Identity.Move! A research platform for contemporary dance in the eastern belt of Europe
The movement of a performer on stage is not only the movement of his body, but also the story of what moves the audience and society. Imagine a laboratory where dynamic reactions take place, something sparks and something boils, states of concentration change. And now – that the substances that fill this laboratory are steps, gestures, choreography, individual expression and the story of identity.
That’s how Identity.Move! worked, a project that allowed contemporary dance practitioners and theorists from 14 countries in the eastern belt of Europe, from the Baltic to the Mediterranean, to meet. It was an exchange of experiences of more than fifty invited experts and artists, a search for points of contact and an attempt to name what contemporary dance is about in the context of the body, subjectivity, but also (supra)national identity.
Identity.Move! was the first such wide-ranging project looking at performing arts in the countries of the region. The objects of reflection, research and workshop activities spread over two years were both local national dance scenes and their social and cultural context. The project had an open, bottom-up character – it was shaped by invited experts and participants, building together a unique knowledge base about the dance scene of this part of Europe.
Contemporary dance in Central and Eastern and Southern Europe is a lively and dynamic, but relatively young art form. Its spectacular development was only possible after the fall of the Iron Curtain, the abolition of the artificial division of Europe and its integration into the international circulation of culture. In this system of interconnected vessels, further supported by new technologies, networking of institutions and mobility of artists, how does it manage to preserve and develop its local specificity? What is its uniqueness based on? These are just a few of the questions to which the invited guests will seek theoretical and artistic answers.
Sociologists and psychologists emphasise the importance of the body, not just the mind, in the processes of memory and identity formation. The body can be shaped, disciplined, used in the way required by society. And at the same time, it will always remain individual. In this sense, the body tells the story of collective and individual identity. And the body in dance?
As part of Identity.Move! the spotlight was directed to the issue of identity. Because the way performers move on stage is a form of language, a tool of communication, unique and distinctive. It can be compared to the character of writing. The purpose of the activities conducted as part of Identity.Move! was precisely to look at this “individual character of writing” of Eastern European dance.
Identity.Move! offered a new perspective on dance, but also on contemporary culture in general. The activities carried out emphasised the role of the region, the network of countries, its peculiarity and uniqueness. Identity.Move! operated on a transnational scale, looking for points of contact and common categories. It was a project that built a bridge between the soft world of emotions, feelings and interpretations, and the sphere of theoretical, scientific reflection – the key to understanding the distinctive features of the Eastern European dance scene, and thus – to discovering through dance the identity, roots, unique strength and energy of this region. Its lasting effect was to increase knowledge and awareness of the contexts of contemporary dance in Central and Eastern Europe and Southern Europe.