Marusia Ionova
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Portrait of Marusia Ionova
Portrait of Marusia Ionova
Marusia Ionova in rehearsal

MARUSIAIONOVA

interdisciplinary performer

  • [*]embodiment
  • [*]voice
  • [*]vulnerability

(Kyiv, Ukraine)

[02]About

Marusia Ionova is an interdisciplinary performer based in Kyiv, working at the intersection of theatre and music.

Body, voice and text are the primary tools of her performance. Her practice is drawn to threshold states — vulnerability, tension, transformation — and builds on improvisation, deep listening and stream-of-consciousness writing. She treats the body as memory: a space where experience and emotion are stored, and through which what is lived becomes experience for another.

Marusia Ionova with a fellow performer
[03]Artistic Manifesto

ARTISTICMANIFESTO

  1. [01]

    body, voice and text — primary tools of performance

  2. [02]

    the body is memory, a space where experience and emotion are stored

  3. [03]

    interest in threshold states: vulnerability, tension, transformation

  4. [04]

    process-oriented mindset

  5. [05]

    improvisation, deep listening, stream-of-consciousness writing — the basis of the work

  6. [06]

    experience is transmitted through the body — what is lived becomes experience for another

    [*]empathy as a component of love <3

  7. [07]

    the intersection of theatre and music as a field of existence

  8. [08]

    singing opens a space beyond explanation and dissolves the need for narrative

  9. [09]

    questions are more important than answers

  10. [10]

    play as a mode of existence

    [*]the human as a playful being

[04]Selected Works

SELECTEDWORKS

2025[*] music performance

Dance on the Edge of the World

by Mariia&Magdalyna × Parking Spot

[*] role
performer, co-creator
[*] format
music performance

A theatre and music performance following a heroine in a process of self-exploration beyond masks and fixed identities. The work explores vulnerability and honesty as a conscious choice — moving through different states without escape, allowing experience to unfold. At its core, the performance is a search for connection and love: within oneself, with another, and within a fragile and uncertain world.

2025[*] performance

Bunker Cabaret

by Hooligan Art Community (UA/UK collaboration)

[*] role
performer
[*] format
performance

A multidisciplinary performance combining music, poetry, dance and film. Originally developed in underground shelters, the work explores artistic expression under extreme conditions. It moves between irony, vulnerability and intensity, reflecting personal and collective experiences through performative form. The performance creates a space of shared presence, where individual stories meet and resonate with the audience.

2025[*] documentary music performance

Misto Marii (The City of Mariia)

[*] role
actress, singer
[*] format
documentary music performance

A documentary music performance based on the personal diaries of two sisters from Mariupol. The work focuses on the beginning of the war and the lived experiences of civilians during the siege of the city. It brings personal testimonies of fear, loss and survival into a performative space through voice, text and sound. Combining documentary material with music, the performance creates a space for listening — where individual stories of extreme reality become a shared human experience.

[05]Methods

Methods

  • [01]body-based work and embodiment
  • [02]stream-of-consciousness writing
  • [03]deep listening
  • [04]voice and singing
  • [05]exploration of inner states
  • [06]improvisation
  • [07]work with literature and poetry
  • [08]lucid body method
[06]Teaching
Teaching practice at Dakh Acting School

Dakh Acting School

Kyiv · since 20197 years of practice

Alongside her artistic practice, Marusia has been developing Dakh Acting School in Kyiv since 2019.

Her teaching focuses on body and voice, exploring emotional and human experience at the intersection of theatre, music and philosophy. The school works with adults and teenagers, using creative practices to support mental well-being.

  • [*]long-term acting courses
  • [*]group training
  • [*]individual sessions
  • [*]teams & creative collaborations
  • [*]adults from different professional backgrounds
[07]Collaborations
  • Mariia&Magdalyna
  • /NKT (Berlin)
  • /Hooligan Art Community
  • /Theater Magdeburg
  • /Dakh Acting School
  • /GogolFest
[08]Media

Showreel — performance fragments, music and documentary work.

[*]Rehearsal
[*]Dance on the Edge of the World
[*]Portrait
[*]Bunker Cabaret
[*]Portrait
[*]Portrait