Working across genres and formats, Simona Deaconescu examines social constructs, at the border of fiction and objective reality, sometimes with irony and dark humor. Her work explores future scenarios of the body, creating spaces in which nature, history, and technology meet, and 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 works 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 Centre for Dance Award for her contribution brought 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. Developing artworks greatly influenced by science, she was supported by European Projects based 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, mentored by 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. In 2023 and 2024, she will present work in Romania, within several projects happening in connection with Timișoara European Capital of Culture, as well as in Poland, Austria, Bulgaria, Portugal, South Africa, Mexico, Canada, Sweden, and Hungary.

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 identities, I see choreography as a complex system that influences humans 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 unendingly 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, 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 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.