An archive-exhibition, the reconstruction of a choreography, guided tours, a dance workshop, and a documentary film dedicated to Miriam Răducanu are among the main events of the second edition of the OM Transilvania International Dance Festival, which will take place in Cluj-Napoca from October 8 to 11, 2026.
The festival, centered on the theme “Memories and Temporality,” officially kicks off its program with “Miriam Răducanu—An Archive Exhibition with SenZ”, a project that aims to recover and revitalize the artistic legacy of one of the leading figures in Romanian contemporary dance. The opening takes place on Thursday, October 8, at 6:00 p.m., at CONTEMPORAR, and admission is free. The exhibition will be open to the public through October 30.
The exhibition brings together for the first time in a single project photographic and video documents recovered from public and private archives, alongside materials from the artist’s personal archive. The exhibition spans approximately half a century of her work and is not organized strictly chronologically, but rather around the artistic worlds explored by Miriam Răducanu and the way her work continues to resonate with contemporary dance.
The opening is followed, on the same evening, by “The Reconstruction of the Piece Genesis”, created by Mădălina Dan based on Miriam Răducanu’s work. The performance begins at 7:00 p.m. and brings back to the present a work created by Răducanu between 1969 and 1970 as part of the Nocturne 9 ½ program. “Genesis” was based on a piece for solo flute composed by Anatol Vieru and was later presented in 1971 as part of the Fringe section of the Edinburgh International Festival.
The program dedicated to Miriam Răducanu continues on Friday, October 9, with a guided tour of the exhibition led by researcher Corina Cimpoieru at 6:00 p.m. A second guided tour is scheduled for Sunday, October 11, at 4:30 p.m.
Also on Sunday, the program dedicated to the choreographer continues with two events that offer different perspectives on her artistic legacy. Starting at 11:00 a.m., Mădălina Dan will lead a dance workshop for adults, inspired by Miriam Răducanu’s physical practices and her choreographic universe. The workshop invites participants to engage directly—through their own bodies and movement—in a dialogue with the practices brought to life through the exhibition.
Starting at 5:00 p.m. at CONTEMPORAR, there will be a screening of the film “Miriam Răducanu – Rigoare și SenZ”, directed by Alexandra Gulea. The film, produced to mark the artist’s centennial, combines archival footage and biographical material to paint a portrait of the choreographer and the way she intertwined dance with music and poetry. The screening lasts 76 minutes.
The title of the film and the exhibition is derived from one of the words the artist herself associates with her own conception of dance: “senZ”. The exhibition uses this idea to explore the relationship between meaning, sensation, and physicality, as well as the way in which the ephemeral gestures of dance can be recovered through archives and passed on to new generations of artists.
Through this series of events, the festival creates a journey dedicated to Miriam Răducanu: from archives and documents to the reconstruction of a work, from observing and discussing her legacy to directly experiencing certain physical practices, and, finally, to the cinematic portrait of the artist.
Miriam Răducanu, born in 1924 in Piatra Neamț, is described by the festival organizers as one of the figures who made a decisive contribution to the development of Romanian contemporary dance. Her work has transcended the boundaries of dance, intersecting with theater, music, and poetry, and her projects as part of Nocturnele 9 ½ have been presented in international contexts. On October 17, 2026, the artist will turn 102.
The OM Transilvania International Dance Festival takes place in Cluj-Napoca from October 8 to 11, 2026. This year’s edition features shows, performances, exhibitions, films, workshops, book launches, and artist talks, with a focus on memory and its relationship to the body and artistic practice.
The exhibition “Miriam Răducanu—An Archive Exhibition with senZ” will be open to the public through October 30 and is presented as part of the OM—Transylvania International Dance Festival as a warm-up event for the Iridescent 2026 Festival.