Performer – Events
Belgium Tour
Oxana Chi and Layla Zami are invited to tour their lecture-performance Corpuscular Cores in Belgium, with dates in Leuven and Brussels, upon invitation by VUB, KU Leuven, and STUK House for Dance, Image & Sound.
April 18-24, 2024
Berlin University of the Arts
Layla Zami is invited to present a lecture-performance on the new work Corpuscular Cores, composed and performed in collaboration with dancer-choreographer Oxana Chi. The session is part of a day long conference entitled Spur-Linie-Bindung held at the Berlin University of the Arts.
Universität der Künste
Kammersaal
Fasanenstr. 1b
Berlin
November 18, 2023
2 pm
The Kitchen
Layla Zami was commissioned to compose a new song in response to a graphic score created by Romi Ron Morrison as a result of their residency at The Kitchen in New York. Morrison’s score was inspired by archival research on the late composer Julius Eastman. The Kitchen hosts an in-person event comprising a collaborative live performance by Oxana Chi (dance) and Zami (saxophone, loops), and a conversation about the project with Morrison and the other contributing artists Mendi+Keith Obadike and Kumi James.
Collapsable Hole
155 Bank St
New York, NY 10014
September 27, 2023
7 pm
Weeksville Brooklyn
Weeksville Heritage Center invites Oxana Chi & Layla Zami to perform the dance-music-theater performance I Step On Air in the realm of the Weeksville Green event that will also comprise a market, yoga, and a concert. Free and open to all.
Weeksville Heritage Center
158 Buffalo Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11213
September 23, 2023
4 pm
World Premiere in Manhattan
As a 2022 Fellow in the program LABA: A Laboratory for Jewish Culture, Layla Zami created a new play called Broken Bet, in cooperation with Oxana Chi, which premieres to open the 2023 LABAlive season.
14 Y Theater
344 E 14th St
Manhattan, NYC
September 14, 2023
7.30 pm
Performing in South Africa
Layla Zami and Oxana Chi will perform I Step On Air at the Performance Studies international (PSi) symposium, organized in partnership with the Wits Theatre and Performance and Drama for Life departments. The conference is grounded through Uhambo, an IsiZulu word that translates to ‘a journey’. Dr. Zami lived in South Africa twenty years ago and is looking forward to this journey of return!
University of the Witwatersrand
August 2-5, 2023
I Step On Air
Oxana Chi and Layla Zami will perform I Step On Air as part of a Juneteenth celebration in Berlin.
Nachbarschaftsheim Schöneberg
Holsteinische Str. 30, 12161 Berlin
17.06.2022
7 pm
Heinrich-Heine-University
Oxana Chi and Layla Zami will perform I Step On Air as a special evening event (plenary session) for the Conference "Translation and the Archive: Performance, Practice, Negotiation".
Theatermuseum Düsseldorf
June 1, 2023
Performing at HZT Berlin
The laboratory Dis|As|sociation initiated by Prof. Dr. Ariane Jeßulat sets out to explore the phenomenon of polyphony in contemporary music as a practice of organizing heterogeneous elements through means of dissociation and association. Layla Zami and Oxana Chi contribute with a performative intervention in the keynote session: feelingJAZZ (choreographed by Oxana Chi) meets Manhattan Rush Hour (composed and improvised by Layla Zami).
HZT, Uferstudios Berlin
November 19, 2022
Registration required
Opening Performance for rongin shagor
The digital platform rongin shagor রঙিন সাগর, Bengali for “colourful ocean” is an ongoing interdisciplinary artistic dialogue that starts with the poem “community” by May Ayim. The in-person launching event will open with a performance by Oxana Chi (choreography, dance) & Layla Zami (spoken words, saxophone) and continue with time to listen to, engage with and take in the selected artists’ work.
Oyoun Berlin
November 13, 2022
6 pm
LABA 14Y
As a Fellow in the program LABA: A Laboratory for Jewish Culture, Layla Zami created a new piece called Broken Bet, in cooperation with Oxana Chi. The presentation at LABA Live will open the 2022-2023 season.
14th Street Y, NYC
September 22, 2022 (cancelled)
Puppet conference
Layla Zami contributed live-music (kalimba, chalumeau) for Oxana Chi’s eurythmy workshops and co-creation at the Collaborative Storytelling and Puppetry Conference at the Hawthorne Valley Waldorfschool in Gent, Upstate New York. Zami composed and recorded new music for the Enchanted Waters show directed by artist and educator Janene Ping and presented at the end of the conference.
Hawthorne Valley Waldorfschool Gent, Upstate New York
July 29-31, 2022
I Step On Air in Berlin
Together with Oxana Chi, Layla Zami performs I Step On Air (dance-music-theater-performance). The Werkhalle Wiesenburg Berlin is a room for the arts in Berlin-Wedding, offering a series of art exhibitions and interdisciplinary events.
