SAAL3 vol 5: Anumai Raska, Raido Mägi, Mari Ann Valkna

SAAL3 is a format created for experimenting, trying things out, making mistakes and succeeding. In one evening, short performances by three artists take the stage. The fifth edition of the SAAL3 format is curated by artist Keithy Kuuspu, who reconsiders the hierarchy between director and performer. Usually, the director assembles the team; this time, Kanuti Gildi SAAL first selected the curator, the curator selected the performers, and the performers each invite their own director. This working arrangement shifts attention from an author-centred model towards collaboration and performer agency, offering an opportunity to reconsider the performer’s role in the creative process and more broadly in the institutional field. On stage are Raido Mägi, Anumai Raska and Mari Ann Valkna, who identify more strongly with the position of performer and dancer than that of director or choreographer, usually being the ones invited rather than the ones doing the inviting. They share an interest in the performer’s presence, body-based practice and position as a performer, as well as an awareness of how precarious that position can be in a context where taking on the role of author is often expected in order to achieve visibility and sustainability. For SAAL3 vol 5, it is important that the performers can articulate their own needs, interests and relationships with authorship, and choose a director based on trust, artistic interest and preferred ways of working. The project therefore focuses not only on the final outcome, but also on how collaboration and the distribution of roles come about.