Coincidence or destiny? Filipino choreographer Ea Torrado not only shares a birthday with US pop icon Madonna – their biographies also show striking parallels: first steps in classical ballet and modern dance, a strict Catholic upbringing, the constant struggle for self-determination. But while Madonna can switch freely between identities thanks to her fortune, Torrado is forced to fulfil different roles at the same time. In her solo “Brown Madonna”, she takes this proximity – and difference -– to Madonna as the starting point for an ethnography of the living body. Why are women in Filipino culture conditioned to be spectacular givers? Mothers, martyrs, entertainers, saints? Together with visual artist and fashion designer Leeroy New, Ea Torrado creates a lustful DYI spectacle that queers and “filipinises” two powerful female archetypes and colonial exports: the Virgin Mary – and Madonna. “Brown Madonna” celebrates the burden of overachievement as well as the unquenchable desire to be loved, transforming it into a radical quest for liberation through embodiment.
Infos
- Language: English
- Duration: 60 minutes
- September 27, followed by a karaoke party - The Grand Finale (Lokal)
- September 28, discussion following the performance
- World premiere
- Mousonturm co-production
Accessibility
Accessibility of Location
Sponsors and Supporters
Concept, Performance & Direction: Ea Torrado
Costume Design: Leeroy New
Collaboration Costume Design: Arvie Santos
Dramaturgy: Eisa Jocson
Dramaturgical Support: Alexandra Hennig, Daniel Darwin, Perky Parong
Sound Design: Joshua Gramaje
Rehearsal Mistress: Julienne Depatillo, Freyja Kapangyarihan
Production Management Support: Micah Sofia Pinto
Special Thanks to: Jodinand Aguilon, Joee Mejias, Tokio, Cordelia Hattori and Irene Antonia Patolot Ta-asan
“Sincerely Yours, the Philippines” is a project by Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut Philippines, funded by the German Federal Cultural Foundation through the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. Supported by the Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain, the Goethe-Institut and “Philippines - Guest of Honor at Frankfurter Buchmesse 2025”. Supported by Japan Foundation Manila, UP Vargas Museum,Daloy Dance Company, We Are Shapeshifters, MUNI Philippines.
Biography
Ea Torrado (b. 1985, Quezon City) is a queer-identifying contemporary choreographer, performer, and educator. Her work delves into the intersections of identity, eroticism, spirituality, ecological consciousness, and cultural memory – often blurring boundaries between dance theatre, ritual performance, community practice, and experimental film. As founder of Daloy Dance Company and creator of Daloy Movement, she continues to forge spaces for embodied resistance, healing, and radical joy across locally and internationally.