Werkhalle Wiesenburg Berlin
June 11, 2022
10 pm
Schauspielhaus Dortmund
Opening the Festival Dortmund goes black at Schauspielhaus Dortmund with the performance I Step On Air. Layla Zami accompanies Oxana Chi's dance with live-music and physical theater. The evening includes a contextualizing talk by the artists.
Junge Oper / Schauspielhaus Dortmund
May 12, 2022
6 pm
May 15, 2022
1.30-3.30 pm: workshop
Lecture-Performance in Martinique
The evening "Les Chemins de la Liberté" centers Dr. Zami's book Contemporary PerforMemory and Oxana Chi's performance Psyche. The evening includes a keynote by Dr. Zami, a live performance excerpt by Oxana Chi & Layla Zami, and responses scholars from Université des Antilles, artist Valérie John and the Mayor of Le Lamentin.
Centre Culturel de Basse-Gondeau
January 21, 2022
5.30 pm
Conférence dansée
Lecture-Performance by Dr. Layla Zami & Oxana Chi in the realm of an artist residency
Featuring an excerpt of Oxana Chi's Psyche with live-music composed & performed by Layla Zami
La Maison Rouge : Maison des Arts
January 7, 2022
6 pm
1014: Past and Future
US Premiere of Oxana Chi's Wings 2 Fly at the 1014 festival-exhibition about 1014 Fifth Avenue, with live-music (saxophone and loops) created by Layla Zami for the dance. In presence of Germany's Consul General.
Thu October 14 & Fri October 15, 2021
TRANSITIONS Festival
Oxana Chi Dance & Art presents Wings to Fly, a new dance performance commissioned by Dagesh / Leo-Baeck-Institute for Transitions: Festival Jüdischer Gegenwartskünste / Jewish Festival for Contemporary Arts. Layla Zami performs new creations on the saxophone in a unique collaboration with Oxana Chi (choreography, dance) and Julius Heise (vibraphone).
In person at Holzmarkt 25
Berlin, Germany
Wed August 18, 2021
more info about the festival
World Association of Puppetry and Storytelling Arts
As a Resident Artist with Oxana Chi Dance & Art, Layla Zami will offer a musical contribution for a workshop facilitated by Oxana Chi for Waldorf Educators.
July 29-30, 2021
(online for registered participants)
Performing (online) at LFT 2021
Oxana Chi and Layla Zami presented their work in the first virtual edition of Lesbenfrühlingstreffen organized annually in Germany. Zami shared one of her saxophone songs and a new poem.
Lesben Frühlings Treffen, Rising To The Roots, Bremen 2021 (online)
May 22, 2021
9 pm
Participating to Dortmund goes Black
In the realm of Dortmund goes Black, Oxana Chi invites Layla Zami and Stefanie-Lahya Aukongo to be in virtual conversation with her. This event held in celebration of May Ayim's birthday is the first iteration of a digital Artist Salon curated by Oxana Chi for Theater Dortmund in Germany.
Wed May 5, 2021
7.30pm Central European Time [online via Zoom]
#dortmundgoesblack
Waldorf Conference
As a Resident Artist with Oxana Chi Dance & Art, Layla Zami will bring a musical contribution to Oxana Chi's virtual live workshop at the WECAN Educational Conference "Toward a Kinder, More Compassionate Society". Layla Zami will also introduce Oxana Chi's performance, scheduled as part as a Conversation Session with the Keynote Speaker.
Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America (online)
February 5-7, 2021
conference program
conference website
Diaspora Europa Festival
Layla Zami is delighted to be a musical guest in Oxana Chi's dance performance Through Gardens, presented at the Volksbühne Berlin in the realm of
the festival Diaspora Europa. Journalist Shelly Kupferberg and the Executive Director of the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC) Tímea Junghaus have
invited artists from a wide range of genres to show their work. Memories, identities, locations, surveys and visions of living together in Europe are presented, discussed
and finally celebrated in a kaleidoscopic way in performances, conversations and music.
The event will be live-streamed on the Remembrance Day for the Victims of National Socialism in Germany.
Volksbühne Berlin
(online on Volksbühne digital, due to the current restrictions)
January 27, 2021
Year-End Celebration Performance
Guest musician in the Year-End Dance Celebration at Dixon Place
Saxophone improvisation for Oxana Chi (dance), with Peter Schindler (Piano)
December 30, 2020
Performing & Curating at Danspace Project
Zami performs saxophone in Oxana Chi's performances Psyche and Neferet iti. The two evenings also include other performances by LAVA and Kalamandir Dance, curated by Chi & Zami around the theme of The Root & The Divine in the realm of the Food For Thought Series at Danspace Project.
