Sophie Yukiko

Sophie Yukiko is a German-American artist whose work explores themes of heritage, violence, and the concept of ritual – expressed through dance, words, and film. During her professional career as a commercial dancer, she became part of the ballroom scene and has since focused on political art contexts. She has been active in the community for eleven years and is known as the Founding Mother Yukiko Laveaux.
In March 2024, the German Commission for UNESCO announced that Berlin techno is to be recognised as part of the country’s intangible cultural heritage. Black American pioneers of techno – such as DJ Minx and the members of the collective Underground Resistance – have long emphasised that the genre’s origins are inseparable from the social and political realities of Black communities in the United States. »RITUAL BPM« understands rave culture as a spiritual ritual rooted in West and Pan-African traditions, seeking to reconnect with, and spotlight the culture’s origins.

The spiritual frameworks of West African cultures were carried to the present-day United States, parts of South America, and the Caribbean through the transatlantic slave trade – known as the MAAFA. In the cultures that emerged from this history, collective spiritual rites are still practised today – deeply connected to the body, dance, music, and ecstatic experience. Through physical exhaustion and intense movement, Sophie Yukiko aims to create a moment of spiritual connection in »RITUAL BPM«.