EXODOS 18th Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts

The common virtue of all performances, this year selected by the artist and curator Tim Etchells, is that they are »simple, very simple, deceivingly simple, absolutely complex«. This year the Exodos Festival Focus is on the Asian Dance Platform, where distinctively particular and distinctively intelligible Asian solo dancers were invited by the curator Tang Fu Kuen. (more…)

VN LAB presents THREE SPARKS OF 2012

• Vito Weis: DON’T DRAG MY NAME THROUGH THE MUD
• Zala Ana Štiglic: DON’T CLUTCH THE PUSSY, CLUTCH THE COCK
• Rok Kravanja: I WON’T BE THROWN OUT OF HERE

All three performances are creative debuts produced during the first year of the Via Negativa Lab, the laboratory for contemporary performing arts. They are short studies in raising awareness of the basic performative situation and establishing a relationship with the audience.

The task of each performer was to establish a performing situation with the working premise: “Me, happy to be here; me, happy to be now; me, happy to be who I am.” And to express this especially through his/her relationship with the audience.

DOORS SHUT

Beginnings lull to sleep because they are a part of the protocol. We can’t wait for the denouement. This time, we are going “in reverse” because we are impatient and because the endings rarely surprise us. Only while looking backwards we can see how such an ending came about. When you reach the edge, it is worthwhile to look back at whatever brought you there.

Directed by: Nina Šorak
Performed by: Anja Drnovšek, Matija Rupel, Ana Urbanc, Žiga Udir
Video: Pila Rusjan

SHUDDERS multimedia installation

Listen. I am here to remember. I have to remember. This sadness is inside me and I don’t know why.

Directed by: Eva Kokalj
Dramaturgy: Anže Virant, Bojan Stefanovič
Set design: Lenka Đorojević, Staš Vrenko
Sound design: Luka Bernetič
Costume design: Matic Hrovat
Choreography: Gea Erjavec
Video: Maja Prelog
Voices: Liza Marija Grašič, Barbara Ribnikar, Jure Kopušar, Vid Klemenc, Anja Novak, Matija Rupel, Rok Kravanja, Ana Urbanc, Patrizia Jurinčič
Performers: Miranda Trnjanin, Matic Lukšič, Eva Jesenovec, Lucija Tratnik, Urška Taufer, Lara Vouk, Blaž Dolenc, Mia Skrbinac, Nuša Ofentavšek, Matic Cimperman, Jon Berginc, Edina Dyachenko, Karlo Mrkša
Dancers: Luke Thomas Dunne, Ana Štefanec, Gea Erjavec, Eni Vesović, Kasija Vrbanac
Mentors: prof. Jernej Lorenci, prof. Jožica Avbelj, prof. Aldo Kumar, prof. Aleš Jan

And what do others have to say?: Representative Democracy in the Light of the Current Political Situation

Via Negativa’s performance entitled Just the Beginning, triggering contemplation on the role we play in a representative democracy, will be followed by a debate evening Representative Democracy in the Light of the Current Political Situation. The debate will expand the contemplation initiated by the performance in an informal manner and address issues such as parliamentarianism, the concept of representativeness, our influence on making political decisions or, better yet, the lack of such influence, and the current self-organised initiatives, demanding reforms.

The debate will be hosted by Lana Zdravković, researcher and activist, and Nenad Jelesijević, art critic and researcher, both of them known as the performing duo KITCH, in collaboration with Tjaša Pureber, journalist and researcher, Žiga Vodovnik, political science expert, Via Negativa and all the event visitors.

And what do others have to say?: The Role of Artist in Space

The performance entitled I Say What I Am Told to Say will be followed by a conversation with members of Beton Ltd., hosted by Lana Zdravković and Nenad Jelesijević/KITCH.

Art is neither a decorative element nor the amusing side of society, but rather an arena of encounters in the aesthetics of performativity. A conversation on the role of an artist in the sphere of the collective, accompanying the staging of a performance by Beton Ltd. in Ljubljana, will thus take the above premise for its referential framework.

We will delve into a debate on formal as well as content-related sides of a performance and manners of collective creative process, and most importantly, on the existing resemblances between this collective creative process on the one hand and long-term processes striving to construct a collective entity within social movements on the other. What can one possibly learn from creative obstacles encountered in artistic process? Where to look for neuralgic points of contact between art and politics? How to transfer a creative experience of this sort into an arena of continuous resistance, imposed upon us by the present moment, marked by an increasing exploitation of the ever poorer majority by the wealthy minority?

Via Negativa: JUST THE BEGINNING

Premiered on the first round of presidential elections in Slovenia, the third consecutive performance in the series entitled Unsolvable reveals just how very lucky we are to live in democracy. (more…)

6th festival GIBANICA – Slovene contemporary dance platform

Gibanica has been presenting the best Slovenian contemporary dance production in a biennial form ever since 2003. This year’s performances were elected by a jury composed of three members: Mateja Bučar, Pia Brezavšček and Klaus Ludwig. (more…)

Concert: KOMBINAT

The female choir Kombinat sings the songs of resistance from all over the world. Instead of invoking nostalgia, the choir sings these songs in belief that resistance is one of the basic human rights and in faith that the world can become a better place with revival of values such as solidarity, social justice, comradeship and courage. (more…)

And what do others have to say?: New Fronts of Feminism

Discussion Evening

At times, feminism is neatly put away into a box of former century struggles. The fact is, however, that the struggle for women’s rights is still necessary today, the only difference being that the areas of struggle have changed. Discussion evening, tackling new fronts of feminism, will address the new horizons of gender inequality, the manners in which the latter is manifested in the present day society and ways to fight against it.