HA

At HA the voice takes on a life of its own.
A smile, a sigh, a cry or a hesitant sound: using just the sounds H and A, Jana Jacuka opens up a world of emotions, memories and familiar situations. What begins as a game with a single letter develops into a physical performance in which voice, breath and movement constantly influence one another.
Laughter can sound cheerful, awkward, nervous or liberating. It can be a reaction to an unexpected encounter, a mishap, an embarrassing moment — or something for which words fail us. Laughter as a mechanism for escape.

Jana Jacuka draws the audience into a playful and precise choreography in which language slowly breaks down and takes on a new form. She growls, shouts, speaks as she breathes in, and shifts to a form of communication that goes beyond words. She arrives empty-handed. It is just the space, her and you, and suddenly: HA.

HA has won the International Bursary Award (Amsterdam Fringe Festival 2025), the YAA Award (Netherlands) and the Art Excellence Grant (Riga Art Week 2026, Latvia)

Jana Jacuka is a choreographer and performer originally from Latvia, currently based in Amsterdam. She explores the voice as a form of choreography and creates performances almost from scratch, giving the body and the voice the leading roles. As well as having her work shown in the Netherlands, she is in great demand abroad.

HA served as the inspiration for Dries Verhoeven’s *The Fortress* for the Dutch pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale.