About

Created by Cosmin Manolescu and Ștefania Ferchedău, ZonaD is an independent lab and platform dedicated to contemporary dance and arts, with a continuous programming focusing on artistic research and professional development of Romanian artists. ZonaD encourages collaborative practices as well as individual research, while at the same time mediating and facilitating the meeting between artists and audience. Although its physical space was closed at the end of 2014, ZonaD continues its programme as a mobile platform which temporary occupies other sister spaces, through partnerships with different organisations and institutions.

ZonaD programmes workshops and dance classes held by Romanian and foreign choreographers; interdisciplinary residencies; improvisation evenings; dance films screenings; special events in lab-format and experiments at the boundary between different artistic disciplines.

The ZonaD programmes are presented as part of the following projects and framework programmes:

ModulD – contemporary dance workshops and classes for professionals and audience
Choreographic and interdisciplinary residencies
Serial Paradise – the projects and productions of the Serial Paradise Company directed by Cosmin Manolescu
E-Motional – framework programme for artistic exchange, research and collaboration, co-production and touring, and audience development, at European level
Eastern Connection – Romanian-Japanese collaboration platform
ZonaD Film – dance movies screenings
ZonaD Impro – jam sessions conducted by choreographers and musicians.
ZonaD Relax – entreprenorial initiative, offering classes, teambuilding formats for companies, designed to bring income for the projects.

ZonaD is a programme administered by Gabriela Tudor Foundation. The public and private funding bodies of the projects developed in the frame of ZonaD since its start were: the Culture programme of the European Union, the European Cultural Foundation in Amsterdam, the Administration of the National Cultural Fund, Bucharest 555 Cultural Programme of ARCUB – Centre for Cultural Project of the Bucharest Municipality, the National Dance Centre Bucharest, the Ministry of Culture, The Saison Foundation, Tokyo, Trust for Mutual Understanding, administered by Movement Research, Suitecase Fund/ New York Live Arts, the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Romania, as well as over 50 donors that contributed in the campaign Make Dance Happen 2013.

Between June 2012 – December 2014, the ZonaD platform functioned under the name ZonaD – Serial Paradise studio, holding a dedicated space in Bucharest. The opening of this studio in the extremely difficult political and cultural context in Romania in 2012 represented an ambitious initiative, aimed at offering support to both artists and audience interested in the contemporary artistic phenomenon. The lack of proper and constant financial resources needed for the sustainability of the space for the entire year duration did not allowed its continuation in the initial format. The closing of the studio by the end of 2014 was equally caused by the lack of perspective of Romanian NGOs, as, while ZonaD gained its place and recognition on the artistic scene, the context for contemporary arts in Romania has progressively deteriorated. A statement at the closing of the space is available in Romanian version.

To learn more about the programmes and the events of ZonaD click the dedicated pages in the Menu (selected English version) or check out the right side Categories from the home page (Romanian version + English version for some events).

Watch a trailer of the space in which ZonaD started: