riTM

riTM is an artistic project that brings together contemporary dance and instrumental music through mixed improvisation techniques, with the aim of creating an authentic artistic language, in a continuous transformation, according to the nature of the present moment. The project takes place in the city of Timișoara and aims to train the audience for contemporary dance in the future European cultural capital of 2023.

ASTM is created through the collaboration between the choreographers Alexandra Gîrbea and Alexandra Bălășoiu, with three musicians from Timisoara: Petre Ionuțescu (trumpet, whistle, tulnic), Mircea Ardeleanu Jr (double bass, cymbal, percussion), Sergiu Cătană (drums, percussion) and the photo artist video Cristian Văduva.

The project started with a research residency offered by Areal – space for choreographic development to Alexandra Gîrbea in which, together with Alexandra Bălășoiu, they searched for performative techniques and methods of the duet and group improvisation. The research expanded through the creative residency in Timișoara, where the artistic team searched for that deep connection between dance and music, through which the two become the same expression of emotion, instinct and impulse of the moment. Working with improvisation and instant composition techniques inspired by Authentic Movement, Tuning Scores and jazz improvisation, the artists created performative structures that served as the basis for making four short films – live-session of dance-music improvisation.

We all met in a place that everyone knows, loves and abandons: in the common fire of creation. It is a fire in which the masks burn, offering the being infinite possibilities and letting the soul articulate itself in notes, shapes, emotions, thoughts in a continuous metamorphosis. This place is no stranger to the public either, being the source of all creative activity. Music and dance are not only art forms but also pathways to freedom and connection with self and others. Their encounter becomes a way to escape from individuality, offering each time the experience of unity, the essential and natural tendency of all. What brings them together is rhythm, which becomes the pulsation of the ongoing creation.

The project is initiated by Alexandra Gîrbea, through Concentric Projects, in collaboration with Indie Box and realized with the support of the Timișoara City Hall and the Timiș County Council.

Project partners: French Cultural Institute Timișoara, Timiș County Youth Foundation.