St. Mark’s Church
131 East 10th St, New York
May 29 & 30, 2020
Musician in Through Gardens
Special guest appearance on the chalumeau (woodwinds) instrument in Oxana Chi's dance piece Through Gardens.
Speyer Hall // Performance Project @ University Settlement
Fri, March 13, 2020 at 8.00pm
Sat March 14, 2020 at 7.00pm
Saxophone Concert
Upon invitation by saxophonist Jeff Pearing, Zami presents new composed and improvised music in the Instrumental Underground Jazz Series
Mirror Tea House
575 Union St, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Sat February 22, 2020
9.30 pm
Showcase at the Winter Follies
Zami & Chi perform their iconic saxophone-dance duo at the Winter Follies, a professional performance marathon showcase produced by Spoke the Hub
The Old First Reformed Church, Brooklyn
February 15, 2020 at 7.30pm
February 16, 2020 at 4.00pm
Lecture-Performance at IHRAF
Layla Zami curates and performs at the International Human Rights Art Festival. Zami will present an excerpt of her poetry and saxophone creation, Homesong. She will also appear in the lecture-performance Killjoy, together with dancer-choreographer Oxana Chi. A special tribute to women's memory and resistance, past, present, and future.
International Human Rights Art Festival
Sat December 14, 2019
8 pm
Performance at The New School
Layla Zami will play at The New School, in the realm of the performance series Women Between Arts (Mannes School of Music), curated by Luisa Muhr. Upon invitation by Oxana Chi, Layla will perform saxophone and live-loops in dialogue with the dance and in a special collaboration with Mara Rosenbloom on the piano.
The New School, Glassbox Theater
August 17, 2019
3:30 pm
Music Now Series
Layla Zami is delighted to perform with Mara Rosenbloom (piano), Oxana Chi (dance), Ras Moshe Burnett (flute, tenor saxophone), Leonor Falcon Pasquali (viola), Juanma Trujillo (bass), Eriq Robinson (bass). The evening will also include jazz sets by Jeff Pearring Trio and the Ras Moshe Burnett Ensemble.
The Commons Brooklyn
June 6, 2019
7.30 pm
Open Performance Series
Layla Zami accompanies Oxana Chi in the dance-saxophone duo feelingJAZZ.
Movement Research - 122 Community Center
May 21, 2019
7 pm
A (Re)Quest for Freedom
An evening of dance and live-music by and with Oxana Chi & Layla Zami. Dancers and musicians from Europe and from the USA search for possibilities to be free, in their movements, their sounds, in community, in society, individually and together.
TADA Theater
Sun, May 12, 2019
7.30 pm
The Brick Residency Season
The Brick Theater presents I Step On Air as part of their residency season.
Oxana Chi & Layla Zami are delighted to be rehearsing and performing in this innovative Brooklyn venue!
April 26-28, 2019
7 pm
CPR Spring Festival
Layla Zami performs own compositions in the dance-saxophone-duo feelingJAZZ by and with Oxana Chi.
Sat April 6, 2019
7.30 pm
Nankama African Dance Conference
Layla Zami performs as a main musician and actress in the dance-music-words performance I Step On Air by and with Oxana Chi.
Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center
Howard University, Washington D.C.
Feb 9th, 2019
Residency Presentation
Layla Zami performs in the dance-music-duo feelingJAZZ by and with Oxana Chi.
La Maison rouge: Maison des Arts
Martinique, French West Indies
Jan 11, 2019
International Human Rights Art Festival
Layla Zami performs her solo Homesong in a special "Celebration of Women*" performance evening which she curates for the weeklong International Human Rights Art Festival.
The Wild Project
November 17th, 2018
at 8 pm
Abrons Arts Center
Layla Zami is delighted to present new original composed and improvised music in Oxana Chi's feelingJAZZ, a duo for a body and a saxophone. This work-in-progress was developed during Oxana Chi's time as an AIRspace Performing Artist-in-Residence at Abrons Arts Center. The performance is part of the 2017-2018 cohort Show+Share evening.
Abrons Arts Center Underground Theater
June 29th, 2018
at 7.30 pm
University of Toronto
Upon invitation by the US-based Black German Heritage and Research Association (BGHRA), Oxana Chi & Dr. Layla Zami present I Step On Air as keynote performers at the conference "Transnational Perspectives on Black Germany" hosted by the University of Toronto in Canada.
Robert Gill Theatre
May 24th, 2018
at 7.30 pm
conference website
conference program
Performance Studies Symposium
Oxana Chi & Layla Zami will perform I Step On Air at New York University in the realm of the Symposium "The Between: Couple Forms, Performing Together" hosted by the Department of Performance Studies at NYU, in association with the Women & Performance journal.
