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Type: Dance

In a world where we are surrounded by stimuli, we often close off our senses. In Blind Spot – Eindhoven, choreographer Jelena Kostić makes visible and tangible what is right in front of us. In a theatrical walk full of contrasts, the urban environment, dance and freerunning come together to open our eyes to new perspectives.

With headphones on, the audience is led on an immersive walking tour through industrial Strijp-S and Strijp-T, ending at the UFO-like Evoluon. In various choreographies, Jelena plays with our ideas and expectations of space and our surroundings.

After the success of Blind Spot – Tilburg (2021), Blind Spot – Maastricht (2022) and Blind Spot – Rotterdam, choreographer Jelena Kostić creates an entirely new experience for Eindhoven, especially for the Urban Dansdagen Festival. With a dance language strongly influenced by freerunning and the raw environment of Eindhoven, Jelena casts new perspectives on the raw and surprising edges of Eindhoven.

En route through the neighbourhood, the company makes use of the architecture by balancing on it, hanging over it, moving in between.

Theaterkrant on Blind Spot – Rotterdam

CREDITS
Choreography , concept and artistic direction – Jelena Kostić
Dancers & performers – Noëmi Wagner, Tijmen Teunissen, Emma Zeinen, Levi de Jager & Josien Hennen
Voice actor – Gusta Geleijnse
Composer – Dyane Donck
Audio post production & sound design – Tom Sikkers
Repetitor & artistic advice – Judit Ruiz Onandi
Dramaturgy & texts – Lou Cope
Costumes – Rens de Waal
Business management – Petra de Haan
Sales – Hedi Legerstee
Production manager – Danielle Pater

Supported by: Fonds Podiumkunsten, Gemeente Tilburg
Special thanks to: Stimuleringsfonds Architectuur, Stichting Sample Culture, Parktheater Eindhoven, Vitória Aquino, Evoluon – Nina Monfils, René Erven – Architectuurcentrum Eindhoven

Type: Dance

Today will be my day. 
All the omens are good. 
I feel fantastic. 
Nothing or no one is stopping me now.

In Happiness, Jelena shows how wonderful it can be to feel joyful and carefree, but also how fragile joy is and how easily it can turn into something else. With her theatrical dance language and the use of humour, she creates a performance that is both relatable and moving. 

CREDITS
Choreography and concept – Jelena Kostić
In collaboration with the dancers – Noëmi Wagner, Blazej Jasinski, Arturo Francisco
Dramaturgy, concept and text – Lou Cope
Artistic advisor & repetiteur – Judit Ruiz Onandi
Composer – Evelien van den Broek
Set design – Davy van Gerven
Costume design – Rens de Waal
Art work / campaign image – Nataša Radosavljević & Lonneke van der Palen
Production manager – Daniëlle Pater
Business management – Petra de Haan
Sales – Hedi Legerstee

With support from: Performing Arts Fund, Municipality of Tilburg

Type: Dance

We all feel like losers sometimes. When the grass is greener next door, when someone outshines us or when we trip in a less-than-elegant manner in the middle of a busy street. Even though we’re deeply ashamed, we know we’ll be able to laugh about it – eventually.

Stand back, I’m a loser on a winning streak.

Ocean Vuong, “Beautiful Short Loser”

In Losers, Jelena Kostić explores different aspects of ‘loserhood’: shame, (self)pity, grief, and the need to put our poorer moments into perspective and transform them for the better. Using humour as her weapon, Jelena creates a dance performance that captures the feeling of losing in a multifaceted theatrical movement language. 

Trailer for Losers

The dancers repeat a routine of falling, sliding and getting up, interspersed with movement and text solos. A range of behaviours is featured: arrogance, conceit, disappointment, insecurity, pretending… There is a lot of playing with the audience’s gaze. After all, being a loser is mostly about whether others judge you to be one. It is all about watching and being watched. The dancers inspect each other, copy each other, turn their backs on each other and then face each other once again.

– Theaterkrant

Documentary film

Simultaneously with Losers, the new documentary Behind The Dance by Nikola Kostić, Jelena’s brother, will be shown. He followed the creative process of the Kostić performance Blind Spot – Rotterdam with his camera and captured the various setbacks and victories in making this challenging location performance. 

CREDITS
Choreography and concept – Jelena Kostić
in collaboration with the dancers – Noëmi Wagner, Blazej Jasinski, Tijmen Teunissen, Oliver Wagstaff
Dramaturgy, concept and text – Lou Cope
Artistic advisor & repetiteur – Judit Ruiz Onandi
Composer – Evelien van den Broek
Set design – Davy van Gerven
Lighting design – Bart Verzellenberg
Costume design – Rens de Waal
Art work / campaign image – Nataša Radosavljević & Lonneke van der Palen
Thanks to – Andreas Denk

With support from: Performing Arts Fund, Municipality of Tilburg, BNG Cultuurfonds, Fonds21

Trailer for ‘Behind the Dance’

Type: Dance

In a world where we are surrounded by stimuli, we often close off our senses. In Blind Spot – Rotterdam choreographer Jelena Kostić makes visible and tangible what is right in front of us. In a theatrical walk full of contrasts, the urban environment and dance come together to open our eyes to new perspectives. 

