Tantehorse: SIGNAL__PROTOCOL

SIGNAL__PROTOCOL is a performative speculation on communication, where it is never clear what constitutes the message, what is noise, and who the intended recipient actually is. It is the result of a two-year process by TanteLAB ACT, which brought together an emerging generation of artists from diverse disciplines—dance, architecture, fine arts, acting, and beyond—to confront their distinct forms of expression.

The performance dissects language as a flawed tool of communication: one that enables mutual understanding, yet can equally haunt us, strip away our privacy, or, like AI, endlessly generate nonsense.

The project explores interpretation, labeling, encryption, signal interception, and decoding as a process of seeking what is essentially untranslatable: meaning.

How do we communicate without a shared language? How do we know a message is meant for us? And how do we speak so that we are truly heard?

The performance represents the culmination of the two-year educational and creative project TanteLAB: ACT, built around three core pillars: ACTivism, Community, and Tenderness. TanteLAB serves as an intergenerational and interdisciplinary platform supporting the emerging generation of artists within a safe, community-driven, and empathetic space. The initial phase of this process was presented to the public in 2025 as TANTELAB III: ACT! (work in progress) at the Galaxie Cultural Station. 

Director: Viktor Černický Performance: Adina Voldrábová, Anna Šefrnová, Barbora Nechanická, Kateřina Radakulan, Lucie Vrbíková, Matěj Pour, Nela Rusková Dramaturgy: Nhung Dang Dramaturgical and directorial supervision: Miřenka Čechová Music and sound design: Matouš Hekela Visual design / scenography: Kateřina Radakulan, Lucie Vrbíková Lighting design: Filip Horn Production: Karolína Anna Hudská Co-production: Dance Connected Supported by: Galaxie Cultural Station, Prague City Council, the State Cultural Fund of the Czech Republic, the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic

The premiere is part of the supporting programme for the international ‘Cities in Dialogue’ conference, organised as part of the CYCLE UP! project.

Performed in Czech. Viktor Černický creates interdisciplinary work at the intersection of dance, performance art, circus and the visual arts. At the heart of his work lies the physical representation of reflection and the exploration of relationships with objects. His work has received numerous awards and nominations; amongst other honours, his solo piece PLI won the Grand Prize and the Audience Award at the Czech Dance Platform in 2019 and was selected for the Aerowaves Twenty20 programme by the European contemporary dance network. His works are staged at venues and festivals across Europe and Asia. In addition to his own creative work, he collaborates with artists and companies across various disciplines. Since 2019, he has been a visiting lecturer at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, where he supervises artistic processes within the international Master’s programme ‘Directing of Devised and Object Theatre’.

Miřenka Čechová is a performer, choreographer, director and writer, and a leading figure in experimental dance and physical theatre. She studied classical ballet at the Prague Dance Conservatoire, alternative theatre at DAMU and non-verbal theatre at HAMU, where she obtained a PhD in the direction of physical and mime theatre. During her doctoral studies, she was awarded a Fulbright scholarship and established the physical theatre programme at American University in Washington, D.C. She is a co-founder of the Spitfire Company and Tantehorse theatre companies, as well as the international Nultý bod festival. As a performer, she has appeared in more than twenty full-length productions, many of which were her own creations and have won major international awards. In October 2026, she received the Thalia Award for her performance in the production DVACETjedna. She is also involved in documentary dance theatre, literature, and educational and curatorial projects, including the Emergency Dances series.