GO ACE! :D

http://www.zavodbig.com/2009/11/25/thresholin-process-“d”-by-aleksandar-georgiev/

Delo, Tue. 30th June 2009, Ljubljana, Slovenia

''Dance Nomads''

by Mojca Kumerdej

Short Cuts 2 / PTL, Stara Elektrarna, DIC, Kinodvor, Tovarna Rog / 20th-22th June

The international contemporary dance society Nomad Dance Company connects artists and producers from six countries of the western Balkans – Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia Herzegovina and Bulgaria, along with three non-Balkan countries – Latvia, France and the USA. From 24^th February to 22th of June, this year's dance caravan moved from Sarajevo, through Skopje, Sofia, Belgrade, Kanjiža, Zagreb and Ptuj, to Ljubljana.

In each of the eight cities, the dance authors spent two weeks as artists in residence, creating and presenting their short dance miniatures, under the common title of Short Cuts 2, the process of which was accompanied by workshops, lectures and associating with local and international artists and theoreticians. Organized by the Slovenian co-producer of the Nomad network, the ‘’Fičo Balet’’ institution, between 20^th and 22^nd June, more than a dozen five minute to half an hour performances premiered in PTL, Stara mestna elektrana, DIC, Kinodvor and Tovarna Rog. Also a part of the caravan were two Slovenian authors Ana Schnabl and Bor Pungerčič, while among the Saturday evening’s seven premieres, the three most convincing were the American Elia Rubin Mrak Blumberg, Macedonian Aleksandar Georgiev and the Bulgarian Zhana Pencheva.

The twenty minute solo ‘’Lord Don’t Let the Devil Steal the Beat’’, by dancer and choreographer Elia Rubin Mrak Blumberg was performed as a continuous spinning of the whole body, like as if we are to paraphrase the title, he wanted to stop the devil from stealing or interrupting the rhythm, which, when we consider the accompanying statement and the text from the show, can be understood as an attempt to maintain the ecstatic state of being, that goes beyond pain, hatred and other destructive feelings. Unrelenting, through and through intensive and only circumstantially dervish-like gyration was made even more difficult by the text which the dancer would simultaneously interpret during the first part of the solo. The author convinced us with his movement which includes a promising stage presence – the latter he confirms as a dancer in some of the choreographies of his colleagues – with the only weak point of the piece being the naive text with infantile questions and added instructions towards achieving ‘’collective joy’’.

In his half an hour performance ‘’Treshole’’, the very talented Macedonian dancer and choreographer Aleksandar Georgiev, along with three fellow dancers, tackles issue of the sensing, transferring and causing pain. Because in the human world, one pain is never alike another pain, for it is never experienced directly, but always in a context which either lends it a bearable, such as in the case of a visit to the dentist, or unbearable, as in the case of an attack, character. The viewer’s gate misses the fact that a dancers’ life, due to its intensive physical stress is fundamentally linked with pain, and this is what the choreographer focuses on. He starts the show with an aggressive manipulation of his own body, including the action seen so many times before, where the performer slaps himself, but which in this case, the author develops with his co-dancers into a into an articulation of the creative process, in which the painful movement sequences include a previous agreement and thereby a pain tolerance, which however constantly slides along the elusive border that one unpredictable moment might turn into impulsive self-defence or attack.

Likewise, both Elia Rubin Mrak Blumberg and Aleksandar Georgiev alongside with the choreographer Zhana Pencheva, were also most convincing in the performance ‘’Glass Of Love’’ in which Pencheva engages the relationship between an autocratic author, director or choreographer and the humbly obedient performers, who with more or less success, attempt to exercise a measure of autonomy. The latter performance was among all of them also the most well thought out and executed both choreographically and structurally.

This year’s Short Cuts 2 were organized and executed, along with the Slovenian Fičo Balet, by the Tala Dance Center from Zagreb, Station Service for Contemporary Dance from Belgrade, Brain Store Project from Sofia, Lokomotiva from Skopje and Tancelarija from Sarajevo.

(translation by Bor Pungerčič / Andar_Andar)

Martina Nevistic superstar

Dear people,

we have the pleasure to announce you that WannaB received the Prize of the Public at the Contemporary Dance Platform in Almada (Portugal) !!!!

Marty won a marvellous ceramic cup that is now in the living room of her very beautiful new home !

