Systering – Practicing Feminist Governance

Join this session, which explores feminist approaches in dance and choreography within the context of NDA. Since its inception in 2005, NDA has been developing models of self-organization based on horizontal distribution of power among all the participants/actors, and cultivating spaces that openly embrace the element of surprise, care, and the joy of unforseen forms of sharing. Throughout the years, we have tried to critically engage with and reflect on prevalent forms of governing and the precarious working conditions they have introduced into our lives. United in our search for antidotes to creative, cultural, and social oppression, we are actively imagining, deliberating, and performing economic, political, and organizational alternatives, driven by care and solidarity, inclusion and diversity, starting with where (and how) we work and live. We believe that relationships are the living tissue that connects us, and only through nurturing a deep sense of solidarity are we able to stand up in opposition to the legacy of patriarchy and the institutions that continue to uphold it: competition (against others), ascension (over others), and exploitation (of others). A governing model that espouses the importance of caring relationships, and values equity, solidarity, balances, and the fair distribution of power, as well as joy and conviviality is, in our view, feminist. A sisterhood. 

The session will be curated by Biljana Tanurovska Kjulavkovski and Marijana Cvetković with the collaborators Ana Vujanovic,  Kasia Wolinska and Jette Büchsenschütz. The session will be dedicated to the presentation of the book "Systering", created as a collaborative work of the participants of the 4th cycle of the Critical Practice_Made in Yu, a program developed by the Nomad Dance Academy and the apap - Feminist Future networks, that empowers discursive reflections on contemporary performing arts focused on, but not restricted to, the post-Yugoslav region. The new book explores feminist approaches to governance, production, curation, networking, writing, discussion, and critical thinking within the realm of dance and choreography.