Saša Asentić

Born 1977 in Derventa/Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Saša Asentić studied Agriculture and Pedagogy at the University of Novi Sad/Serbia. He has an autodidactic informal education in the field of performing arts.

Saša Asentić is a performer, choreographer, cultural worker, and the author of the performance My private bio-politics (2007) that gained international recognition through more than 40 performances across Europe and in New York. He is the director and, together with Ana Vujanović, co-author of the concept of the performance REVOLUTION WON’T BE PERFORMED (2013), supported by Tanzfonds Erbe. Furthermore he is together with Ana Vujanović the co-author of the performance On trial together (2012) and of the artistic-research project on dance history in Serbia Tiger’s leap into the past (2007–2010), and co-author, together with Olivera Kovačević Crnjanski, of the dance performance Fragments (2005).

Since 2007, his work has been presented in different festivals and art centers in Germany: Tanz im August, Berlin; Kampnagel, Hamburg; Mousonturm, Frankfurt; Institut für Angewandte Theaterwissenschaft, Gießen; Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart; Off Europa Festival, Leipzig and Dresden; Off Limits, Dortmund and Bauhaus Bühnenwerkstatt, Dessau. His work was presented in the US, France, Austria, Belgium, Spain, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Poland, Lithuania, Romania, Croatia, Slovenia, and Serbia.

Saša Asentić was artist in residence at Akademie Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart from 2011–2013. He was artist in residence of New York Live Arts – Suitcase Fund program in 2011, 2012 and 2013, at the National Dance Centre Bucharest in 2007, and at the Centre national de la danse, Paris/France and Lazareti, Dubrovnik/Croatia as part of Theorem Dance Residence program in 2006.

He received reviews for his work in The New York Times, Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Dnevnik, and journals of performing arts such as Performance Research, Performance Journal, Maska, TkH journal of performing arts theory, and Scena published texts about his work.

In 2013, Saša Asentić developed an artistic-research project Tanz des Prekariats oder wer würde für Jean Weidt heute tanzen? which was supported by Tanzfonds Erbe – An initiative of the Kulturstiftung des Bundes, Hamburgische Kulturstiftung, Akademie Schloss Solitude, and Kampnagel in Hamburg. Within this project he was co-author of the concept, together with Ana Vujanović, and director of the performance REVOLUTION WON’T BE PERFORMED that premiered in Kampnagel in 2013.

In 2012, Saša Asentić was director of the international project The Drain of the Scene in Novi Sad, in partnership with Goethe Institut Belgrad and Robert Bosch Stiftung. In the same year, he curated a project of hosting lectures and presentations of theatre groups of mentally disabled people from Germany. This project was realized in Novi Sad with support of Robert Bosch Stiftung. In 2013, Saša Asentić curated the project Presentation of dance and performance scene from Baden-Wurttemberg region in Novi Sad with support of Robert Bosch Stiftung.

He is initiator and program director of the Per.Art-organization that deals with production and promotion of performing arts in Serbia (2005) and the author and leader of the program Arts and Inclusion for artists with learning disabilities (since 1999). He was director of Nov.ples – Contemporary Dance Festival in 2010–2013 in Novi Sad, as well as director of the bi-annual dance festival Balkan Dance Platform 2009 and co-curator of IN-presentable festival in Madrid/Spain (2009).

He took part in ex.e.r.ce 2008 program in Centre choregraphique national Montpellier/France, 6m1L extenssion project in 2009 in Performig Arts Forum and several other research and education projects: IWBWWMI project, Lisbon/Portugal (2007), Mobile Academy, Warsaw/Poland (2006), City Stage, Novi Sad (2004–2005), Bauhaus Stage Workshop, Dessau/Germany (2004), New Dance Forum, Novi Sad (2002–2005), Summer Academy of Performing Arts, Sofia/Bulgaria (1999, 2001).

He collaborates with Ana Vujanović, Xavier Le Roy, Eszter Salamon, Olivera Kovačević Crnjanski, and Alexandre Achour.