New York University
PS Studio (Room 612)
Sat April 14th, 2018
2 - 4 pm
Bronx Academy of Arts & Dance
BAAD! ASS Women Festival 2018
feelingJAZZ
March 9th, 2018
at 8 pm
First Friday Series at JCAL
In the realm of an artist residency with Oxana Chi's dance company at the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning in Queens (Feb 2018)
Homesong followed by Oxana Chi's dance Killjoy
March 2nd, 2018
at 7:30 pm
Black Queer Night
A special event for Black History Month, curated by Layla Zami & Oxana Chi in partnership with the International Human
Rights Art Festival (IHRAF).
Featuring Maria Bauman, Nia & Ness, Oxana Chi and Layla Zami (spoken words, chalumeau, saxophone)
Dixon Place Theater
Feb 21st, 2018
at 7.30 pm
Triskelion Arts Brooklyn
Never Before Never Again Festival at Triskelion
feelingJAZZ by Oxana Chi featuring Layla Zami (saxophone)
Muriel Schulman Theater
106 Calyer Street, Brooklyn
Jan 26th, 2018
at 8 pm
Jewish Art in the Metropolis of Europe
Screening and discussion event organized by DAGESH. KunstLAB ELES (Berlin) in cooperation with Asylum Arts. A Global
Network for Jewish Artists (NYC), in the realm of the Festival Radikale Jüdische Kulturtage.
Box Freiraum - Berlin-Friedrichshain
November 14th, 2017
at 7 pm
29th Cheikh Anta Diop International Conference
Wyndham Philadelphia Historic District Hotel, Philadelphia
Homesong, preceded by Oxana Chi's dance Killjoy and followed by Layla Zami's talk
October 21th, 2017
at 6.15 pm
Here & Black Festival
Zwischenraum / Heliodrom Kulturarena des Theater R.A.B., Freiburg
Neferet iti by Oxana Chi featuring Layla Zami (saxophone, ocean drum)
July 13th, 2017
at 7 pm
M(a)y Sister Festival
HAU (Hebbel am Ufer) Theater, Berlin
Homesong
May 3rd, 2017
at 8 pm
Poetry Meets Soul Series
Prachtwerk Berlin
Homesong
April 27th, 2017
at 8 pm
Womyn Month Special
WOW (Women One World) Theatre Café – New York
Homesong
Mar 24th - 25th, 2017
at 8 pm
Black Herstory Night
Dixon Place Laboratory for Performance, New York
Homesong (USA Premiere!)
Feb 16th, 2017
at 7.30 pm
Delhi International Queer Theatre & Film Festival (DIQTFF)
NCUI Auditorium & Convention Centre, New Delhi, India
I Step On Air
December 10th, 2016
In*Vision Festival Brandenburg
I Step On Air
Nov 25th, 2016
at 8.30 pm
Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) Performance Night
TransFormations – Trans Film Festival Berlin at Werkstatt der Kulturen Theater, Berlin
Homesong (German Premiere!)
Nov 20th, 2016
at 9.30 pm
Moving Memory International Symposium-Festival
Technical University Berlin
I Step On Air
Oct 20th, 2016
at 7 pm
Women Performance Series
Frauenfreitag @ Sonntagsclub, Berlin
I Step On Air
May 25th, 2016
Festival BAAD! ASS WOMEN
Bronx Academy of Arts & Dance, New York
I Step On Air
March 26th, 2017
at 8 pm
Women’s History Month Conference
Rutgers University, Camden, NJ
I Step On Air
March 25th, 2016
at 1 pm
Women's Month
La Maison d'Art New York
I Step On Air
March 19th, 2016
at 6 pm
Dance Series Fast Forward
Neferet iti by Oxana Chi
Dixon Place Theater - New York
March 15th, 2017
2nd Second Annual Women's Conference "Women & Power"
City University of New York
I Step On Air
March 2nd, 2016
at 7 pm
Split bill with Prof. Dr. Rosamond S. King
Dixon Place Theater, Laboratory for Performance, New York
I Step On Air
Sept 23rd, 2015
at 7.30 pm
Solo International Performing Arts (SIPA) Festival
Benteng Vastenburg Solo
Neferet iti by Oxana Chi featuring Layla Zami
September 10th – 12th, 2015
Taipei Fringe Festival
Taipei City Youth Development Office Auditorium, Taiwan
Neferet iti by Oxana Chi featuring Layla Zami
Aug 30th and Sept 9th at 7.30 pm
Sept 1st and Sept 3rd at 2.40 pm
Festival Dapline!
The Performance Project @ University Settlement, New York
Oxana Chi's Neferet iti opens the festival, featuring Layla Zami
July 30th, 2015
Intersectionality and Feminism Event Series
Mainz University, Women Department (AlleFrauenReferat)
I Step On Air
April 24th, 2015
at 8 pm