KATA on tour in Albania and Romania

Photo: Gordon Spooner

The piece KATA by Anna Chirescu begins a tour in Albania and Romania. Its research started in July 2023 at the French Institute in Bucharest. Inspired by karate kata and by the choreographer’s personal history, her father, a martial arts practitioner, fled the Romanian communist dictatorship to find exile in France, the work blends dance and docu-fictional narration. Through the body, KATA explores origins and trajectories of exile.

Presenting KATA in Romania and Albania carries special significance: these territories, marked by a shared history, offer a space for dialogue with audiences still shaped by the memory of communist regimes. The piece addresses notions of oppression, resistance, and emancipation through movement.

Workshops and transmission

Alongside the performances, the tour includes workshops for local dancers, whether professional, semi-professional, or amateur. This participatory dimension opens the project to a collective approach and fosters artistic exchange. In Albania, the company will also present another piece from its repertoire, Ordeal by Water, co-written by Anna Chirescu and Grégoire Schaller.

A European and transcultural approach

Since the beginning of her career, Anna Chirescu’s work has connected body, language, memory, and politics, within a profoundly European perspective. Following her duet VACA, created in residency with a Portuguese artist and presented as part of the France–Portugal Season in 2022, KATA continues this dynamic of cross-border artistic exchange. The tour is part of a reflection on European representations beyond the East/West divide.

Partners

• OM Transilvania International Dance Festival – Cluj, Romania (dir. Oana Mureşan)
  
• International Dance Festival of Tirana (IDFT) – Albania (dir. Angelin Preljocaj)
  
• WASP – Working Art Space and Production – Bucharest, Romania (dir. Andreea Căpitănescu)