Mădălina Dan: The Documented Body - on delightful distillations of the personal into the professional!

The first half of June at Reactor is all about dance, movement, bodies, and their fascinating history! As part of the "Corporal Histories" project, we are shining a bright spotlight on contemporary dance and the choreographic scene in Romania. Among our exciting scheduled events, we are thrilled to host the fabulous show "anti(aging)", conceived and choreographed by the wonderful Mădălina Dan and Alexandra Mihaela Dancs. To find out more about this performance, which is in a constant state of playful construction, we sat down for a lovely chat with Mădălina Dan.

What was the artistic and personal context when you first started working on the "anti(aging)" performance?
Mădălina Dan: I remember Alexandra and I started meeting up in the studio back when CNDB (The National Dance Center) was still housed within the National Theatre. We were brought together by a beautiful mutual curiosity that quickly blossomed into a wonderful friendship, a shared passion for dancing, and a desire to create projects together. In 2011, CNDB's time in the National Theatre building was coming to an end. That period wrapped up with CNDB being "occupied"—a protest movement sparked by the loss of our space. I think "anti(aging)" was actually born out of a moment of despair that we wanted to overcome by finding a much more positive outlook on life, the body, and our profession in general. We created a space where we could look to the future from a perspective that joyfully challenged the reality of that time.

The title "(anti)aging" was chosen as a cheeky nod to the well-known phrase from the cosmetics industry. It's a common term that often masks how society views the aging process. For us, it was less about fighting the passage of time and more about documenting and celebrating its beautiful stages, looking at all the changes that occur from a completely different, fresh perspective!

How did you design the creative process for "anti(aging)", considering it is a show designed to be performed over a span of 30 years? What are the joys and challenges of working this way?
M. D.: The grand framework of performing the show all the way into 2041 wasn't there right from the start. We simply had this fascinating relationship with time, projecting ourselves into the future, thinking about how our bodies and perceptions would evolve. Since we were recording most of our working sessions with a video camera, the camera naturally became a friendly part of the process. Later on, the spectacular idea emerged to make a show we would restage over 30 years, which led to our direct addresses. In the performance, we speak directly to the camera (placed in the audience), sending messages to our future selves in 2041!

Back in 2011, there was only a projection of the future. Now, in 2024—13 years after the premiere—we have a rich relationship with both the past and the present moment! Every single performance is recorded, and along with the rehearsal footage, it forms a living, breathing archive of the project. Some of these archival gems are now woven right into the show. "(anti)aging" is a performance, but it's also a continuous, beautifully fragmented process of artistic and biographical archiving, documenting a long-term artistic journey and friendship.

The show is constantly transforming, happily absorbing life events and everything that happens to us over these years, both personally and professionally. Time itself, the natural evolution of a 30-year friendship and collaboration, and our personal and professional life paths all become wonderful performative material.

I truly believe this framework allows for a beautiful, ongoing dance between personal life and work, profession and art. This cohabitation of life and art is a constant, joyful passion of mine!

The joys, and indeed the challenges, are so tangible when working in this way! Life and work always have wonderful surprises in store for us. It is a very intimate setting, both in relation to oneself and to each other, offering moments of deep connection, though it certainly requires effort. Sometimes, the positive lens we set out with acts as a fantastic motivator; other times, it is harder to see or maintain. The project is a beautiful blending of layers. It is so interesting to distill the personal into the professional and vice versa—seeing what makes it into the work and in what shape. The fact that this process is captured on film brings us into a direct, heartfelt relationship with time, memory, and the wonderful changes we can trace and appreciate.

How has the show been received by audiences so far? And how does it evolve for you over time?
M. D.: At the beginning, we created an outreach framework we called the "(anti)aging outpatient clinic." The goal was to expand the concept of restaging the show in 2041 by documenting life outside the lens of the video camera too. We wanted to capture and include the wonderful audience members, the venues, and the amazing technicians we met along the way—bringing the immediate reality surrounding our performance space right into the heart of the project!

