European Dance since 1989 Communitas and the Other

This edited collection charts the development of contemporary dance in Central and Eastern Europe since the literal and symbolic revolutions of 1989.

Central Europe and the former Soviet Bloc countries were a major presence in dance ? particularly theatrical dance ? throughout the twentieth century. With the fragmentation of traditional structures in the final decade of the century came a range of aesthetic and ideological responses from dance practitioners. These ranged from attempts to reform classical ballet to struggles for autonomy from the state, and the nature of each was influenced by a set of contexts and circumstances particular to each country.

Each contribution covers the strategies of a different country?s dance practitioners, using a similar structure in order to invite comparisons. In general, they address:

• Historical context, showing the roots of contemporary dance forms
• The socio-political climates that influenced emerging companies and forms
• The relationships between aesthetic exploration and institutional patronage
• The practitioners who were central to the development of dance in each country
• A diagnosis of the current state of the art and how it has come about

The book?s main through-line is the concept of community, and how all of the different approaches that it documents have in some way engaged with this notion, consciously or otherwise. This can take the form of oppositional relationships, institutional formations, or literally, in identifiable communities of dancers and choreographers.

Introduction (editorial) – Joanna Szymajda

Text written in Polish, English translation: Soren Gauger

Introduction (theoretical) – Ramsay Burt

Text written in English, Polish translation: Maria Kwiecień

1. The Polish periphery in 'native' Europe: towards the institutionalisation of dance – Anna Królica

Text written in Polish, English translation: Soren Gauger

2. Toward autonomy and professionalization: the process of negotiating the identity of Polish dance – Julia Hoczyk

Text written in Polish, English translation: Soren Gauger

3. Not quite – not right: Eastern/Western dance (on contemporary dance in Serbia) – Ana Vujanović

Text written in English, Polish translation: Artur Zapałowski

4. Evacuate the area: zero space – Mihaela Michailov

English translation: Vlad A. Arghir, Polish translation: Artur Zapałowski

5. Transformations of the dancing body in Estonian contemporary dance – Heili Einasto

Text written in English, Polish translation: Artur Zapałowski

6. The present absence: approaches to dance and choreography in Slovenian contemporary dance – Bojana Kunst

English translation: Urska Zajec, Polish translation: Artur Zapałowski

7. Contemporary dance in Lithuania – Vita Mozūraitė

Text written in English, Polish translation: Artur Zapałowski

8. Communitas and the other – on Hungarian (contemporary) dance after 1989 – Annamária Szoboszlai

Text written in English, Polish translation: Artur Zapałowski

9. Czech dance: from amnesia to emancipation – Jana Návratová

Polish translation: Magdalena Stojowska, English translation: Soren Gauger

10. Russian contemporary dance – Natalia Kuryumova

Polish translation: Agnieszka Sowińska, English translation: Soren Gauger

11. Body, identity and community: dance in Bulgaria after 1989 – Mira Todorova

Text written in English, Polish translation: Artur Zapałowski

12. Let´s work (differently)! 6MONTHS1LOCATION and the resonances between production, labor, thought, dance, and community – Stefan Apostolou-Hölscher

Text written in English, Polish translation: Artur Zapałowski