DANCE RESIDENCY

Petra Zanki (she/her) is a Croatian-American award-winning immigrant choreographer living in Brooklyn, New York. Petra received and MFA in Choreography from CODARTS University in Rotterdam in 2023, and is a current 2025 Brooklyn Arts Fund Awardee. She was nominated as the best upcoming choreographer on Zagreb Dance Platform, and granted multiple residencies across Europe, including a two-year choreography fellowship from ICK-Amsterdam/Emio Greco and Croatian HIPP-TSP. Her works have been shown across Europe, US, Canada, the UK, and Australia. In NYC, she has presented her works at Estrogenius Festival NYC; PRELUDE Festival/Segal Center Cuny; DanceFest-Dance Parade; Mark Morris Dance Center; Movement Research/Judson Church; PS122/Dixon Place; ChaShaMa/Gambit Works; and Pen & Brush.Her works have been reviewed in magazines such as Tanz, Performance Art Journal-MIT, Performance Research Journal, and The Bomb. Growing up in Croatia during the war, Petra’s main interest remains the transformation of pain into landscapes of beauty for the benefit of humanity.

This residency invites Petra Zanki to engage deeply with NOoSPHERE Arts’ rooftop spaces and seasonal programming, creating and presenting new or evolving site-specific choreographic work inspired by our annual theme and the surrounding urban ecology. Throughout the WE ARE NATURE season, Petra will activate our rooftop gardens and open-air environments as both stage and source, drawing from the rhythms, climate, and community of the space. Her residency will culminate in public performances that explore the intersection of movement, place, and ecological awareness.

Official Performance Dates:
May 25, July 26, and October 25
Show Times during Wildflowers Festival on July 26: 4 PM & 6:30 PM

MURMURATIONS - (work-in-process)
Murmurations is a high-impact site-specific choreography for eight dancers that reflects on collective power, interconnection, and Agape. Drawing from the flight of birds and their ability to communicate through movement and sound, it envisions dancers as the birds of humankind capable of seeing solutions where others see only chaos. 

Choreographer's note: “In my practice, I push the boundaries of dance by dissolving the divide between art and life, and between stage and community. I approach choreography in its broadest sense, as a deeply political act and a way of engaging with the world we live in through art. I believe contemporary dance should matter in the global context. It should be more human, more present, and capable of reaching people beyond traditional audiences. I strive to create work that resonates even with those who may not typically connect with contemporary dance.” 

Choreography: Petra Zanki in co-creation with dancers

Dancers: Allison Costa, Solenn Étienne, Nico Gonzales, Frances Rose Koper Heintzelman, Natasha Huang, Toni Owens, Caleb Patterson, Trace Yeames

Costume Design: Merhawit Tesfai - Merziet Design 

Cinematography: Rob La Terra 

Photography: Jordan Brookins

Executive Producers: Ben Goosman, John C. Robinson

Co-produced with NOoSPHERE Arts

The Cie. Petra Zanki  Murmurations project is a 2025 Brooklyn Arts Council Grant Awardee. The project is being realized with generous support from Brooklyn Arts Fund, supported by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York City Council, and the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President.