Abstract
The study discusses minor curating in dance and provides an overview of the small-format festival I organized in Yekaterinburg from 2007-17. The festival was designed to exhibit and promote experimental dance performances. I focus on two exemplary case studies that are similar in nature to those I curated in Russia: Sarus festival, run by Karola Lüttringhaus in the greater Wilmington area of North Carolina, USA, in 2007-18, and ZDVIG festival, under the direction of Irina Brezhneva in Kirov, Russia, since 2007. This paper outlines some common traits of small-format, Sarus, and ZDVIG festivals that I suggest are also inherent to many other projects initiated by minor dance practitioners. They aimed to shape new forms/genres/trends and progress the field of contemporary dance toward experimentation, meticulously selecting and presenting artists and artworks that would contribute to development of the field in the festivals’ locations. Minor dance artists and curators are interested in discovering things that are unforeseen/unexplored, that deviate from the dominant forms, and have potential to open up possibilities.
Presenters
Eka ZharinovaContemporary dance performance artist-scholar, Independent Artist and Scholar, United Kingdom
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
The Arts in Social, Political, and Community Life
KEYWORDS
Minor Dance, Minor Curating in Dance, Contemporary Dance Festival
