÈRE 18 february 2026
  • TOURPERIOD 2026/2027/2028
  • DURATION 40 min
  • PERFORMERS 1
  • TOURCREW 3
  • VENUE Black box
  • STAGE DIMENSIONS Minimal 8 x 8 m
  • AUDIENCE Tribune
  • ADDITIONAL PROGRAM
    • Aftertalk with the artist and a moderator
    • There is a performance version for OFF VENUE inquiries
    • Museum context with an adapted version of the work
    • Site-specific adaptation possible in consultation.
  • CONTENT NOTES Nudity, high volume sound, language no problem, age advised 14+ 

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