TEATROSKOP Dialogues with Maria-Luiza Dimulescu on stories, communities and social change

Photo: Claudiu Popescu  

As part of TEATROSKOP Dialogues, we meet Maria-Luiza Dimulescu, a choreographer and performer whose work moves between artistic creation, community engagement and social reflection. Drawing on personal stories, testimonies and lived experiences, her projects explore the relationship between individual narratives and collective realities. In this conversation, she reflects on dance as a space for dialogue, the role of cultural initiatives in building communities, and the unique ways movement can help us engage with complex social questions. 

Several of your projects engage with personal stories and lived experiences. What interests you in working with real people, testimonies, and everyday realities as artistic material?  

I’m interested in the way personal stories carry both vulnerability and collective meaning, which is why I often use personal experiences, autobiographical elements, interviews, and testimonies as artistic material. I deeply believe that dance is not only an aesthetic practice but also a social one, and I am fascinated by its ability to create connections between personal narratives and wider social issues, opening spaces for reflection and conversation. Working with lived experiences and testimonies keeps my artistic practice grounded and reminds me that dance is also about listening, empathy, care, and dialogue. 

This approach has shaped works such as BORN(E), which was developed through interviews with people aged between 8 and 90, as well as Maybe by 2301, we won’t need another feminist show, where personal experiences become a starting point for exploring broader questions related to gender, identity, and social change. 

Alongside your artistic work, you have initiated and coordinated cultural projects and festivals. How has taking on the role of organizer and curator changed the way you think about dance and its place in society?  

Initiating and coordinating cultural projects has made me see dance beyond the stage, as a tool for community building and social dialogue. Through projects like CONNECT Contemporary Dance Festival and other cultural initiatives, I’ve understood how important it is to create contexts where artists, audiences, and different perspectives can meet. It has made me think more about how dance reaches people, fosters exchange, and contributes to the development of cultural communities.  

Many of your works seem to create space for conversations around topics that are not always easy to address publicly. What do you think contemporary dance can offer that other forms of public discourse cannot?  

I think one of the strengths of contemporary dance is its ability to communicate beyond words. Through embodied experience, it allows people to connect with difficult topics on a more personal and affective level. Unlike many forms of public discourse that often require clear positions or definitive answers, dance can hold contradictions, uncertainty, and multiple perspectives at the same time. I think this openness encourages a different kind of engagement, one that is based on experience, empathy, and presence rather than persuasion. For me, contemporary dance creates opportunities for dialogue that emerge not only through language, but also through what we feel, sense, and recognize in our bodies, making space for reflection, connection, and a deeper understanding of ourselves and others.  

Is there a film, album, or piece of music you often return to and would recommend to our readers? What makes it special to you?  

My artistic references come from many different places, some widely known and others more personal or unexpected. I find it difficult to single out one work because what inspires me is often not a specific piece, but the way an artwork resonates with a particular moment, question, or experience, and continues to reveal new meanings over time. Rather than recommending a particular film, album, or piece of music, I would encourage readers to stay curious and open to discovering works that challenge, move, or surprise them, even in unexpected contexts.