Emofad

EMOFAD
By Goran Bogdanovski

PREMIERE AND RERUNS

LJUBLJANA, CANKARJEV DOM, SLOVENIA, 05. 02. 2003
LJUBLJANA, CANKARJEV DOM, SLOVENIA, 06. 02. 2003
LJUBLJANA, CANKARJEV DOM, SLOVENIA, 08. 02. 2003
LJUBLJANA, CANKARJEV DOM, SLOVENIA, 20. 03. 2003
LJUBLJANA, CANKARJEV DOM, SLOVENIA, 17. 04. 2003
LJUBLJANA, SVETOVNI GLASBENI DNEVI, SLOVENIA, 26. 09. 2003
LJUBLJANA, CANKARJEV DOM, SLOVENIA, 15. 10. 2003

ABOUT

Emofad comes from Rio de Janeiro. From afar into a new land all of us seek. We can imagine its way through gravel striking against metal and through cutting air, tires squealing. What does such a path sound like? Screeching, whistling, bubbling, rattling and tinkling, rising and falling, singing and... dancing. A path may turn into music leading from Rio to Paris, from Paris to Ljubljana, no - Tokio, from Tokio to Ljubljana. All the way inspiring the dancers to attach personal adventures to it, each one his own. Some as seen on TV. The sail is set always to venture, putting trust in promise of new lands, new skies. This search for new land subjects the usual relationships between dance, music, light, dramaturgy and actual space to a sound-scape forming as we speak (dance). Most of this sound-scape is created by a wired dancing body that serves the dancers as an instrument. The body must depart from its hearth or it will discover nothing, for there is no real music without adventure. When the body is silent, silence prevails, when it speaks, dances, we hear every move. Do we understand what it's trying to say? In all this hides an exciting search for a message and if we prevail new skies may open up above.

The performance is specific in the sense that it bonds the real-time produced soundscapes with movement as most of the sound scapes are created through the very movements of dancers, clad in sonic-wear.

Emofad is built of points - adventures - interwoven with improvised and spontaneous situations and constructed in a way that allows intrusions by guest performers.

CAST

Concept and choreography: Goran Bogdanovski
Performed by: Dejan Srhoj, Gustavo Barros, Damaas Mitras Thijs, Goran Bogdanovski
Sound: Random Logic and Boris Benko
Lighting design: Miran Sustersic
Set design: Irena Pivka
Costume design: Marija Mojca Pungercar
Digital research & video: Jure Novak
Dramaturgy: Mojca Dimec
Guest perfomers: Rosana Hribar, Gregor Lustek, Jana Menger; February 2003 & Katarina Venturini, Andrej Skufca; March 2003
Photography: Miha Fras

Co-production with Cankarjev Dom and Maska productions in collaboration with Bogdanovski & Co.

BI0S

Goran Bogdanovski

Goran has been an independent choreographer and dancer since 2001, while he has performed in ballet, contemporary dance, and physical theatre, from 1990.

His versatile talents and technical knowledge have allowed him to work successfully in many different fields of dance - ballet, physical theatre and contemporary dance. He graduated from the National Ballet School in Ljubljana, going on to study gymnastics, ballet and contemporary techniques. He took part in research projects and workshops with Emio Greco, Josef Nadj, Elizabeth Corbeth, Gerald Casel, Jordi Cortes Molina, Limon Company, Janet Panetta, Karl "Kane-Wung" Libanus, David Zambrano, Chrysa Parkinson and Howard Katz Fireheart. From 1990 to 2000 he was a member of the National Opera and Ballet Theatre in Ljubljana.

At this time he also worked as freelance artist with theatre artists and contemporary choreographers including Michael Clark Company, Matjaz Pograjc and Betontanc Company, Tomaz Strucl, Dragan Zivadinov, Ivan Peternelj, Matjaz Faric, Emil Hrvatin, Ariela Vidach … among others. He has also worked on a number of film projects.

His debut as choreographer in 2000 was the excellent piece 1:0, which confronts sport and ballet as parts of the male world. His second work Sweat and Soot is also the debut of his new company Fico Balet, the members of which have performed in Bogdanovski`s 1:0. He followed with a research project crowned by an improvisitional performance called Summer Breeze in august 2002, a dance action Against the stream in november 2002 and finally a new and biger piece for 4 dancers and guests, Emofad (emotivity of adventure) in february 2003.

Dejan Srhoj

After graduating from Ljubljana Ballet School and finishing the internship in Munich, Dejan became the member of Slovenian National Opera and Ballet Theatre. In the last three years, he performed most of the leading roles, such as Kashchey in Fire Bird, the Prince in Sleeping Beauty, Lucentio in Cranko's Taming of the shrew and the Prince in Swan's Lake. In 2001 Dejan became a freelance dancer, working continuously with Goran Bogdanovski and Fico Balet Company, as well as other Slovene artists and choreographers.

Gustavo Barros

Gustavo is coming from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Gustavo's dance background is consisted of physical theatre, contact improvisation and martial arts. In Rio de Janeiro he worked in La Rodrigues Dance Company. In the last two years he is living between Europe and Brazil, working and studying with people like David Zambrano, Mark Tompkins, Xavier Le Roy, Vera Mantero, Boris Charmatz among others. Connected to dance, Gustavo is interested in the border between dance and visual arts, performing with Laura Lima (Br) and Gary Stevens (UK), as well as developing his own projects.

