Performing the under-performed. Performing arts spaces in Romania

A brief radiography of the performing arts scene in Romania, with a focus on the independent art scene: its fragile structures, their restless struggle to establish and maintain spaces for creation and production and their taste for socially and politically engaged practice.

Miki Braniște is a cultural manager and curator for interdisciplinary projects, she was the director of the TEMPS D'IMAGES festival in Cluj from 2008 to 2017. She actively participated in the development of the contemporary art space The Paintbrush Factory and is currently curator for the performing arts program for this space. In November 2015 she received the title of `Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres` from the French Ministry of Culture for her activity to support the independent performing arts sector in Romania.

Kinga Kelemen is a cultural manager with expertise in performing arts management, both in state theatre structures and independent companies in Romania. She worked as a dramaturg, literary advisor, marketing manager, PR manager, she coordinated international theatre festivals and produced independent theatre/dance productions which toured widely nationally and internationally. She is a founding partner of GroundFloor Group, an NGO from Cluj and organized tours both nationally and internationally responding to invitations of theatre and dance festivals across Europe and Romania.

Petro Ionescu is a Romanian playwright. At Reactor de Creație și Experiment in Cluj-Napoca she works as an artist, but also as a staff member, being involved in project coordination and other administrative tasks. As an artist, the theater performances that she works for focus on social issues like: unemployment, social invisibility, forced evictions and homelessness, gender inequality or political context.

Vava Ștefănescu is a Romanian choreographer with a rich artistic career. Since 2000, she has been involved in cultural management either as an initiator and director of the MAD Center (2000-2003) or as artistic director of the National Dance Center of Bucharest (2006-2013). From 2014 until now he is the manager of the latter public institution.