While We Were Holding It Together
Association Lisa (Netherlands) | choreographer Ivana Müller
Renown Croatian choreographer, Ivana Müller in her new piece negotiates the relationship between imaginary and physical, personal and collective, position of performer and position of spectator. Whilst continuously provoking shifts in perception and sense, Ivana Müller creates a show that is disquieting, moving and yet genuinely funny.
***
concept, choreography, text: Ivana Müller
performance, text: Katja Dreyer/Sarah van Lamsweerde, Pere Faura/Ricardo Santana, Karen Røise Kielland/Hester van Hasselt, Stefan Rokebrand/Jobst Schnibbe and Jefta van Dinther/Bill Aitchison
artistic advice, text: Bill Aitchison
sound design: Steve Heather
light, technique: Martin Kaffarnik
about the performance
While We Were Holding It Together won two out of three prizes that were granted at Festival ImpulseTanz – - the most important festival for independent theatres in the german speaking area; the first prize for the best off-theatre production as well as the prize of the Goethe institute.
While We Were Holding It Together creates images in becoming, always changing, depending on who is looking. Is it a rock band on tour? A picnic in the forest? A hotel room in Bangkok? We look, imagine and reinvent while searching for what is hidden and for what we want to see.
The piece negotiates the relationship between imaginary and physical, personal and collective, position of performer and position of spectator. Whilst continuously provoking shifts in perception and sense, staging a conflict between body and its representation, Ivana Müller creates a show that is disquieting, moving and yet genuinely funny.
about the choreographer
Following her studies in French language and literature in Zagreb, Ivana Müller
continued her professional development at the Schoolf for New Dance Development in Amsterdam. Today, critics describe her work as uncompromising theatre which minutely investigates various concepts and ideas which we usually take for granted.
Her work was initially presented to Zagreb audiences in 2000 at Dance Week Festival. Since this time her work is presented regularly at many prestigious locations throughout Europe, the Americas and Asia. She returns to Zagreb to the 25th edition of the Festival, with her recent work which just recently was the London National Museum’s curatorial response to the blockbuster exhibit of Greek Masterpieces at the Louvre.
In her works she investigates the body and its presentation, and the re-definition of own identity, as well as the position n of the imaginary and imagination and the relationship between the performer and the audience. She simultaneously brings together diverse artistic disciplines, including dance, visual arts, film and text, creating hybrid forms with influences which vary from those cultural and philosophical to cognitive science.
She has collaborated with numerous artists, scientists, as well as companies including Groupe Dune and Christine de Smedt/Les Ballets C. de la B. Since 2006 is one of the tutors at the Piet Zwart Institute.
She was awarded last year by the Prins Bernhard Culturrfonds with their prestiogious biennial award, that is given to three emerging artitsts as recognition for their body of work.