Damaas-Mithras Thijs

Coming from Leuven, Belgium, Damaas has studied in ' Stedelijk Instituut voor Ballet' in Antwerp ( the National Ballet School of Belgium). At the same time, in mid 90's, he was performing in various TV productions. In 1996 he was accepted to 'Ecole-Atelier Rudra Bejart Lausanne' - Maurice Bejart's school located in Switzerland. After finishing the school he was invited to join Bejart Ballet Lausanne ( run by Maurice Bejart ). In the last three years, he danced with Bejart and performed most of the leading roles in his choreographies; among others the principal role of The Traveler in The Silk Road, Petrovich in The Coat, a principal role of 'young Maurice Bejart' in Bejart's version of Nutcracker and many others….

Random Logic

Random Logic alias Gregor Žemljic & Miha Klemencic are the longest established stars of the Slovene minimal music scene. They have released tracks under numerous names for projects such as Anorak, Jeremdam, Paldrame, Tadpole, Amderma, Savinto, Medvedek Robotek and their discography with these projects is already impressive. Labels they have released for include Communiqué, The Black Label, Kial, Planet Rhythm, and Tresor. Top techno/electonica DJ's play their records worldwide. They have also written music for major and alternative theatre, ballet and experimental art performances (they are collaborating extensively with the artist Marko Peljhan on his multimedia projects) and also for films. In 2000 they were awarded the Studio City Boomerang Award (alternative Slovenian music awards) for the best live techno act in Slovenia and recently they won 1st prize at The 2002 RFI (Radio France International) Musiques Electroniques Award for the best electronic project in Central and Eastern Europe. They have worked as producers on many popular and non-commercial projects (among others with Laibach) and they keep close and creative ties with other creators of the Slovene computer music and electronic scene.

Boris Benko

By profession, Boris is a graphic designer, graduated from Academy of Art in Ljubljana. By vocation he's a musician, a songwriter and singer in a Slovene based band Silence. With Silence, he released two extremely successful albums (both released by Chrom Records in Germany). In 2000 band started to work with Betontanc, Slovene physical thetare company and wrote music for their two latest performances. From that point on Boris with Silence became indispensable members of Slovene theatre scene, working with various theatre directors and choreographers, not just as a composers but also as a performers.

Miran Šušteršič

Slovene born, Miran is a freelance artist, light designer, founder and artistic director of EXODOS, International Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, Ljubljana. As a light designer he co-created over 90 theatre and dance performances, films and visual projects. From 1986 on Miran worked on numerous projects with renowned Slovene and international artists: theatre directors, choreographers, fashion designers, music composers, fine artists, video and film directors, photographers, architects…among others Emil Hrvatin, Vito Taufer, Matjaž Berger, Matjaž Pograjc, Dragan Živadinov, Iztok Kovac, Matjaž Faric…as well as Peter Greenaway, John Jaspers, Alain Platel, Vera Mantero, Enrice Vargas, Dirk Pauels,…. Just to name a few.

Mojca Dimec

Mojca Dimec was an active member of the Ana Monro theatre from 1983 to 1996. Since 1990 she has dealt with theatre sports and long improvisational forms. In 1996 she founded the high-school ŠILA improvisational theatre sports league. In 1999 she founded the ŠILA theatre for high school graduates and has so far created four educational performances. From 2000 onward she has been collaborating with Goran Bogdanovski on his dance projects as dramaturge and consultant. In 2001 she founded Metrix, a small theatre company, producing an ongoing play for three actresses that grows an actress every year, the goal: a hundred.

Irena Pivka

Irena graduated from the Faculty of Architecture in Ljubljana and continued her study at St Martins's College of art and Design, specializing in scenography. Since 1995 she has designed over 20 scenographies for dance and theatre performance. She has also produced exterior scenography for different occasion and has also participated in various exhibitions and did many solo projects - installations. In 1998 she was rewarded with a ArtsLink grant - Residency in New York and Minneappolis, USA. Now, she is working as freelance artist in Ljubljana, Slovenia. EmOfAd is her third collaboration with Goran.

Marija Mojca Pungerčar

Mojca studied painting at the Academy of Art in Ljubljana, and continued her study with postgraduate studies at the Academy. In 1992/93 she took part as a guest student at the Hochschule für angewandte Kunst in Vienna with a grant awarded by the Österreichische Akademische Austauschdienst. In 1996 she got a ArtsLink grant - residency at the Lower East Side Printshop in new York, USA. In here career Mojca was a member of the design and theatre costume group "Linije Sile" (Lines of Force) and a member of the editorial board and senior editor of M'ZIN magazine for culture. For the time being she's teaching ostumography at School for Theatre and Puppet Arts GILŠ in Ljubljana as well as working as a freelance visual artist.

Jure Novak

Born in 1980 in the city of Ljubljana, a bawling, kicking Jure Novak was lost by the medical staff for hours, before being found and reunited with his caring mother, which has had profound influence on the remainder of his young life and career. Having entertained the studies of philosophy and sociology of culture, he now studies theatre directing at Ljubljana's own Theatre Academy, indulges in (cultural) journalism and (assorted kinds of) translation and has published one (1) collection of poetry ingeniously entitled "25". Current projects include coordinating a forum of international literary festivals, festorg.org, a poetry/music tour of Slovenia's shabbier clubs and joints and various conceptual endeavors in the literary and theatre fields.