Kata lecture performance

Anna Chirescu presents the research and creation process behind the piece KATA. Drawing inspiration from the martial art kata — a solitary combat form in karate consisting of sequences of techniques against imaginary opponents — KATA explores movement and bodily memory as forms of resistance, emancipation, and self-transformation. Alternating between video, dialogue with dramaturg François Maurisse, and danced fragments, Anna will share the fundamental questions, both formal and symbolic, at the core of this research:

How can we construct a story about ourselves?

How can we be moved by a history we have not lived?

How can we fill the gaps of memory?

Recalling how her father found a way to escape Romania’s 1980s communist dictatorship through the practice of karate, the work develops around themes of transmission, inheritance, and imagination.

Anna will also present fragments from earlier works in which she critically explores notions of virtuosity and the objectification of bodies.

The session will conclude with an open discussion, inviting participants to reflect, respond, and engage with the themes presented.

Cultural project co-financed by the Administration of the National Cultural Fund. The project does not necessarily represent the position of the Administration of the National Cultural Fund. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the project or for the manner in which the results of the project may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the funding beneficiary.

Project carried out with the support of the Cluj-Napoca City Hall and Local Council.