11. GIBANICA – Biennial of Slovenian Contemporary Dance Art
22.—25. February 2023, Ljubljana
Gibanica, Biennial of Slovenian Contemporary Dance Art is considered the most important contemporary dance platform in Slovenia. It offers a curated selection of performances, which are always selected for the festival by a three member international selection team, and the selected performances of the competition programme compete for the Gibanica Audience Award and Jury Award for Best Performance. At the 11th Gibanica, 8 performances will compete for both awards.
The Gibanica 2023 selection team: Pia Krämer, Germany (with more than 35 years of experience in managing organizations and projects in the field of performing arts), Biljana Tanurovska ‑ Kjulavkovski, North Macedonia (curator, researcher and cultural producer, co-founder of the Nomad Dance Academy (NDA) platform and the project space Kino Kultura (KK), and programming director of the Skopje‑based NGO Lokomotiva), and Maja Kalafatić, Slovenia (dancer, choreographer, dance educator and yoga teacher who lives and works between Ljubljana, Belgrade and Helsinki).
Out of the 49 submitted applications, seven performances have been selected for the competition programme by the selection team, and Things Thing was directly included following the Expert Jury Award received by choreographer Jan Rozman at Gibanica 2021 for the performance Thinging.
Thus, Gibanica brings to Ljubljana an overview of the quality of Slovenian contemporary dance creativity of the last two years, and offers foreign guests the opportunity to consider art that could be included in various art programs. In addition to the competition programme, Gibanica always hosts a rich discursive programme, and for the first time, the 11th edition of the festival will also feature a fringe programme with installations, workshops, performances, shows, etc.
Slovenian contemporary dance is characterized by diverse poetics, formats, and the coexistence and co-creation of different generations.
Welcome to the contemporary dance carousel.
STATEMENT FROM THE SELECTION TEAM
“As the selection team, we had the very difficult task of choosing only seven out of forty-nine very diverse and high quality performances, which would represent a certain selection of Slovenian production of the last two years. Therefore, we decided to present works that unfold choreographic approaches to the body, space, time and materials that reveal advanced perspectives on dance art.
This year’s selection offers diverse readings of dance art by relating dance, movement and choreography to current issues we consider relevant, such as technology and the body, exhaustion, the feminist body and storytelling, spectatorship and the gaze, as well as dance and the deconstruction of movement from history to the present. The selected artworks not only bring somatic distinction, but also treat dance as a relevant socio-political art, presenting diverse poetics, landscaping, somatic solutions and movement tactics that reveal fresh perspectives on dance art in the Slovenian context. These works explore movements and problematics that provoke transformations in the body and generate diverse proposals on the stage that reform the stage and its meaning, as well as the way we view performance.
In the selection, we take into consideration the impact of different practices, as well as the characteristics and potentials of the system that sustains them by placing the emphasis on new ideas, values and tools for a rapidly changing world.”
Pia Krämer, Biljana Tanurovska – Kjulavkova, Maja Kalafatić
SCHEDULE / COMPETITION PROGRAMME
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23
► 10:30
Cankarjev dom – Linhart Hall
Julia Keren Turbahn, Jan Rozman: THINGS THING
Production: Emanat
Co-production: Ljubljana Puppet Theatre in collaboration with FELD Theater für junges Publikum (Berlin)
► 17:00
Stara mestna elektrarna – Elektro Ljubljana
Bojana Robinson, Katja Legin and guests: OH HOW VERY ORDINARY
Production: Creative Center for Artistic Research
Co-production: Kino Šiška
► 20:00
Kino Šiška – Katedrala Hall
Mala Kline: VENUS: BETWEEN CAPTIVITY AND FLIGHT
Production: ELIAS 2069, Mercedes Klein
Co-production: Španski borci Cultural Centre / EN-KNAP Institute, Kino Šiška, Nomad Dance Academy Slovenia
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24
► 16:00
Španski borci Cultural Centre – Main Hall
Kristina Aleksova: KISS
Production: Via Negativa
► 18:00
Stara mestna elektrarna – Elektro Ljubljana
Irena Z. Tomažin, Jule Flierl: U.F.O.: HOMMAGE TO KATALIN LADIK
Production: Sploh Institute
Co-producers and partners: SOPHIENSÆLE (Berlin), Charleroi Danse Center chorégraphique de Wallonie-Bruxelles (Brussels), PACT Zollverein (Essen)
► 20:00
Cankarjev dom – Linhart Hall
Matej Kejžar: STD – SPENDING TIME DANCING
Production: Pekinpah
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25
► 18:00
Cankarjev dom – Duša Počkaj Hall
Beno Novak, Elvis Homan, Boštjan Simon: RESURRECTION 2.0
Production: Pekinpah
Co-production: Qulenium
► 19:30
Cankarjev dom – Linhart Hall
Leja Jurišić, Bara Kolenc, Peter Kutin, Patrik Lechner, Mathias Lenz: BRINA – A KINAESTHETIC MONUMENT
Production: Pekinpah
Co-production: NO1, KUD Samosvoj
► 21:30
Stara mestna elektrarna – Elektro Ljubljana
GIBANICA 2023 AWARD‑GIVING EVENT
Hosts: Daniel Petković and Nejc Jezernik
Admission free
SCHEDULE / DISCURSIVE PROGRAMME
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24
► 11:00
Cankarjev dom – Club CD
DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES IN THE FIELD OF CONTEMPORARY DANCE • Roundtable Discussion
Guests: Roberto Casarotto • Matej Kejžar • Pia Krämer • Tjaša Pureber • Jan Rozman
Moderated by: Bara Kolenc
The event will be held in English / Admission free
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25
► 11:00
Cankarjev dom – Club CD
A CONVERSATION WITH THE CREATORS OF THE GIBANICA 2023 PERFORMANCES: UNDER CONSTRUCTION
GuestsKristina Aleksova • Leja Jurišić • Matej Kejžar • Bara Kolenc • Mala Kline • Katja Legin • Beno Novak • Jan Rozman • Irena Tomažin
Moderated by: Andreja Kopač
The event will be held in English / Admission free
SCHEDULE / GIBANICA FRINGE
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22
► 20.00
JSKD Skladovnica, Beethovnova 5
Anja Mejač, Liza Šimenc, Luka Uršič, Olja Grubić: ALLO INITIATIVE: I ONLY SEE YOU AT NIGHT • Performance / Installation / Research • Gibanica Fringe
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24
► 9.00–10.30
Cankarjev dom – Duša Počkaj Hall
IN TOUCH WITH YOURSELF • Sensory journey / Workshop • Gibanica Fringe
The workshop is led by: Ana Romih
Admission free
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25
► 9.00–11.00
JSKD Studio, Cankarjeva 5
THE ARCHITECTURE OF SOFTNESS • Workshop • Gibanica Fringe
The workshop is led by: Tina Benko, Ema Križič
► 16.00
Hiša otrok in umetnosti
Ajda Tomazin, Tini Rozman, Mojca Špik: FROM DROPLETS TO THE OCEAN • Experiential dance performance / Workshop for the youngest • Gibanica Fringe
Entry with slippers only.
► 18.45
Cankarjev dom – First Foyer
Tina Jeranko: ENCOUNTERS • Participatory performance • Gibanica Fringe
Admission free
► 20.30
Stara mestna elektrarna – Elektro Ljubljana
Andreja Rauch Podrzavnik: DSPS25 + 3 • Dance video installation • Gibanica Fringe
Admission free