About – Tangaj Collective

Tangaj Collective was founded in 2014 by choreographer Simona Deaconescu. It functions as a cultural NGO based in Bucharest, producing the artistic works created by Simona Deaconescu and her collaborators, complemented by educational programs and touring. The company also organizes curated showcase platforms and cultural projects dedicated to the local community. The company is annually funded by the Administration of the National Cultural Fund through project-based grants and, in 2021, was awarded by the fund for Promoting the Romanian Culture Outside the Borders. Tangaj Collective has developed one of the most popular contemporary dance training programs for non-professionals in Bucharest, with over 3,000 participants over time, alongside regular workshops on dance technique and interdisciplinary composition for professional dancers, led by Simona Deaconescu and her collaborators. Since 2015, Tangaj Collective has been organizing BIDFF – Bucharest International Dance Film Festival. BIDFF is a platform dedicated to the most courageous artists in the field of dance, film, and digital art. In parallel, BIDFF has developed a laboratory to support the production of domestic dance films.

Simona Deaconescu

Working across genres and formats, Simona Deaconescu examines social constructs at the border between fiction and objective reality, sometimes with irony and dark humor. Her work explores future scenarios of the body, creating spaces where nature, history, and technology meet, and where the notion of choreography extends beyond the human body.

Simona Deaconescu holds a BA and a MA in Choreography from the National University of Theatre and Film Bucharest and a BA in Film Directing from Media University Romania. In 2014, she founded Tangaj Collective, an organization that collaborates with transdisciplinary artists and researchers. In 2015, she became the co-founder and artistic director of the Bucharest International Dance Film Festival.

In 2016, she received the CNDB – National Center for Dance Award for her contribution to Romanian contemporary dance. Over the years, she developed part of her projects in collaboration with CNDB, and in 2022 she became an Associated Artist of the center. Creating artworks strongly influenced by science, she was supported by European Projects focused on research and interdisciplinarity, such as Moving Digits and Biofriction. In 2018 and 2022, she was nominated as an Aerowaves Artist with her works Counterbody and Choreomaniacs. In 2022, she was selected as a Forecast Mentee with her project Ramanenjana, a context that offered her the opportunity to study dance phenomenology in Madagascar under the mentorship of French choreographer Mathilde Monnier. In the same year, she was awarded the NRW Dance Research Scholarship to continue her research on historical mass dances.

Her creations include performances, installations, films, and video artworks. They were presented on conventional stages, in galleries, museums, and alternative spaces, reaching audiences in Europe, Canada, Africa, and the USA.

artist statement

As an artist hailing from a Southeast European background, my interest lies in studying movement in liminal social and political contexts. Inspired by a history of diverse cultural perspectives and persistent inquiries into identity, I view choreography as a complex system that influences both human and non-human entities.

I believe that researching embodiment can provide insight into the deep connections that shape our world. I see the body as an intricate network of shared experiences, thoughts, processes, resources, and histories—unceasingly dynamic, perpetually evolving, and endlessly transformative. I take great pleasure in delving into archives, libraries, science labs, or museums to revisit cryptic historical events or transitional scientific experiments, wherein the body responds to the world, challenging the status quo and offering both contrast and release. My curiosity leads me to view the choreographed movement as a fundamental aspect of life rather than solely an element of the art industry.

In my artistic practice, I often use a polychronic approach, training the body and mind to multitask while prioritizing spontaneity and flexibility. Although the nature of dance lies in the abstract and the sensory, I always feel the need to address a concrete subject. Lately, I have been focused on developing a

docufiction performative format purposely mixing different temporalities, histories, truths, and fantasies.

While my primary medium of exploration is the body, I also experiment with installation, cinema, new media, and site-specific art forms. As an artist and person, I am a traveler. I view myself and those around me, including non-human entities, as citizens of the world. My art and life are guided by the principles of contamination and hybridization—always becoming the past, constantly morphing into the future.