Artist Statement
As the Atlanta BeltLine’s 2022-2023 Artist-in-Residence, Zeitlin’s goal is to delve deeper into the realm of performance art in public spaces and advance her mission of making the art of dance more accessible to the public.
That involves bringing dance to where people are, rather than inviting them to traditional performance venues where attendees often need to purchase tickets, arrange babysitting, find parking, and deal with various logistical challenges.
The diverse landscapes offered by the Atlanta BeltLine perfectly align with the theme she wishes to explore: the art of adapting to new circumstances and “homes.” This theme holds deep personal significance for Zeitlin, as she recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of her relocation from her hometown, Almaty, Kazakhstan, to the United States.
Weaving dance and theatre into each selected location environment, Zeitlin will create a series of unique performances of various lengths, each telling a meaningful and visually engaging story.
Artist Bio
Nadya Zeitlin is a choreographer and founder of Bautanzt Here, a site-specific dance theatre (from Bau, “build” and Tanzt, “dances” in German). Distinctive features of her work are influenced by her training in movement, theatre, design, and art therapy with teachers from both Western Europe and the United States.
The company presented works at 7 Stages Theatre, ELEVATE Atlanta Festival (twice), Art on the Atlanta BeltLine, and in various environments: playgrounds, parks, fields, sculptures, and theater lobbies. In June 2022, she presented a series of site-specific performances inspired by Atlanta Central Library architecture and history, funded by an Arts & Entertainment Atlanta grant. In September 2022, Nadya was a guest artist at Emory Dance Program (alongside Professor Medina) and commissioned a performance for the Hambidge Art Auction.
She participated in Synchronicity Theatre’s Stripped Bare, Dance Canvas and Atlanta Contemporary Choreographic Residency, Excuse The Arts, and Hambidge Cross-Pollination Art Lab.
In June 2023, her work represented the Atlanta dance scene at the DanceUSA Conference. The same summer, she designed and facilitated Atlanta’s first site-specific dance hub, dedicated to the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.
As an artist-in-residence at Core Dance, she recently premiered a unique interactive dance theatre work co-directed with audience members in real-time through the voting app developed specifically for the work.