Biography
Micha Stella is a Berlin-based, French-Italian, queer artist, parent, and filmmaker. In their work, they explore creative collective and healing processes, gender, sexuality, activism, love, and relationships, with an ironic, erotic, and feminist point of view.
Under the name of Nehra Stella, they directed 3 films: Paris laNuit, Berlin-Sarajevo, and Vivre Berlin and are currently editing “Le bel animal“. They recently created a long immersive performance “I’ll be your woman“ that was presented in DB studio during the gallery weekend, on April 24.
Parallel to their artistic work, they research different body practices such as yoga, dance, meditation, fasting, and hypnosis and facilitate workshops combining acting techniques and conscious body-mind, gender fluidity, personal growth, sexual empowerment, consent, and conscious kink.
Micha Stella is a creative co-director and consultant at IKSK (Institute for body research and sexual culture of Berlin) where they teach regular classes such as Creative Mornings, Sexual Empowerment, Girls with cocks, and Creative Playfight, as well as weekend retreats and immersive play spaces.
“Creative Morning“ has recently begun to tour in Milano, Madrid, Dublin, and Barcelona, and Micha has started to do a CM teacher training. For the “Creative Morning Project“, Micha also realized an immersive space installation “Wildly Now, the body politic of freedom and a sound installation “Lazy warm up“ that took place for the last LeLab in collaboration with StudioAplebaum.
They love to initiate collaboration with other artists and co-teach classes as they did with “Queer Romance“ with Aron, “Nude Pics Mania“ with Matilde Flor Usinger, “Kinky Dance Floor“ with Kulshedra, “Kink & Transcendence“ with Felicitas Ale, Motherhood, and Parenthood & fulfillment“ with Judith Uma Schunk and Creatice Playfight with Sako. They also created the role-play space “the School of Love“ for the Berlin xplore festival, together with artist and performer Anna Nat.
Micha enjoys taking pictures and creating the graphic design for the IKSK telegram agenda.
Micha believes that through Creative & Collective processes with our conscious body-mind-soul, it is possible to survive patriarchy and to transform violent, traumatic, and sex-negative upbringing into a joyful path of recovery. Stella is convinced that by coming together, with all our differences, with Radical Honesty, Radical Listening, and Radical Empathy, we can set the path that leads to a world where all beings can be happy and free.
They studied Performing Arts at the university “la Sapienza” in Rome and studied acting techniques with Philippe Dormoy at “the Samovar” in Paris. After her studies, she created the “Urd Company“ with some of her colleagues and directed “Le Bruit Court…“ together with Aurélie Gautier, a theater piece freely inspired by texts of Daniil Harms.
She worked for a few years on films in Paris, initially as assistant set designer for Vincent Dietschy; as assistant costume designer with Pascaline Chavanne for Anne Fontaine and Thomas Vincent (“Nathalie X“; “Je suis an assassin“); as assistant director with Huber Barbin for Francois Ozon, Xavier Beauvois (“5×2“; “Le petit Lieutenant“).
She also performed in “Julie est amoureuse“ by Vincent Dietschy, in “Villa dei Misteri“ by Ivan Stanef at the “theatre de la bastille“ and in Berlin at the “Sophien Saele“. In Rome, she performed in “Finale“ with the Pacitty Company and in the film “Sfiorarsi“ with Valentine Carnelutti and Angelo Orlando.
Parallel to her artistic work, she focuses on different body practices and on studying nutrition. She practiced dance and Feldenkrais with Peter Goss and Jose Cazeneuve. In 2015, she completed her diploma as a yoga teacher in Spirit Yoga Berlin and in 2016 she graduated in RTT and Hypnotherapy after studying with Marisa Peer in London.
In 2014, Micha Stella met the conceptual artist and choreographer Felix Ruckert. She was deeply inspired by his performance work and his takes on Conscious kink, participatory choreography and Sex Positive spaces. Together, they co-created “The New Civilization Training“ a 10 days retreat that combine Fasting with body Practices, Personal Growth, Dance, Music, and Conscious kink, and take place since 2016, and for the last 9 years.
Together they also produced 3 music videos and the documentary “Le bel Animal“, that is currently being editing, shoot during the Xplore Berlin 2017, the sexpositive festival created in Berlin by Felix Ruckert, which has also been exported to other European cities such as Rome, Copenhagen and Barcelona, that Micha Stella curated since 2017.
Since their encounter with the choreographer Felix Ruckert, in 2013, they lead workshop and performance on Gender and Conscious kink and collaborate with him in various artistic projects: in 2018 she collaborate at the “Living Room Tour“ and co-curated the program for the Xplore festival Roma from 2017 until today and xplore Barcelona and Copenhagen on 2018, 2019 & 202o.
In 2018, they co-create the Role play space of Xplore Berlin together with the dancer ans choreographer Anna Natt.
In 2020 & 2021 they teached “Exploring Freedoms“ in France, a 5 days retreat, together with artist and dancer Valentine Schmehl.
They performs with the artist and rigger Pilar Aldea in Eurix 2017 and in 2018 at the Shibari Prague festival and at the Soria Film festival. They also collaborate and teach together workshops about Consent and Instant Composition with rope.
The 22nd of February 2024, they collaborate with artist & brother Jonathan Aplebaum for the last Lelab, that toke place in Studio Apelbaum in Quartier 205 Stadtmitte, creating together with musician Daxa, the sound track “Lazy Morning“ inspired by the warm up of their Creative Morning class and that interacted with Jonathan panting. Micha Stella also create the immersive space installation “Wildly Now, a body politics of freedom“ in the MF Studio, with the materials Micha collected in the last 4 years of her Creative Morning projects.