Srebrno zlato / Silver Gold

(Slo)

je projekt, proces, prostor,
v katerem se srečuje več plesnih generacij.

(Eng)

is a project, a process, a space,
where several dance generations meet.

Izmenjujemo si znanja, izkušnje, spomine in hkrati ustvarjamo skupne spomine.

We share knowledge, experiences, memories and at the same time create shared memories.

Aprila 2021 smo se začeli dogovarjati in snovati Srebrno zlato, sredi junija smo se pa začeli dobivati, sprva v parku Tivoli, potem tudi v studiu. Vaje smo vedno organizirali kot vodena in odprta srečanja, kjer je vsak lahko predlagal score, velikokrat pa smo tudi preprosto pustili, da iz samega srečanja, iz prostora samega, vznikne ples.

In April 2021, we started to discuss and plan Silver Gold, and in mid-June we started to meet, first in Tivoli Park, then in the studio. We always organised the rehearsals as guided and open meetings, where everyone could suggest a score, but often we also just let the dance emerge from the meeting itself, from the space itself.

Photo: Dragana Alfirević

13. in 14.12.2021 smo izvedli dve predstavi z naslovom “Srebrno zlato” v sodelovanju z Novo Pošto. Čeprav smo bili zadovoljni, da smo zaključili prvo fazo projekta z “otipljivim” rezultatom, smo tudi čutili, da naše delo potrebuje drugačne prostore, drugačno organizacijo dela ter drugačne formate za srečanje s publiko. Zato smo se dogovorili, da bomo od januarja 2022 delali izključno na način, da svoje plesne vaje izvajamo tako, da povabimo med 1 in 15 gostov, ki se po želji na različne načine vključijo v to, kar ustvarjamo; tako da meja med gledalci in plesalci ni vedno jasna in da je to navdih za naše početje.

On December 13th and 14th, 2021, we held two performances entitled Silver Gold in cooperation with Novo Pošta. Although we were pleased to have completed the first phase of the project with a "tangible" result, we also felt that our work needed different spaces, different organisation of work and different formats for meeting the public. Therefore, we agreed that from January 2022 we would work exclusively in the way that we do our rehearsals by inviting between one and 15 guests who, if they wish, can get involved in what we create in different ways, so that the boundary between audience and dancers is not always clear and our work draws its inspiration from this fact.

Photo: Sunčan Stone

Photo: Sunčan Stone

Namesto predstavitve umetnika smo za razstavo risb Djordja Balmazovića v okviru Cofestivala 2022 uporabili sledeči pismi.

The following letters were used as an artist statement for the exhibition of Djordje Balmazović's drawings at Cofestival 2022.

Dragi Žole,

hvala, da si z odprtim srcem vstopil v neznani plesni projekt in nato vztrajal do konca. Čeprav konca, kot vidiš, ni. K sodelovanju v projektu Srebrno zlato sem te povabila, ne da bi te zares dobro poznala. Povabili smo te z eno preprosto željo: da bi nekdo gledal naše plesne vaje – hoteli smo, da bi ta pogled ustvaril svojo perspektivo, svoj prostor izvajanja gledanja kot procesa, in ne (kot je običajno), da gledanje nastopi šele ob koncu procesa, s prihodom publike. Tvoja umestitev je, s pogledom in risanjem, ustvarila poseben prostor, ki je v odnosu do plesa zunaj in znotraj hkrati, ni ne zunaj ne znotraj. Ta prostor je dejansko ustvaril svet zase, saj meja med zunaj in znotraj nikakor ni tanka in nedvoumna, ampak je spremenljiva in večdimenzionalna. Tak pogled je večplasten: postavlja vprašanja, podpira, raziskuje, kritizira, omogoča in odobrava. S svojim preizpraševanjem nas dejansko podpira in nam tako pomaga osvetliti naše početje. Usmerja nas. Nam svetuje. Sestavlja celoto iz delčkov.


Ko nas nekdo gleda med plesom, se uzremo skozi oči drugega. Pomembno je, da vztrajamo pri gledanju, ne da bi pri tem prevladalo obsojanje ali poveličevanje, še manj pa nekakšno prilizovanje. Pomembno je, da aktiviramo pogled, ki bo v nas vzbudil zanimanje, da bi nadaljevali z gledanjem. Povabila sem te z besedami: »Radi bi, da nas gleda nekdo, ki zna gledati«, brez pretvarjanja, da bo šlo za nekaj drugega, vendar si nas nepričakovano popeljal na potovanje o vprašanju dokumentiranja plesa in dragocenosti »lovljenja trenutka« na povsem nov način.