AndarAndar finds the second clue to Aladin

Who has the body? And who holds it?
Who can call it forth? And who can renounce that?
Where is he kept? Incommunicado...

The Accordion Girls have whispered and streched out their plaited canvas lungs to the furthest reaches. Their advice? Appeal!
And wonder. Is it not written, ''habeas corpus!''?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habeas_corpus

El departure del amerikanski pilgrim

CLOSE FUTURE

When	What	Who	With what	Where
september
9th	NAGIB Festival	Elia	Lord, Don't Let The Devil Steal The Beat!	Slovene National Theatre Maribor (Maribor)
10th	8th L1 contemporary dance festival www.l1.hu	Celine	Papalačinke	Budapest (Hungary)
9th and 10th	Almada Dance Festival	Martina	WannaB	Lisabon (Portugal)
20th	Platform of young choreographers 2009 www.tala.hr	Martina	WannaB	Zagreb (Croatia)
21th	Video dance room on festival Platform of y.ch.2009	Ruta Celine	Apple Man Rurbanisme	Zagreb (Croatia)
14 – 21 th	ZWRK festival	Elia	Lord, Don't Let The Devil Steal The Beat! and workshop for kids	Sarajevo ( Bosnia and Hercogovina)
29 – 4.10.	Balkan Dance platform	Ace	Haidi	Novi Sad ( Serbia)
october
3th		Martina	WannaB	Zadar (Croatia)
4.-10.	Project	Ace, Leila		Sarajevo ( Bosnia and Hercogovina)
27.- 7.11.	Festival	Ace	Haidi	Skopje (Macedonia)
november
28.,28.	Festival ?	Ace (R,I,M,A) Leila ( R,L)	Treshold Latino Drive	Venecia (Italy)

Who is he?

He is always here. The people never notice him. He love to communicate with them, but always is keeping silence. Nobody ask him questions, because they never notice him. He has seen thousands of faces. He knows the human face, that's why he never ask. He doesn't own anything. He is an postilion. And nobody, never meet the postilion. He knows every home. Aladin knows the people.

AndarAndar finds the first clue to Aladin!

Where you write is what you write, what you write is what you think, what you think is what you see...

And here appears the first clue to finding Aladin.

A sorority of muses in disguise, calling themselves the ''Accordion Girls''.

At http://jacobkrupnick.com/index.php?/projects/accordion-girls/, they listen to E.A. Poe and smile...

But will they play for us?

Looking for Aladin!

29th sept. 2009, Nowmadia goes on the search for Aladin, the missing Nomad!

On 16th of May, the crew of Nowmadia arrived to Zagreb, only to find out, in some rather unusual circumstances, that even before the beginning of it's epic journey, a member had gone missing and was never heard of again. Even worse, were it not for the ''coincidence'' the other members would never have learned their lost comrade's name - Aladin.

Now, having successfully passed the tests of The Academy, the brave Nomads embark on a quest to find their lost co-traveller.

Nowmadia

Nowmadia is an international group of young movers, makers, body shakers, midnight talkers, dealing with research/exchange/creation in the field of performing arts. It is the natural continuation of 4 months of intense creative and collective life in Nomad Dance Academy 2009. The Horizon is collaboration growing from the Balkan area onto the regional and international scale, and the production of performances, workshops, lectures, dinners and events of all kind.

Nowmaders are : Katina Diskov (Srb), Alexander Georgiev (Mak), Marko Kalc (Hrv), Igor Koruga (Srb), Céline Larrère (Fr), Lejla Muhic (Bih), Martina Nevistic (Hrv), Ruta Nordmane (Lv), Zhana Pencheva (Bg), Bor Pungercic (Slo), Elia Rubin Mrak Blumberg (USA), Ana Schnabl (Slo), Nikolina Todorova (Bg).

Alexander Georgiev aka Ace, Macedonia

I was born in Skopje in 1985. My background is mostly danceable. Already for four years I'm a student of dance theater at the New Bulgarian University (on my way to graduation). Before this I have done some Latino- and folklore dances, both the "Macedonian style". I took part in some performances in Bulgaria. My favourite color is still blue, and i still believe in fairytales.

Marko Kalc, Croatia

I started my dance education in "Prostor Plus" in Rijeka, and became its member in 2008. I continued my education at many dance and theatre workshops in Croatia and abroad. I finished the MAPA academy and NDA academy. Author, co-author and performer in many productions.

