Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
“Toaca” is a performance born out of the need to explore ritual, spirituality, and transition – through dance, costume, rhythm, and symbolism – yet without pathos. The title refers to a wooden instrument used in Orthodox monasteries, the sound of which signals the times of prayer, death, life, and the communal rhythms of everyday life. In the performance, it becomes both a metaphor for transformation and a point of contact between Romanian and Polish traditions.
The performance was created by an international creative collective. Its authors are choreographers Mădălina Dan, Andrea Gavriliu, and Ștefan Lupu – artists deeply rooted in Romanian movement theatre. In 2024, they collaborated with dancers from the Polish Dance Theatre, creating “Toaca”, a performance full of images, masks, rituals, and music inspired by folk motifs, moving with both the full force of the body and presence, and the expressiveness of words. Lasting 100 minutes, the story is composed of three choreographic chapters, prepared separately by each artist, which together form a symbolic and coherent whole.
The presentation of the Polish performance at Festivalului Național de Teatru 2025 in Bucharest was part of the Poland-Romania Cultural Season 2024-2025. This is a unique initiative aimed at deepening cultural cooperation between the two countries. The entire programme, running from June 2024 to November 2025, is organised jointly by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage in Poland and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, with the support of the Polish Institute in Bucharest, the Romanian Ministry of Culture, and the Romanian Cultural Institute.
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Co-organisers:
Institutul Polonez / Instytut Polski w Bukareszcie
Rumuński Instytut Kultury w Warszawie / Institutul Cultural Român Varşovia
Polski Teatr Tańca - Polish Dance Theatre
FNT - Festivalul National de Teatru / The National Theatre Festival
Film creators: Maria Oblicka and Alexander Trigg
Choreographers: Andrea Gavriliu, Ștefan Lupu
“Toaca” is a performance born out of the need to explore ritual, spirituality, and transition – through dance, costume, rhythm, and symbolism – yet without pathos. The title refers to a wooden instrument used in Orthodox monasteries, the sound of which signals the times of prayer, death, life, and the communal rhythms of everyday life. In the performance, it becomes both a metaphor for transformation and a point of contact between Romanian and Polish traditions.
The performance was created by an international creative collective. Its authors are choreographers Mădălina Dan, Andrea Gavriliu, and Ștefan Lupu – artists deeply rooted in Romanian movement theatre. In 2024, they collaborated with dancers from the Polish Dance Theatre, creating “Toaca”, a performance full of images, masks, rituals, and music inspired by folk motifs, moving with both the full force of the body and presence, and the expressiveness of words. Lasting 100 minutes, the story is composed of three choreographic chapters, prepared separately by each artist, which together form a symbolic and coherent whole.
The presentation of the Polish performance at Festivalului Național de Teatru 2025 in Bucharest was part of the Poland-Romania Cultural Season 2024-2025. This is a unique initiative aimed at deepening cultural cooperation between the two countries. The entire programme, running from June 2024 to November 2025, is organised jointly by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage in Poland and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, with the support of the Polish Institute in Bucharest, the Romanian Ministry of Culture, and the Romanian Cultural Institute.
——————————
Co-organisers:
Institutul Polonez / Instytut Polski w Bukareszcie
Rumuński Instytut Kultury w Warszawie / Institutul Cultural Român Varşovia
Polski Teatr Tańca - Polish Dance Theatre
FNT - Festivalul National de Teatru / The National Theatre Festival
Film creators: Maria Oblicka and Alexander Trigg
Choreographers: Andrea Gavriliu, Ștefan Lupu