Hvala za vse,
Dragana

Dear Žole,

Thank you for entering an unknown dance project with an open heart and then persevering to the end. Although, as you can see, there is no end. I invited you to participate in the Silver Gold project without really knowing you well. We invited you with one simple desire: to have someone watching our dance rehearsals – we wanted that the gaze would create its own perspective, its own space for the performance of looking as a process, and not (as is usually the case) for the watching to come only at the end of the process, with the arrival of the audience. Your position, by means of your gaze and drawing, has created a special space that is outside and inside at the same time in relation to dance, it is neither outside nor inside. This space has in fact created a world for itself, because the boundary between outside and inside is by no means thin and unambiguous, but rather mutable and multidimensional. Such a gaze is multilayered: it questions, supports, explores, criticises, enables and approves. By questioning
us, it actually gives us support and thus helps us to shed light on what we are doing. It guides us. Offers advice. It assembles the whole from the small parts.


When someone looks at us while we are dancing, we can see ourselves through the eyes of the other. It is important to insist on looking, without being judgemental or glorifying, much less sycophantic. It is important to activate a gaze that will arouse our interest to keep looking. I invited you with the words: “We would like to be watched by someone who knows how to watch,” without any pretence that it will be something else, but unexpectedly you took us on a journey about the question of documenting of dance and the value of “catching the moment” in a whole new way.

Thank you for everything,
Dragana

Draga Dragana,


Kada si me pozvala, nisam imao nikakva očekivanja, čak namerno nisam želeo ni da se pripremim. Krenuo sam grlom u jagode.

Uvek me je zanimalo zašto plesači izvode baš te pokrete, a ne neke druge. Šta je razlog pokreta? Kako pokret nastaje? Šta se desi u glavi koja kaže desnoj ruci da se uhvati za levu stranu glave, ili levoj ruci da se uhvati za desni bok? Možda sam se nadao da ću dešifrovati “rečnik plesnih pokreta”.

Poneo sam jednu sveščicu, i brdo četkica i olovaka na prvu probu u Tivoliju. Bilo je lepo vreme. Gledao sam kako se razilazite po poljani, izvodeći razne figure. Neke su bili plesne, neke su bile obične, neke čudne. Jedno drvo je bilo kao magnet – pre ili kasnije bi mu prišao neko od učesnika, oslonio se, ili bi ga zagrlio. Vaši pokreti su blagi i stalni – jednom kad počnu, ne zaustavljaju se, nego prelaze iz jednog u drugi. Izgledaju kao jedan dugačak, neprekinut niz. Kao kad ptica leti.

Pokušao sam da to što vi radite s telom, ja isto radim s četkicom, da vaše telo, pokret, i na kraju i ceo crtež, izvedem iz jedne neprekinute linije. Imitirao sam ples, ali na papiru. Vi bi neki put proizvodili zvukove. Iz vaših usta je izlazilo dugo aaaaaaaaaaa, iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, ili eeeeeeeeee, mešalo se jedno s drugim, pravilo gužvu. Kao što su se tela vezivala u čvor, pa posle razvezivala, isto su radili i glasovi. Pokušao sam da to zabeležim, kao hroničar.


Posle više od godinu dana učestvavanja na probama, ne znam da li sam bliži saznanju šta znače plesni pokreti. Znam da mi ples izgleda kao apstraktna umetnost koja opušta i plesače i posmatrače. Ne razumem sasvim, ali mi se sviđa. Jedino u šta sam siguran jeste da je ples izraz nesputanosti, slobode, čak i hrabrosti. Kao što se deca dok su mala, ne plaše da crtaju, pevaju i igraju, ne razmišljajući šta o tome drugi misle, tako se i plesači ne plaše da izvode neobične pokrete.

Hvala na pozivu za skok u nepoznato.
Djordje

Dear Dragana,


When you called me, I had no expectations, I didn’t even bother to prepare. I went into it literally, as we say in my language, by the throat into the strawberries (which means, unprepared by choice).

I have always wondered why dancers do particular movements and not others. What is the reason for a particular movement? How is the movement created? What happens in the head that tells the right hand to grab the left side of the head, or the left hand to grab the right hip? Maybe I was also hoping to decipher the “vocabulary of dance movements.”

I brought my sketchbook, a bunch of pencils and brushes to the first rehearsal in Tivoli. We had nice weather. I watched you spread out on the meadow, executing various figures. Some were dance figures, others were everyday, and some were strange. A certain tree was a real magnet – sooner or later, everyone came to it, leaned against it or hugged it. Your movements are gentle and constant – when they start, they don’t stop, but pass from one to the other. They seem like a long, unbroken sequence. Like a bird in flight.


I tried to do with a brush what you do with your bodies, to make your bodies, your movements and finally the whole drawing in a single
continuous line. I imitated dancing, but on paper. Sometimes you also produced some sounds. Out of your mouth came a slurred aaaaaaaaaaaaa, iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii or eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, the
voices were mixing with each other, jostling with each other. In the same way that bodies tie themselves in a knot and then untie themselves, voices behave the same way.I tried to record it all, like a chronicler.


