Soraya Leila Emery
Nationality
CH / MA
Year of birth
1993
Biography
Soraya Leila Emery is a Swiss Moroccan choreographer and dancer based in Zurich. After graduating in contemporary dance from CFP Arts Genève in 2014 and SEAD Salzburg in 2017, she completed a Master’s degree in Choreography at ZHdK – Zurich University of the Arts in June 2024. Her practice centres on female pleasure. Through a feminist lens, she examines representations of the Arab female body, the transmission of cultural identity and, more recently, orientalist legacies and representations.
Since 2023, she has been developing a choreographic trilogy comprising TURN ON, Coming Soon and Kan Ya Makan, exploring the relationships between pleasure, desire and the gaze, with a particular focus on orientalist representations. Created during her residency with TanzPlan Ost (2023–2024), TURN ON was selected for the Swiss Selection at the Festival d’Avignon 2025 and for Aerowaves 2026. As an associate artist at Tanzhaus Zürich from 2025 to 2028, she created Coming Soon and is currently developing the final chapter of the trilogy, Kan Ya Makan, which is scheduled to premiere in 2028.
