SAAL3 is a format for experimenting, trying things out, failing, and succeeding. In one evening, short performances by three artists will be presented on stage.

The fifth edition of SAAL3 is curated by artist Keithy Kuuspu, who rethinks the hierarchy between the director and performers. Whereas a director would normally assemble the creative team, in this format the process is reversed: first, Kanuti Gildi SAAL selects a curator who then invites performers, then the performers choose their own directors. This way of organizing the work shifts attention away from an author-centered model toward collaboration and performer agency, creating an opportunity to reconsider the performer’s role both in the creative process and within the broader institutional landscape.

The performers are Raido Mägi, Anumai Raska, and Mari Ann Valkna. They identify more strongly with the positions of performer and dancer than those of director or choreographer, and are usually in the role of being invited rather than inviting others. They share an interest in performer presence, body-based practice, and the position of the performer, as well as an awareness of the fragility of that position in a field where visibility and sustainability often require taking on the role of author as well.

For SAAL3 vol 5, it is important that the performers themselves can articulate their needs, interests, and relationships to authorship, and select directors based on trust, artistic interest, and preferred ways of working. As a result, the project focuses not only on the final outcome, but also on the process through which collaboration and the division of roles emerge.