After more than a year of rehearsals, I still don’t know if I’m any closer to understanding what dance movements mean. All I know is that for me dance is an abstract art form that relaxes both performers and observers alike. I don’t fully understand it, but I like it. The only thing I really believe is that dance is an expression of unrestrainedness, freedom and even bravery. Just as children, when they are young, are not afraid to draw, sing and dance without worrying about what other people think, dancers have no fear of performing unusual movements.

Thank you for inviting me to take a leap into the unknown.
Djordje

Obisk Doma starejših Fužine v Ljubljani


Dom starejših Fužine v Ljubljani ima v pritličju doma odprt pokrit zastekljen atrij, kjer so klopice in mize ter kjer večinoma stanovalci in obiskovalci doma pridejo na pijačo ali kadit. Na eni strani atrija je hodnik, na drugi kavarna, na tretji jedilnica in na četrti prostor delovne terapije. Z vseh strani se da opazovati dogajanje v atriju, kjer smo novembra 2023 delali Srebrno zlato.

Čudovito je bilo opazovati Srebrno zlato kot valujoče bitje, malo skupnost, ki prihaja v stik in v goste k drugi skupnosti, ki je nastala in nastaja na drugačen način kot skupnost Srebrnega zlata. Srebrno zlato je struktura, ki se gradi iz poslušanja drugih oseb, drugih skupnosti in daje jasno vedeti, da je od dejavnosti druge skupnosti neodvisna ter da hkrati posluša, se povezuje s to drugo skupnostjo.

Atrij v Domu starejših Fužine je za tako srečevanje dveh skupnosti idealen. Stanovalci, osebje in obiskovalci so lahko opazovali dogajanje v atriju, ki se je rojevalo iz Srebrnega zlata: ples, petje, pogovor, premor, glasba, risanje.

Že na prvem srečanju so radovednejši stanovalci preverili in povprašali, za kaj gre, saj dogodka v domu nismo posebej najavili. Z namenom. Želeli smo, da ravno naša prisotnost, delovanje "spregovori", komunicira in da se izognemo formatom kot so predstave, predstavitve, delavnice, ker Srebrno zlato ni nič od tega. Tako so se nekateri stanovalci tudi priključili v plesu in petju.

Tako kot Srebrno zlato na ravni skupine/skupnosti prihaja v kontakt z drugo skupino/skupnostjo predvsem s poslušanjem sebe in situacije okoli sebe, tako se v Srebrnem zlatu tudi na ravni posameznika komunicira predvsem s poslušanjem in željo, da ravno sama prisotnost in delo Srebrnega zlata komuncirata, vabita, razlagata, predlagata. Tako naslovi Srebrno zlato najprej in najbolj sočutno raven človeka, pa kinestetično, da ljudi kar popelje v sobivanje, sodelovanje, delitev.

Na tretjem od treh srečanj pa se je Srebrno zlato povsem prelilo v kavarniški del doma, kjer smo opogumljeni z odzivom in željo, da se še bolj približamo drugi skupnosti, z glasbo vstopili v novo vrsto stika, kjer je večina ljudi šla v kontakt brez dodatne razlage, pojasnitve, kdo je kdo in kaj počnemo. Enostavno smo komunicirali preko plesa, pogleda, pesmi, glasbe, besed.

Srebrno zlato stavi na to, da je vsako razumevanje plesa, druženja, vredno naše pozornosti, in zato gre za tem, da na tak ali drugačen način prisluhne različnim razumevanjem, in s tem ustvari prostor, kjer je vsak glas enako vreden, da mu prisluhnemo.

Kasneje se je zgodil tudi določen obrat na konceptualni ravni v povezavi z obiskom doma. Jurij Konjar je prišel v Moj korak s Cvetko, svojo mamo, ki trenutno biva v domu starejših v centru Ljubljane. O teh generacijskih zrcaljenjij (Dimitra, Dragana, Liana; Marjeta in Gregor; Ajdi in Iva) pa na kakem drugem mestu Srebrnega zlata.

A Visit to the Fužine Home for the Elderly in Ljubljana

The Fužine Home for the Elderly in Ljubljana has a covered glass atrium on the ground floor, where there are benches and tables, and where most of the residents and visitors come for a drink or a smoke. On one side of the atrium there is a corridor, on the other a café, on the third a dining room and on the fourth an occupational therapy room. From all sides you can observe what is going on in the atrium, where we worked on Silver Gold in November 2023.

It was wonderful to observe Silver Gold as a rippling being, a small community coming into contact with and being guests of another community that has been created and is being created in a different way than the Silver Gold community. Silver Gold as a structure is made in such a way that it builds itself out of listening to the other, to the other community, and makes it clear that it is independent of the activities of the other community and that it is at the same time listening, connecting with the other community.

