Somatic SymphoniesMovement · Music
Dance. Expression. Awareness.

Listening through the body.

Orchestral musicians lift their arms in a choreographed moment while others continue playing
Music becomes movement.Somatic Symphonies
A shared practice

Where music moves us.

Founded by Martin Buczkó and Soraya Bruno, Somatic Symphonies brings together dance, artistic expression and body awareness. An invitation to listen more closely—to music, to breath, to the body.

01Concert choreography02Embodied Musicianship
01Creative work

The orchestra,
in a new light.

Choreography created with musicians, for the concert stage.

We explore the physical life of a score: its rhythms, relationships and stories. Working closely with orchestras, ensembles and individual performers, we bring movement into musical interpretation and open new possibilities for collective expression.

The musicians remain at the heart of the work. Gesture, presence and choreography grow from the music itself, inviting audiences of all ages to experience a familiar work afresh.

A musician performs an expressive gesture with raised arms within the orchestra
Selected repertoire

Productions

A dialogue between sound and gesture
Musicians perform interwoven hand gestures on the concert stage
Igor Stravinsky

Petrushka

Colombian Youth Philharmonic
Philharmonie de Paris · 2023

Music and movement meet in an interdisciplinary orchestral performance.

01

The Rite of Spring

Igor Stravinsky

02

Petrushka

Igor Stravinsky

03

The Firebird

Igor Stravinsky

04

Symphony No. 5

Dmitri ShostakovichColombian Youth Philharmonic · Victoria Hall, Geneva · 2023

05

New World Symphony

Antonín Dvořák

06

Danzón No. 2

Arturo Márquez

A musician raises both hands during an orchestral performanceA smiling musician holds his hands to his chest during a concert
02Programmes & residencies

Embodied
Musicianship

More ease in the body.
More freedom in the music.

Our programmes connect movement and breath with the everyday demands of artistic work. Soraya draws on the Feldenkrais Method®; Martin brings the Oxygen Advantage® approach to breathing.

Through attentive movement, strengthening and conditioning, musicians explore habitual patterns, develop physical resilience and discover new ways to express themselves. Breathing and somatic practices support calm, focus and the release of stress and performance anxiety.

  • Movement awareness & ease
  • Strength, conditioning & injury prevention
  • Breath, focus & performance confidence
  • Creative exploration & stage presence
Two orchestral musicians embrace, one holding a trumpet

A programme shaped around you.

From a few days of focused work to a residency over several weeks, we adapt to your musicians, schedule and artistic aims. We also develop longer-term plans for orchestras, schools and educational institutes, supporting students throughout their training.

In 2021, Martin and Soraya developed the Health and Creativity Programme for the Staatsoper Orchestra Academy in Berlin—bringing their shared practice into the education of young orchestral musicians.

Two perspectives. One practice.

About the founders

Portrait of Martin Buczkó

Martin Buczkó

Choreographer & Oxygen Advantage® Instructor

Born in Moscow, Hungarian-Slovak artist Martin trained at the Hungarian Dance University. His career led from the Hungarian National Ballet and Madách Musical Theatre to principal soloist at Ballet de Santiago, and then to Staatsballett Berlin as a soloist and choreographer.

Read more about Martin

He co-created Shut up and Dance! with Berghain and the Komische Oper Berlin, expanding his practice into collaborations with actors, singers and musicians in unconventional settings.

His projects include La clemenza di Tito at the Bode Museum, the St John Passion at Berlin Cathedral, and The Rite of Spring, Petrushka and Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony with the Colombian Youth Philharmonic. He has also worked in film as a choreographer and performer.

His curiosity about movement and breathing led him to train in Oxygen Advantage. In 2021, he and Soraya developed the Health and Creativity Programme for the Staatsoper Orchestra Academy.

Portrait of Soraya Bruno

Soraya Bruno

Choreographer, Feldenkrais Method® Instructor & Dance Educator

Soraya trained at the Ballet School of the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. After performing with companies in Argentina and Ballet de Santiago in Chile, she joined Staatsballett Berlin in 2003. Her work connects artistic practice, somatic education and performer wellbeing.

Read more about Soraya

She earned the Royal Academy of Dance’s Professional Dancers’ Postgraduate Teaching Certificate in 2016, followed by a Master of Arts in Education in dance teaching, offered by the RAD with the University of Bath.

At Staatsballett Berlin, she founded the Health Department, which she co-directs with Anneli Chasemore. From 2021 to 2023, she also directed the Enhance Mentorship Programme.

She collaborated with the Colombian Youth Philharmonic as choreographic assistant on Petrushka and Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony, alongside body awareness classes for musicians.

Soraya also teaches inclusive dance, particularly for people living with multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. She is a co-founder of IntoDance e.V. and Intakt, a programme of the Staatsballett Berlin’s Education Department.

The orchestra shares a collective gesture in a full concert hall