8. International Competition of Young Dance Performers OPUS 1 – Short Dance Piece 2016

Slovenian National Theatre Celje
Saturday, 11 June 2016

Experience of OPUS production grant winner 2014 Georgia Kapodistria

I am now finished with the creating process of the production ‘#41--‐An occult manifestation of the same body’, but the journey that started at the end of the 6th Opus Competition for Young Choreographers, where I received the Production Award, is still present. The Production Award gave me the possibility to involve myself in a production, which would be supported financially and practically by JSKD and Plesni Studio Intakt. The fact that I am based in Copenhagen, Denmark, made this possibility into a bit bigger challenge, but it also gave me much more than I expected. By that I mean the connections I made in Slovenia, both personal and professional, the possibility to experience the dance environment of a foreign country and the cultural and artistic exchange that took place. On the other end, through discussions and exchange in Copenhagen, I got to talk and present the Opus Competition as well as the Slovenian dance scene to artists based in Scandinavia.

Already at the beginning I decided to organize the creation process in two parts. The first block extended from the 18th of February 2015 until the 19th of March 2015. The second block started on the 21st of May 2015 and ended with the second premiere of the piece in Plesni Forum, Celje on the 13th of June 2015. Between these two periods the process continued in Copenhagen. Having a specific period of time, where the focus is only on the creative process was a very important point. The average daily program of that time consisted of morning training and then time in the studio. It was an advantage to have a beautiful and highly functional studio available several hours per day and on the weekends. My decision on making the production into a solo piece made the routine a bit difficult at times, because of the lack of variety and challenge coming from the outside. For that I got help from the mentors, Nina Meško and Nataša Tovirac, who had the role of giving guidance and feedback as an outside eye, helping with their experience both as dancers and producers, and challenging some repeating patterns. The propositions they gave were clear but not insisting and helped throughout the whole time. My role at that part was to be open for the exchange, without losing the trust on my decisions.

At the beginning they helped making the way clear for the concept to evolve and at the end they reinforced the final presentation with practical and very concrete propositions. As much importance as the contribution of the mentors had, there were some fine balances I had to find for myself. One of them was the timing. When am I, or the work, ready to receive feedback without complicating the creative process? It is important to be sure of the intentions before exposing them to other’s opinions. But then again, if the exchange comes too late, the form of the piece is already to concrete to brake.

Apart from the work being done in the studio and concerning the creation of this new production, my stay in Slovenia became a great experience because of the glimpse I got in the regional dance environment. Taking morning classes in Ljubljana made it possible to meet other working performers and teachers and hear from first hand how the dance scene is and functions there. It would be a great pleasure if those meetings would create new future collaborations. Through this production I already came into collaboration with Luka Curk, who is responsible for the light design of the piece. During my first visit in Ljubljana I managed to be part of the Gibanica Festival as audience, and this led to beautiful meetings that I already came across later and that helped expanding my professional network.

The two months production ‘residency’ in Ljubljana led to the piece ‘#41 – An occult manifestation of the same body’. The piece premiered in the Španski Borci Theater in Ljubljana and Plesni Forum in Celje. The two presentations where fairly different from each other because of the size of the theater, technical equipment and the audience, but they both gave a special quality to the piece. Hearing from people, who experienced both performances, they said I first performed in a jungle and then in my own little cave.

From the beginning on the postproduction was something to keep in mind. How and where to promote the piece? Some ideas where there from the start and others came along after showing the finished piece. Presenting the piece in Denmark and Cyprus was for example an idea, I had from the start and that I am still working on. For now there is the possibility of performing in Aaben Dans Theater in Roskilde in October. One of the propositions that came along is that the piece will be performed again in the beginning of September 2015, in the frame of Platforma Festival in Maribor.

The journey of this piece and process is still open and my experience in Slovenia opened new ways and journeys that also continue. All in all it was a pleasure to work with beautiful artists and people that inspired me and my work and hopefully Slovenia will still be a place for me to come back to in the future.