The atrium of the Fužine Home for the Elderly is ideal for such a meeting of two communities. Residents, staff and visitors could observe the events in the atrium, which were born by Silver Gold: dancing, singing, conversation, pause, music, drawing.

Already at the first meeting, the more curious residents checked and asked what it was all about, as the event was not specifically announced in the home. This was on purpose. We wanted our presence, our action to "speak," to communicate and to avoid formats such as performances, presentations, workshops, because Silver Gold is none of these. Some of the residents also joined in dancing and singing.

Just as Silver Gold at the level of the group/community comes into contact with another group/community mainly by listening to itself and the situation around it, so Silver Gold also at the level of the individual communicates mainly by listening and by wanting that the very presence and work of Silver Gold communicates, invites, explains, suggests. Thus Silver Gold addresses first and most compassionately the level of the human being, and kinesthetically, brings people into coexistence, cooperation, sharing.

On the third of the three meetings, Silver Gold completely spilled over into the café part of the home, where, encouraged by the response and the desire to get even closer to other communities, we entered a new kind of contact with music, where most people went into contact without further explanation, without clarification of who was who. We simply communicated through dance, looking, song, music, words.

Silver Gold bets on the fact that every understanding of dance, of socialising, of dancing is worthy of our attention, and so it is about listening to different understandings in one way or another, and in doing so creating a space where every voice is equally worthy of being listened to.

Later on, there was also a certain turn at a conceptual level in relation to the home visit. Jurij Konjar came to studio Moj korak with Cvetka, his mother, who is currently staying in a home for the elderly in the centre of Ljubljana. We will talk about the generational mirroring in Silver Gold (Dimitra, Dragana, Liana; Marjeta and Gregor; Ajda and Iva) some other time.

Photo: arhiv Srebrno zlato / from Silver Gold Archive

Festival Kliker Varaždin

Na povabilo Sanje Tropp Früwald smo obiskali festival Kliker v Varaždinu, kjer je Sanja zelo skrbno pripravila formate za srečanje med svojim projektom “Playshop: No Work Just Play” in Srebrnim zlatom.

Poleg fotografij s festivala delimo tudi avdio zapis dela neformalnega pogovora. Po končani izmenjavi smo se, tako kot vsakič, znotraj ekipe Srebrnega zlata pogovorili o vsem, kar se nam je zgodilo in smo izmenjali misli o sodelovanju, o plesni dramaturgiji, načinih dela in uprizarjanja v plesu.

Festival Kliker in Varaždin

At the invitation of Sanja Tropp Früwald, we visited the Kliker festival in Varaždin, where Sanja very carefully prepared the formats for the meeting between her project Playshop: No Work Just Play and Silver Gold.

In addition to photos from the festival, we also share an audio recording of part of the informal conversation. After the exchange, as every time, we talked within the Silver Gold team about everything that had happened and we named our thoughts on collaboration, dance dramaturgy, ways of working and performing in dance.

Ustvarjalci/zasedba:
Marjeta Kamnikar
Liana Kalčina Srhoj
Djordje Balmazović
DISKOlektiv
Dragana Alfirević
Maja Dekleva Lapajne
Jana Jevtović
Dimitra Alfirević Srhoj
Ajda Tomazin

Umetniška koordinacija in produkcija: Dragana Alfirević

Oblikovanje svetlobe in tehnična podpora: Borut Cajnko

Produkcija: Nomad Dance Academy Slovenija v sodelovanju z Novo pošto (Slovensko mladinsko gledališče in Maska Ljubljana), DUM Društvom umetnikov ter studijem Moj korak

Podprli: Mestna občina Ljubljana, Ministrstvo za kulturo RS in Evropska komisija (projekt Dance On, Pass On, Dream On)

Hvala Silvi Ros, Jasni Knez, Roku Vevarju, Primožu Bončini, Sofii Grassi, Lavu Kovaču, Adamu Kinnerju, Ivanu Mijačeviću

Creators / Cast:
Marjeta Kamnikar
Liana Kalčina Srhoj
Djordje Balmazović
DISKOlektiv
Dragana Alfirević
Maja Dekleva Lapajne
Jana Jevtović
Dimitra Alfirević Srhoj
Ajda Tomazin

Artistic coordination and production: Dragana Alfirević

Light design and technical support: Borut Cajnko

Production: Nomad Dance Academy Slovenija in cooperation with Nova pošta (Slovensko mladinsko gledališče and Maska Ljubljana), DUM Društvom umetnikov as well as studio Moj korak

Supported by: City of Ljubljana, Ministrstvo of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia and the European Commission (project Dance On, Pass On, Dream On)

Thanks to: Silva Ros, Jasna Knez, Rok Vevar, Primož Bončina, Sofia Grassi, Lav Kovač, Adam Kinner, Ivan Mijačević