IMRC: Magnolia (In Defiance)

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2014-05-31 IMRC Magnolija (ili prkos) 21

Performances:

Premiere: 31.5.2014., Zagreb, Croatia, Zagreb dance center
4.6.2014. Rijeka, Croatia, Filodrammatica
26.2.2015., Athens, Greece, Onasis culture centre (Unlimited access festival)
18.10.2015. Zagreb, Zagreb dance center, mini festival ‘Inclusive scenes’
26.3.2016. Rijeka, Hrvatski kulturni dom na Sušaku, festival ‘Inclusive scenes’

Concept and chorography: Iva Nerina Sibila in cooperation with Silvija Marchig and Vesna Mačković
Performers: Vesna Mačković, Silvija Marchig

The Magnolia (In Defiance) duet is the first full-length work by the IMRC collective. The idea of the performance stems from the textual and visual designs of Vesna Mačković for an imaginary play „Nepokretne“. The performers develop the themes of mobility and imobility, the ecstatic dance and the imposed stillness, as well as the transposition of these categories into the more intimate zones of memory, bodily imagination and transgression of identity, within their respective, autonomous zones. In addition to the emotional and the visceral, through acknowledgement and support their bodies come together as one.

Press clipping

Nataša Govedić: Border between performer and author (Zarez, broj 381., 10.4.2014.)

Maja Đurinović: How to differentiate dancer from a dance, PLESNA SCENA.hr, 16. lipnja 2014.

Related material

Sketches from brainstorming notebook

skice-magnolija-ili-prkos-003 skice-magnolija-ili-prkos-004 skice-magnolija-ili-prkos-002

Poetic prose reflecting creation of “Magnolia (In defiance)” first published in magazine “Kretanja” (#22)

PDF: kretanja-22-str-42-47

The dedication to dance introspection
Vesna Mačković

I spend my life loving solitude. In psychology, the arts and elsewhere this love has been named – they call it introspection.
Every day a healthy dose of solitude. Every day immersion in your own mind and emotions. Painful or sweet – depending on the day. So the rest of the day, out of introspection, could be devoted to the written word, color, sound, movement.

Introspection, the opposite of external observation, too often fools me. Succeeds to regularly and immaculately convince me I possess knowledge of who I am, what I make and how.
Magnolia (or defiance) has taught me to question my solitude, introspective vanity and arrogance. Blind belief which is engraved in me as some postulate that at that moment when I reach for artistic tools (pen, brush, sound, step) I close my eyes, I know how to and I can – do everything.

Fed by poetry of Marina Gynt, Kazuo Ohno’s videos and numerous brainstorming sessions with Nerina and Silvija, going outs into improvisational introspection were marked with increasingly opened eyes each subsequent rehearsal. After weeks of work, I put away my pen and brush, and I signed a pact with introspection that my performative body would walk the stage, dance, and let its voice out with eyes wide open. I wrote with my feet, painted with my whole body. Coming back regularly to myself, reflecting on the day, week or month filled with work, I realized that the new face of introspection is not extinguishing in its strength. It is not extinguishing in me and it is not extinguishing in my creative expression. Encroachment in myself, in what movement means to me, in what were Kazuo, magnolia, defiance leading me to, that opening of all of my eyes and finally also those that physically see, brought only reinforcement of my confidence. Introspectively I grabbed deeper and wider and threw out all the more. The eyelids, raised or lowered, it was all the same.

I wondered whether creative, artistic introspection can be too deep. Fearful of becoming too personal I delibarately put a STOP sign on some moves, some motives, some glances into the audience. When I would relax in improvisation because my time at rehearsal would allow it, because we were interested in finding out what indulging of inexperienced dancing body can bring outwards, something happened that naively I did not anticipate. Improspections emerging too deep, caused the cracking at some internal stone walls, which otherwise I would not see in myself for too long, if ever. Luckily, some natural inclination to performative expression made each tear, laughter, word and song that came out of me, to be contextualized and inserted within the sequence of movements. By repeating and practicing such sequences originated some dance images that I will forever remember as a self-born, untaught.

2014-05-31 IMRC Magnolija (ili prkos) 11

2014-04-05 IMRC ZPC - Magnolija (ili prkos) work-in-progress 36

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