MEDUSA
CONCEPT: Liza Šimenc, Urša Rupnik
DANCERS: Liza Šimenc, Urša Rupnik
COSTUME DESIGN: Liza Šimenc
INSTALLATION: Liza Šimenc, Tatiana Kocmur,
MASKS: Tatiana Kocmur, Andrej Erjavec, Liza Šimenc
VOICE: Tea Vidmar
MUSIC: Blaž Pavlica
PREMIERE: 2016
SUPPORT: STUDIO ZA SVOBODNI PLES, STUDIO XXV, PLESNI EPICENTER, MOJ KORAK, JSKD, PANORAMA BLED, PTL, POCKET TEATER STUDIO, PARL
ABOUT: Project Medusa is a collaboration with Slovenian contemporary dancer Urša Rupnik. Medusa is a dance choreographic performance that we are constantly transforming dependent to the space we are creating in. Through the process we developed very specific aesthetics of our performances and connected with musician Blaž Pavlica, visual artist Tatiana Kocmur and singer Tea Vidmar. Together we have made several projects that would be best described as ambiental events, which consist of dance performance, light installations, scenography, audio installations and catering.
CONCEPT:
Instead of depicting a single significant instant, our performance piece tries to focus on some constant, steady action and duration. We understand that as an extending of time, a journey through moments which can bring about a hypnotic breakaway from reality and a slip into the current of spectator’s own thoughts. We are especially interested in what lies beyond physicality and how we can reach the deeper meanings of Medusa’s symbolism by turning this ancient mythological figure into dance. We concentrate on its female, or rather feminine, aspect that is trickling into the modern world across the millennia. In Greek mythology, Medusa represents duality: beauty – monstrosity, victim – culprit, a killer – the killed. This is exactly where Medusa’s appeal stems from: her ambivalence, the symbol of both beauty and horror; the divine and (in Christianity) the devil. Her decapitated head is like a mask that justifies absolute evil. But behind the mask, there hides a more humane face – Medusa’s “tragic beauty”.
Our piece takes its inspiration in Medusa’s physical appearance, but we paint the image with character, giving her personality, thus bringing together both of her sides. We play around with the role of femme fataleas an innocent victim; we seek her beauty and monstrosity; we peel away the layers off of her mask and reflect her soul in the reflection of “Perseus’s shield”. Is her laughter joyful or mad, is her smile seductive or sarcastic, are her extended arms an invitation to the earthly pleasures or to a certain death?
Just as Medusa’s look turns to stone anyone who looks at her, so would want we, in our dance, to capture the given moment, mood; to keep still that which is and extend it into eternity. It seems that this particular snippet of time is the safest and we cling onto it the way everybody clings onto something in their lives: some idea about existence, relationship, matter, money (?) …
SEEN AT:
-FKM Beograd 7. 2016
-Španski borci- plesna Nacionala 9. 2016, 9. 2017
-Studio cepetka Ljubljana, 3. 2017
-Teufelsberg Berlin, 8. 2017
-Festival Svetlobna Gverila, 9. 2017
-Plesni teater Ljubljana 10. 2017
-Pocket teater Ljubljana, 2. 2018
-Prmejduš Ljubljana 12.2018
-Salon za uporabne umetnosti Maribor 4.2019
