..Christina Polychroniadou

10 Years of Balkan Dance Platform (BDP)
Christina Polychroniadou

In 2001 the initiation of the Balkan Dance Platform was first announced. Τhe founders of BDP, Dessy Gavrilova (BG) and Cosmin Manolescu (RO), launched the idea during an international meeting in Bratislava in 2000. The aim was to fill the gap that existed at the time in local festivals, and organize one that incorporated all the Balkan countries. In a three day event local and international visitors could experience the latest in contemporary dance from Balkan countries, meet with one another (especially when we are talking about neighbouring countries that share a common past) and start making links and communicating with the rest of Europe and the world. "Our idea is to mostly concentrate on local contemporary dancers and choreography," Andreea Grecu (RO) recalls. For her, “contemporary art is not elitist art but similar to the art created in all of the Balkan countries”.

Since then, every two years, a different Balkan city (Sofia, Belgrade, Skopje, Athens, Novi Sad, Ljubljana) has hosted the Platform, increasing the number of artists being presented and incorporating more countries and organisations from the Balkan region. Drawing attention to the work of Balkan artists, putting the area on the international dance map, creating opportunities for artists and establishing genuine collaborations irrespective of the differing political conditions which hold across the region, are some of the fundamental goals of each edition of BDP. As dance critic Donald Hutera noticed: ”Balkan artists want neither to be ignored nor isolated; they want to claim their rightful place on the European and hence the international map.”

Facing differing production realities, and with unique artistic identity, artists from the whole region meet every two years, although the quantity of new work produced every year in the Balkans is enough to support a yearly Platform, to meet, share, exchange and eventually measure up to international exposure. As an international itinerant event, it is always interesting to see new partners taking over the responsibility of organizing and hosting the Platform as well as visiting new places, where different kind of struggles with local authorities, local press and audience to build the idea and actually produce the Platform.

The performances
Ivo Dimchev, Eduard Gabia, Cosmin Manolescu, Dalija Acin, Sasa Asentic and others first presented their work during a BDP before embarking on an international career beyond the Balkan borders. Their unique approach to choreography and their individual style stood out and “Everybody has an issue. This was the most striking and the most promising observation one could make” wrote Gerald Siegmund. “Certain conceptual patterns were clear: The reconsidering of the concept of movement, the traumatic aspect of social reality, and the questioning of the body,” indicated Gina Serbanescu in 2007 after the 4th BDP.

Nowadays, different political and geographical situations have changed the nature of the Platform. Artists’ mobility and exchanges, touring productions and collaborations now exist on a certain level, and artists are no longer found within the Balkan region but scattered around Europe where co-production funds are available and opportunities are more easily found than back home. The Balkans are no longer a “terra incognita”, rather the old “new exotic”. Therefore, it is now facing a new wave of migration, an artistic one, where the main ideas and issues of the Platform are no longer located strictly within the region. New problematic needs and issues have to be met and artists' support is re-visited with a fresh look next to already existing support projects from other institutions.

For the 2011 edition and 10 year anniversary an enlarged and refreshed team of partners is placing the Platform within the Exodos International Dance Festival, welcoming Turkey as a new partner and the return of Cosmin Manolescu, one of the Platform’s initiators, to the team. 2011 also sees the launch of a three year plan with much needed activities such as touring opportunities, a market hub for BDP co-productions, seminars and activities and meetings in the periods between festivals to encourage exchange, communication and creation within the region.

The story so far
The 2nd Platform was organised in Bucharest, Romania (2003), with the participation of organisations and representatives from Romania (Project DCM Foundation), Bulgaria (Red House), and from the Greek representative Christina Polychroniadou. Twenty three choreographers were selected from the representatives' committee, based on their application and the video of their work.
The 3rd Platform was organised in Skopje, in November 2005, with the participation of 50 artists from the Balkan peninsula and 70 visitors from around the world interested in the developments in contemporary Balkan artistic creation.
The 4th Platform took place in the Athens Concert Hall, with the cooperation of the Athens Concert Hall and Full House Promotion. The organization included pieces from 20 artists from 8 countries and for the first time, the program included a series of seminars on dramaturgy and arts management.
The 2009 edition, due to limited funding, succeeded in being organised with 7 performances from an equal number of countries by Per Art in Novi Sad.