After every performance, audience members are warmly invited to step inside the camera's frame and leave their own testimonial. We've noticed that the project happily lives on outside the performances for the audience, not just for us! Some spectators have been following the project since its very inception, and some even return to see it again, bringing their parents and loved ones along. In a way, it is a beautiful encounter with oneself through the lens of "(anti)aging." The audience is absolutely part of the project! Projecting into the future, capturing the present, and reflecting on these themes creates an instant connection, fostering a heartwarming sense of community. The fact that this project is no longer just about us is something I hold very dear, and it gives me the ultimate motivation to keep going!

What are you most excited to explore in your artistic work? Is there something that constantly captures your interest, or perhaps something specific during this period?
M. D.: Blending the personal with the professional, life with artistic work, expanding the stage and performance boundaries, and self-historicization are themes I joyfully return to time and again. Along with my physical routine and practice, I would love to establish an even more dedicated archiving practice to document the grand drama of life and work—not just through writing, but by collecting objects, finding connections, and celebrating the coincidences between projects, people, other living beings, places, memories, and collaborations. For me, making art is not just about aesthetics and discourse; it is deeply human, emotional, and social! With this in mind, I love exploring alternative performance formats, from intimate one-on-one performances to durational pieces.

Speaking of distilling the personal into the professional, a great example is "The Agency of Touch"—a one-on-one tactile performance. This grew from two lovely inspirations: first, the practical wisdom of dance, anatomy, and somatic work, and how to share these benefits with the wider public, not just in arts circles but also in healthcare and caregiving spaces. The second inspiration comes from personal experiences with illness—creating a warm, caring format that offers comfort, attention, and body awareness through the power of touch.

The show I worked on last year, "Patosfera", continues my exploration of emotion through the body, voice, and physicality—a journey I began with "Mothers of Steel". In "Mothers of Steel", the personal is beautifully transformed into the political. This time, I was fascinated by contrast and how we coexist with contradictions, whether biological, psychological, or in our urban environments and society. "Patosfera" is a vibrant mix of diverse influences, blending iridescence, fitness, cosmology, trap music, the fascinating study of ants, urban spaces, and our interactions with technology!

With "Patosfera", and also with my latest performance "Crossed Species", I am happily diving into ecological perspectives—shifting away from a human-centered view to observe, learn from, and integrate with other wonderful ecosystems, like plants, animals, and hybrid forms.

Can we speak of a specific message or discourse that you articulate through contemporary dance and performance? How has this evolved over time, especially with the way the choreographic sector has blossomed in Romania?
M. D.: Even though there are specific topics that inspire me and guide my research, my main passion is simply to create beautiful, coherent worlds and physical realities on stage. And of course, our local cultural, social, and economic context shapes how I work—something I've noticed even more when working abroad!

I am very passionate about making art accessible to everyone! Perhaps this is because, even after 20 years in the field, there is still a noticeable gap in contemporary arts education for the general public and mainstream institutions. That is why I believe spaces for learning, dialogue, and encounters between different cultural, artistic, and non-artistic worlds are incredibly important, and they should be celebrated just as much as the production and consumption of art itself!

Similarly, dance workshops—spaces designed to bring people of all ages and backgrounds into joyful contact with their bodies—are fantastic, tangible tools for connecting with society and sharing the immediate mental and physical health benefits of movement!

As for the choreographic scene in Romania, it is wonderful to see so many independent initiatives and new spaces dedicated to contemporary dance popping up, as well as a beautiful dialogue growing between the visual arts and choreography. Remarkably, even in a system that can be underfunded and precarious, so much passion and hard work shine through, generating projects that are deeply needed by both the field and society! Aesthetic directions and approaches have evolved beautifully too. Balancing artistic creation with managing projects, household life, and navigating the challenges of being an independent artist are all part of this vibrant journey, and we face them with passion and resilience!