Hot Flash Dance Clash has been an ongoing research and creative project in our studio with a recent pitstop at Dutch Design Week. This work highlights the sometimes sweaty,messy and unruly relationship that menstruating bodies have with technology. We are celebrating bodies that can’t (won’t) conform to the norm; resisting the machinic neatness of smart technology and perfect data sets.
👾
We took a bunch of sensors, originally destined for the insides of computers and repurposed them into body wearables. They are worn close to the body by dancers during Hot Flash Dance Clash as players in two teams battle (hard dancing) each other to raise their temperatures.
👾
In many ways our cyborg-like wearables are an antithesis to the slick design of a smartwatch with a highly opaque translation of data. Our sensors are ungainly, awkward (and sometimes fall apart). They are visible to the naked eye with their long soldered wires and boxy designs. And when a dancer gets to peak temperature it creates a Hot Flash. Think of the sudden, unexpected glitch that hot flashes mean for people in real life. It throws people off. It’s the body hacking itself. Hot Flashes do not follow a pattern. They are random AF. Your data is not processed or fitted to a standard curve. And that’s real.
Visualising this biometric data matters because it makes the unseen rhythms of bodies more tangible. It also playfully reflects on data that flows “quietly” in the background, yet holds such enormous power and value. Data tells a story about our bodies and that we are NOT the only characters in this narrative. Big tech, femtech, insurance companies and governments are also interested in biometric data and (spoiler alert) they don’t always have our interests at heart.
👾
More parties will unfold in the new year. Keep your eye out on our socials. And if you’d like to host a Hot Flash Dance Clash, the sensors are ready to go. We will bring the party to you.🩸
Trailer by Anisa @ani_jo ❤️
Why rage when you can dance 👩🏽🎤
The opening night of the Bloody Beautiful Festival takes place at the mischievous club @doka_amsterdam (basement of the Volkshotel) in Amsterdam on 2 October. The beats will be large and so will the dance moves. 💃
YOU are cordially invited to become the cyborg you always dreamed of.
We have been brewing some witchy magic with fellow tricksters to make our latest work: Hot Flash Dance Clash 🔥 A sweaty cyborg of a project that bleeds through the borders of HOT CODE and HOT MESS. We will christen our new Festival with an opening night filled with dance offs, wearables and meet ups 🪩
We’d ❤️ to see you there.
If you already have a ticket to the Bloody Beautiful Festival you still need to register using the guest code we provide you with.
Only want to come to the Opening Night? You can! But be fast because tickets are very limited.
Festival programme & 🎟️Tickets available on
All the links in bio
✨ Opening Night 🗓️ 2 October 2025 📍 Doka Amsterdam 🎫 Tickets €12.50
Bloody Beautiful Festival
🗓️ When: 3 October 2025 📍 Where: Tolhuistuin, Amsterdam 🎫 Tickets: €69 regular / €39 students
Last week, we had the chance to test the prototypes for Hot Flash Dance Clash at @effenaar . HFDC is a collaboration I am working on with @affect_lab , @klasien , @mirjam.debets and @frenkie , and is part of a bigger movement by affect lab: Bloody Beautiful.
I am very thankful to have been asked to work on this experiment and to learn and gain experience creating the design and coding of wearables, which, surprisingly, is a first for me since I have mostly worked with ‘static’ interactive installations.
We are entering the next phase with support, and I am excited to see where things are going!
-—
affect lab about the evening:
“
In this playtest, we were joined by 20 amazing participants who left it all on the dance floor 🪩
It’s still a work in progress, but the energy was definitely there. We were surprised by the strong sense of collectivity in the group—how quickly people opened up, felt at ease, and went all in with their wildest moves. The atmosphere was electric, yet safe.
We’re now shaping the next phase of the project: thinking of dance as a tool for research, to focus even more closely on the relationship between temperature, menstrual cycles, and menopause. We’re excited to keep developing and to bring this project to you with (even more) intention.
With Hot Flash Dance Clash, we want to highlight the physical experiences of people with cycles and celebrate them in a way that allows them to shape their own narrative—through dancing! Inspired by data tracking of menstruating and menopausal bodies, we’ve been hacking temperature sensors with our extraordinary collaborators.
We wrapped up the evening with an open feedback round where everybody shared their thoughts—critical insights, dance-floor memories, and ideas for what comes next.
“
Photography: Willem Wouterse
Last week, we had the chance to test our new Bloody Beautiful prototype: Hot Flash Dance Clash, @effenaar in Eindhoven.
In this playtest, we were joined by 20 amazing participants who left it all on the dance floor 🪩
It’s still a work in progress, but the energy was definitely there. We were surprised by the strong sense of collectivity in the group—how quickly people opened up, felt at ease, and went all in with their wildest moves. The atmosphere was electric, yet safe.
We’re now shaping the next phase of the project: thinking of dance as a tool for research, to focus even more closely on the relationship between temperature, menstrual cycles, and menopause. We’re excited to keep developing and to bring this project to you with (even more) intention.
With Hot Flash Dance Clash, we want to highlight the physical experiences of people with cycles and celebrate them in a way that allows them to shape their own narrative—through dancing! Inspired by data tracking of menstruating and menopausal bodies, we’ve been hacking temperature sensors with our extraordinary collaborators.
We’ve got a strong base to build from and our team is on it: @patsyngtzm is refining the cyborg-style wearables 🦾 @frenkie is tweaking the web app 👨🏻💻@mirjam.debets is pushing the visuals to the next level ✍️ and @wuguanyan is keeping the dance floor hot for the next round 🔥
We wrapped up the evening with an open feedback round where everybody shared their thoughts—critical insights, dance-floor memories, and ideas for what comes next.
This is just the beginning. Come dance with us at the next one 💃🌡️
Photography: Willem Wouterse
Naming paintings isn’t my best suit but this finished bb matches the track “Sex Garden by Miranda Sex Garden” particularly well. 💜🪻
Recent and random snippets of life (i am still alive)
Sharing is appreciated; and this post will make it easier for you 💐
Swipe for info ➡️
Are you looking for a critical and futurist thinker, designer or writer?
Last year I graduated cum-laude as a designer from the study Communication and Multimedia Design. Now I am looking for a part-time position or traineeship (3-4 days) at an organisation, company, design agency or research institution. My interests are broad and I want to use my skills and experience as a designer in different areas and ways. The only thing that matters is that the people I work with are open-minded and willing to take a little risk once in a while or that I have the freedom to do so.
As a designer, I delve into (non-)human behaviour, psychology and social issues, as well as the digital and the esoteric. I challenge conventional norms and embrace the possibilities of unconventional design. I have comprehensive knowledge to involve creative and experimental technology (Arduino C++, Max MSP, Javascript, HTML) and basic knowledge of Adobe Creative (Photoshop, Premiere PRO, Audition, Illustrator) programs, next to a very high drive of wanting to learn new things.
Obviously, there is much more to learn about me which we can discuss with a cup of coffee.
🌐Website/ portfolio: link in bio!
📩Contact: via e-mail, IG direct message or LinkedIn.
Part of a time-lapse video. An (inter)active seduction ritual unfettered by time or space 🕳️
A robotic extension made of magnetic actuators 🧲 and erotic feathers 🪶 is slowly moved around a stone surface. It creates a choreography of endless and timeless stroking.
#designresearch #speculativedesign #posthumanism #robotics #designfiction #designfutures #creativetechnology #collectivefutures #nonhumanagency
