The PERFORMdANCE Festival, which has been taking place annually since 1990, is organized by tanzimpulse Salzburg (founded by Helene Weinzierl) and includes workshops as well as performances. In 2024, the artistic direction of the performance program was taken over by the dancer and organizer Verena Pircher.

For our video contribution, the Choreographic Platform Austria spoke with Verena Pircher about this year's festival in Salzburg. Additionally, we take a look at two productions showcased at the festival and their respective artists: "Echoes of Resistance" by Rosana Ribeiro / Selva and "The Latin Faggot" by Gabriel José Zúñiga Ávila.

In Echoes of Resistance, we see a performer caught in a recurring loop of falling. While constantly attempting to defy gravity, we are reminded of the many falls in our lives and the necessity to sometimes let go in order to get back on our feet.

Rosana Ribeiro is a Portuguese-Brazilian choreographer and performer based in Salzburg. She trained at the Circus School Chapitô and the NSCD (BA), with performances alongside Jean Abreu, Hofesh Shechter, Cie. 7273, São Castro & António Cabrita, as well as engagements in opera productions at the Royal Opera House, English National Opera, and Barbican Centre. Rosana is the artistic director of Selva, a company founded in 2021 in collaboration with Verena Pircher.

The Latin Faggot addresses the figure of the Latin American Maricón in a completely different context. The jumping rhythm creates the body of the Latin Faggot, allowing it to be heard, accompanied, and orchestrated. Two essential concepts, the body and the community, come together to give rhythm to the demands of decontextualized bodies that do not count.

Gabriel José Zúñiga Ávila, a contemporary, classical, and improvisational dancer with a background in literature and performance studies, is a Colombian artist. His practice merges dance, movement, and text, creating a combination between the mobilized body and the mobilization of its meanings.

PERFORMdANCE 2024 takes place from March 22nd to 28th at the ARGEkultur Salzburg. In the festival's 34th edition, Salzburg artists as well as international artists invite us to a daily change of perspective. Alongside a diverse performance program, the festival lounge provides space for discussions and encounters. In the accompanying workshop program (curated by Peter Huber), courses range from Adamáre to Tekno Yoga.

Tickets can be purchased through the ARGEkultur.