Marginalii, the contemporary dance group initially made up of Florin Fieroiu, Mihai Mihalcea, Cosmin Manolescu, and Irina Costea, was set up in 1992, and they are the enfants terribles of the current Romanian choreography. They are protesters, wiping out everything that preceded them in dancing. As real avant-gardists, they deeply believe everything begins with them. All the group members are dancers and choreographers to the same extent, each dancing the others' choreographies. Each of them or all of them together have distinguished themselves in the last three years, mostly abroad (in France and the United States), and less so in this country, as they had scholarships, went to school there, and took tours. But their print is being slowly and strongly imprinted on the choreographic movement back in Romania, especially due to their activity as contemporary dance teachers at the Bucharest Choreography School. They have graduated that school themselves, and they are students at the Academy of Theater and Motion Pictures, the choreography section. Florin Fieroiu was with the Orion company at first, one of the most loved dancers of choreographies by Ioan Tugearu, Miriam Răducanu, and Raluca Ianegic. After his contact with the French contemporary dance school, whose principles he supports without any reservations, he distinguished himself again as a dancer, first in France and then in several cities, dancing in the Grand Game by French choreographer Christian Trouilles with Cosmin Manolescu and Mihai Mihalcea. Then he danced the choreographies of his two colleagues in Wingless Butterflies, a show produced at the Municipal Theater in Bucharest. Recently, he presented his own choreography: Trees: Lost Wood Circles, on an improvised stage near the Old Court in the Bucharest carnival on June 1-4. It is not his first choreography, we have had the opportunity to see some of the earlier works he created for his students at the Choreography School and for his colleagues in the show commemorating Dominique Bagouet. This time, Marginalii had a tough experience in the carnival entitled Of Bucharest. Preceded by circus artists who swallowed flames and walked on nails or barbed wire, and facing an audience that was there to have fun and which had never seen a contemporary dance show before, they put up courageously with the comments, booing, and applause of the people in the square. The interesting issues raised by the show, namely the relationship between generations, was not deciphered by the audience, which, however, realized this was no comedy. Which is exactly what they were in no mood for at a people's festival. And, as they did not know any other more unfortunate desperados, they cried out to the dancers: "Hey, you, solvent abusers, come on get it over with!" It was the organizers' fault, as they did not understand the distance between the show and the place where it was staged. The show is indeed dramatic, with many extremely plastic moments, but tiresome for any spectator, because each small group of movements is repeated countless times, with a maximum of intensity, according to the principles of the minimalist current. Marginalii has a future, because its founding members (joined at the latest show by Daniel Băloi, Milan Rascov, Ana Maria Pavel, and Silvia Mihai) are equally important as dancers, choreographers, and educators – if they do not cling to being so adamant, which can lead to blockage at a certain point.
by Liana Tugearu