Igor Koruga, Serbia

Since 1998 I have been involved in alternative forms of theater, performance and contemporary dance. As a member of Station NGO and other institutions in Belgrade. As a dancer I participated in several projects, and was educated by local and foreign artists from this field. I'm a senior-undergraduate student at the department of social and cultural anthropology, University of Belgrade.

Lejla Muhic, Bosnia

I am a student at the Faculty of Political Science in Sarajevo. Since 2002 I have been working as a dance instructor of Latin-American dance and standard dances. I also act and dance in Pozoriste mladih theater in Sarajevo and Pozoriste Mostar. I have been working as an assistant, dancer and make-up artist with the Sarajevo waterdance group since its inception, and with "Tanzelarija" contemporary dance organisation - a partner of Nomad Dance Academy.

Martina Nevistic, Croatia

Born on 18 december 1983 in Zagreb, Croatia.
Graduated from University of Economics in Zagreb and from Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance (SEAD). Afterwards, I was acquiring experiences in Brussels and Berlin, and founded "O.N.E. artistic company" in Zagreb. Today I am working as a free lance artist.

Ruta Nordmane, Latvia

Born in Riga, Latvia, 1975. 2007 - Graduated from the Academy of Culture, Republic of Latvia, Contemporary Dance and Choreography Department, BA. 2008 - Established Dance Theater Boot§Boat in Riga, Latvia (www.butenbouts.lv). Likes animals a lot. Owns 3 cats. Enjoy Pina Colada, but while with Nomad, following the mentor's advices, started to change a lot of habits. Even my favorite drink.

Zhana Pencheva, Bulgaria

Born in Burgas, brown-green eyes. 1998 first meeting with contemporary dance. Before that sports and folklore dance. 2007 graduated from NBU, Sofia, in dance theater field. Since 2007 dancer in Dune Dance Company. Now... Nomad Dance Academy. After that.... still uncertain. I'm inspired by people, love, smile, extreme sports, body, surprises, water, sun, dance... I would really like to do things which i can't do yet, and things which i like to do.

Bor Pungercic, Slovenia

Born in Celje, Slovenia, in 1980. Graduated from the Faculty of Architecture, University of Ljubljana. Worked as an architect, spatial planning and strategic development consultant, visual artist, stage set designer, production assistant, lighting designer and windsurfing instructor. Have trained rock and ice climbing since 2002. Never took a dance class before NDA 2009. Asymmetrically shaved my head during the Kanjiza residence. Still proclaimed myself as a "dancer wannabe".

Elia Rubin Mrak Blumberg, USA

I am a professional nomad. House in Seattle, ancestors in Europe, friends on 6 continents, my home is me. After university in economics, i said goodbye USA and hello Balkans, i came to move... i'm still here... dancing, after two years, i am a choreographer, a dancer, a failure, a success, a boy, a man, a student, a teacher, humbled, inspired, selfish, self-less, passionate, but always me, a professional nomad.

Ana Schnabl, Slovenia

Formally I am a student of comparative literature and philosophy. I have been involved in dance for the past 12 years, starting with jazz-ballet and ballet, and later on emancipating from them in order to encounter the vast field of contemporary dance. I am also active as a dance and performing arts critic for the Dnevnik daily newspaper. Therefore, I am deeply interested in performing arts and dance theory as well as dramaturgy.

Nikolina Todorova, Bulgaria

Born and grown up in Burgas, Bulgaria. Started modern and contemporary dance in Dune Dance Studio in 1997. Graduated dance theater from the New Bulgarian University. Participated in several dance projects, collaborations and contemporary art festivals, and in the Erasmus Socrates exchange programme in Finland. Performed for Dune Dance Company (Bulgaria), in Second-hand movie and Class.

Céline Larrère, France

27, female, caucasian type, chunky, 1,688 m, nuts-haired, french. Performerimprovisercookerhandwriteracrobatreaderyodelsinger.

Raised with cow milk and ballet in deep countryside. Studied savage contemporary dance, oyster philosophy and hairy ethnology. Escaped from Folkwang Hochschule. Co-comitted Rurbanisme, dance video. Dug in improvisation with Simone Forti, Andrew Morrish, Rosalind Crisp. Assists Cécile Proust, for the femmeuses project. Non-phallic member of U DID (it), guilty of suspicious improvisation performances.