wilderness
research


LUSH BLAST:
TASTING THE UNTAMED IN FAGARAS
(2024)



A continuation of “Woods Won’t Vaporize” choreographic field research on European Wilderness. It is grounded in the soils of Carpathian high altitudes, challenging conditions and rewilding dreams. Hosted by Teatrul Andrei Muresan in Fagaraš Mountains.

The project began in the summer of 2022, when, during our first field trip in the Carpathians, we encountered a young bear and more than 800 yo arolla pine recycling her own body. Since then, we keep learning together from the last remaining old-growth forests what it means ‘power’, ‘resilience’, and ‘connectivity’. We listen to local stories about natural disasters, cross-species collaborations and elemental coexistence, human interventions, and the ongoing political struggles for ecological land management.

Within the choreographic research, scientific fieldwork and dance practice intersect. We explore various processes of rewiliding, connecting land with our bodies. We focus on the role of embodiment in ecology and ecological thought in artistic practice. Dance becomes a sensitive container where bodies, voices, matters, and machines converge intimately.
CREDITS
Artists:
Dorota Michalak, Alica Minar, Breanne Saxton, Ola Zielinska, Agnieszka Kucharska, Maikon K, Katarína Bakosová, Natálie Rajnisová, Raquel Rosildete

Ecologists:
Ondrej Kameniar (forest ecologist and biologist), Foundation Conservation Carpathia, Alina Hriscanu (wildlife guide) 

PARTNERS
Teatrul Andrei Muresan in Sfantu Gheorghe (RO)

SUPPORT
Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic

Culture Moves Europe & Goethe Institute

PERFORMED AT
Teatrul Andrei Muresan, Sfantu Gheorghe (RO), 15.7.-4.8.2024

PRESS & MEDIA