Mama'ku
Cheroney Pelupessy
How much of our mothers do we carry with us without knowing it?
Mama'ku is an intimate and layered film and performance about the invisible lines between mother and daughter, about what generations pass on in silence. The evening opens with a documentary by Sven Peetoom, who followed choreographer Cheroney Pelupessy and her mother on their trip to Indonesia and the Moluccas. Memories hidden for generations come into motion. This is followed by a physical duet between Cheroney and renowned Javanese dancer Elly Lutan, in which contemporary dance and traditional movement language merge. Their meeting on stage depicts the distance and closeness between generations, the search and finding of who we are.
‘This performance is a way for me to get closer to my own history while creating a shared sense of recognition for others. Because at the end of the day, we all carry a part of our mothers with us.’
Cheroney Pelupessy
AINSI theater
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Concept Cheroney Pelupessy
Choreography & performance Cheroney Pelupessy, Elly Lutan
Assistent choreographer Prawita Indah
Artistic support Shailesh Bahoran, Ryan Djojokarso
Composer Tom van Wee
Musicians Wayan Pitriana, Krishna Sutedja, Wulan Dumatubun
Costume design Mirjam Manusama
Lighting Jeffrey Steenbergen
Technical coordinator Simchah Hoed
Made possible by VFonds, DNA The Next!, Fonds Podiumkunsten, Podium Mozaïek, Theater Rotterdam, Theaterfestival Boulevard, IRC, AYA, Indonesia House, Boby Setiawan
Photography Elia Papilaja & Sjoerd Derine
Cheroney Pelupessy is a choreographer, dancer and maker with Indonesian and Moluccan heritage. Her work explores how history, identity and cultural heritage live on in the body and movement. She combines contemporary dance with traditional Indonesian and Moluccan influences, developing a unique movement signature that is rooted in her heritage and innovative at the same time.
Her first major performance, KETURUNAN (2022), marked the beginning of a deep investigation into the relationship between her personal history and the shared heritage of Indonesian and Moluccan communities in the Netherlands. This narrative is the thread running through her work, in which she tells stories that have long been underexposed. Her choreographies are more than dance; they are physical archives of memory, connection and transformation.
Cheroney works with national and international partners and has conducted research in both the Netherlands and Indonesia to further develop her movement language. With her performances, she bridges generations and cultures, creating space for dialogue and recognition. Her work touches on themes of identity, legacy and the unspoken links between past and present.
