Pardon, Petals

Pardon, Petals: Macho culture on queer terms

In Pardon, Petals, dance artist Fredrik Petrov explores Balkan folk culture and traditions, mainly folk dance, from a queer perspective.

By exploring countries with deeply internalized macho cultures such as Eastern Europe and the Balkans, Petrov examines how typical male attributes manifest themselves, and whether macho culture can be promoted in a body that is alien to it.

Is it possible to create folk dance under queer conditions? And what new understandings and representations of queerness are given by degrading the macho figure’s status and superiority?

Pardon, Petals is a real fuck you and a drag on the autonomy of traditional culture and a harrowing basket attack on limiting space for action and expression.

Pardon, Petals has its premiere at this year’s CODA festival.