Collo: Re-dancing Tradition

Even though traditional Croatian folkdances are rarely still danced, bodies are ethnographic archives of movements and behaviours that are inherited across many generations of family, culture and society. Through performative design research, Ines Borovac identified the gender norms embedded in the Kolo—a basic folkdance popular among Slavic people. It was then re-choreographed with a woman as leader and based on movements that express vulnerability, sexuality and self-expression. Techno music and tie-dyed embroidered clothing contemporise the project to today’s rave aesthetic. Challenging the often conservative and patriotic field of heritage, the project expresses the need and ability to evolve rather than discard cultural traditions.