Ukrainian Dance Platform in Sfântu Gheorghe

dancEUA is a European cultural cooperation project aimed at supporting the Ukrainian contemporary dance scene and fostering long-term collaborations between Ukrainian and European artists. As part of the project, the PULSE Ukrainian Dance Platform will welcome audiences in Sepsiszentgyörgy with five performances and post-show audience discussions.

The performances focus on themes of resilience, survival, identity, and inner strength. Through the language of contemporary dance, Ukrainian creators share personal and collective stories about war, transformation, and uncertainty. The productions reflect on today’s social reality while also seeking new artistic forms to express trauma, memory, and hope.

The festival program includes Cossachka (director: Julia Lopata, choreographer: Gala Pekha, June 17), which explores themes of female resistance, identity, and communal strength through the work of an independent collective of women artists. Annihilation (choreographer: Yaroslav Kainar, June 18) is a sensitive solo performance that transforms the body into an archive responding to the vibrations of the outside world, while exploring metaphorical and physical spaces of destruction. On June 19, audiences can see Monada Dance Project’s 2-1=4.5.0 (director: Krystyna Shyshkarova), a production dealing with loss, loneliness, and motherhood in the shadow of war. Maze without a Minotaur (choreographer: Mariia Bakalo, June 20) is a participatory and immersive performance that reflects on violence against Ukraine and crimes against humanity through the myth of the Minotaur. The festival concludes with Anthill Dance Theatre’s Rubicon (choreographer: Inna Matiushyna, June 21), which examines the cyclical nature of history, collapse, and illusion, while also reflecting on the viewer’s personal responsibility.

After each performance, audiences are invited to join discussions with the organizers and artists.

Also within the framework of the festival and the dancEUA project, the second edition of the professional workshop Management Fusion will take place, aiming to provide further professional development for choreographers, cultural organizers, and performing artists working in the field of contemporary dance, while also building a long-term international professional network.

***Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.