TURN ON is the first chapter of a trilogy on female pleasure.

In TURN ON, Swiss-Moroccan dancer and choreographer Soraya Leïla Emery uses her dual heritage as a lens through which to question the experience of female pleasure. She does not embark on this exploration alone: two other artists join her, each shaped, like her, by an upbringing between two identities.

Drawing on various bodily techniques - from dance to martial arts -  as well as orientalist imagery, they probe the notions of the gaze and consent. In a shifting space, constantly reshaped by light and sound, where they move both alone and together, each one claims her place with strength and delicacy. They free themselves. And with them, so do we.

A game of constantly changing, ambivalent power relations.
An act of re-appropriation of their bodies.
A fight for their rights to pleasure.

Soraya Leila with TURN ON is part of Aerowaves Twenty 26 Artist and will be presented in O Espaço do Tempo, Guimaraes (PT) in May 2026. The piece was part of the Sélection Suisse in Avignon (FR) in 2025, with performances at CDCN Les Hivernales, Avignon.

Pleasure manifesto

dreaming of pleasure
what is pleasure, where is pleasure
there is resistances in this quest of finding what pleasure is
but trying again and again to define what it is to have pleasure whilst having pleasure
pleasure, as a gravitational center, giving birth to every action, interaction, thoughts
arousing, touching, breathing, softening, resting, all in one
an individual and collective reclamation
radical/self/collective care, attentiveness, responsibility, consent, boundaries
pleasure as a work ethic and collaborative practice
pleasure at the service of the content
generosity, inviting the audience to contribute to our exploration
when needed, rest together and share what is pleasurable
always stretch the scope of pleasure - always

choreographers at work! 

The process of TURN ON has been documented as part of the documentary series Choreographers At Work! 

research

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