With headphones on, the audience is led on a walk through Rotterdam Zuid, starting near Hotel New York. In various choreographies, Jelena plays with our ideas and expectations of space and our surroundings.

After the success of Blind Spot – Tilburg in the summer of 2021 and Blind Spot – Maastricht in the fall of 2022, choreographer Jelena Kostić creates an entirely new experience for Rotterdam, especially for the Rotterdam Architectuur Maand. With a dance language strongly influenced by freerunning and the raw environment of Rotterdam-Zuid, Jelena shows the city from a new perspective.

“After versions in Tilburg (2021) and Maastricht (2022), Kostić has created this new route through Rotterdam for Rotterdam Architecture Month. In her dance language, freerunning predominates. Rotterdam Zuid provides an excellent backdrop for this. En route through the neighbourhood, the company makes use of the architecture by balancing on it, hanging over it, moving in between.”

– Theaterkrant.nl

CREDITS
Choreography , concept and artistic direction – Jelena Kostić
Dancers & performers – Noëmi Wagner, Isabelle Nelson, Tijmen Teunissen, Blazej Jasinski & Josien Hennen
Voice actor – Gusta Geleijnse
Composer – Dyane Donck
Audio post production & sound design – Tom Sikkers
Repetitor & artistic advice – Judit Ruiz Onandi
Dramaturgy & texts – Lou Cope
Texts & editing – Laura Roling
Costumes – Rens de Waal
Business management – Petra de Haan
Sales – Hedi Legerstee
Production manager – Danielle Pater

Supported by: Stimuleringsfonds Architectuur, Fonds Podiumkunsten, Gemeente Tilburg, Volkskracht, Elise Mathilde Fonds
Special thanks to: AIR Rotterdam

Type: Dance

Immerse yourself in the creation process and themes of Jelena Kostić’s new performance Losers (premiere autumn 2023). At the Open Studio, Jelena will present work-in-progress scenes with her dancers, and we will discuss the performance’s themes with experts. 

Losers is a performance that focuses on an experience that is familiar to all of us in one way or another: that of feeling like — or actually being — a loser. For the first time, Jelena is striving to incorporate humour into her dance language, making Losers a special and exciting new project. 

The second edition of the Open Studio will take place on Sunday 23 April at 7 p.m. at Club SoDa (DansBrabant) in Tilburg, at the end of a rehearsal and workshopping period with the dancers. They will perform scenes they have worked on in the preceding days.

We will also sit down with two guests to discuss how they relate to the performance and the theme.

Guests

Evelien van den Broek
Evelien van den Broek is a composer, performer and producer. She writes music at the interface of adventurous electronica pop, sound art and contemporary classical music. For Losers, she composes the music – a first collaboration between choreographer and composer!

Twan Hendriks
Tilburg artist Twan Hendriks’ world turned upside down when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. But he did not throw in the towel and still tries to inspire people through his art, including his art project ‘Parkinson Grass Field’ and his Parki Foundation, with which he draws attention to the debilitating disease.

The evening will be hosted by Hedi Legerstee. 

How to register

Attendance is free, the programme lasts one hour. 

You can register via this link. And of course there will be an opportunity to talk over a drink at Club SoDa afterwards.

Type: Dance

In a world where we are surrounded by stimuli, we often close off our senses. In Blind Spot: Maastricht choreographer Jelena Kostić makes visible and tangible what is right in front of us. In a theatrical walk full of contrasts, the urban environment and dance come together to open our eyes to new perspectives. 

With headphones on, the audience takes a walk through the raw Sphinx Quarter, starting at coffee roastery Blanche Dael. In various choreographies, Jelena plays with our ideas and expectations of space and our surroundings.

After the success of Blind Spot: Tilburg in the summer of 2021, choreographer Jelena Kostić creates an entirely new experience for Maastricht, especially for the Nederlandse Dansdagen. With a dance language strongly influenced by freerunning and the raw industrial environment of the Sphinx Quarter, Jelena shows the city from a new perspective.

CREDITS

Choreography and artistic direction – Jelena Kostić
Dancers & performers – Noëmi Wagner, Isabelle Nelson, Tijmen Teunissen, Ischa Statie en Josien Hennen
Voice actor – Gusta Geleijnse
Research locations – Bureau Europa
Composer – Dyane Donck
Audio post production & sound design – Tom Sikkers
Repetitor & artistic advice– Judit Ruiz Onandi
Dramaturgy & texts – Lou Cope
Texts & editing – Laura Roling
Costumes – Rens de Waal
Business management – Petra de Haan
Sales – Hedi Legerstee
Production manager – Danielle Pater

Supported by: Stimuleringsfonds Architectuur, Gemeente Tilburg & Fonds Podiumkunsten

Special thanks to: Bureau Europa en Nederlandse Dansdagen

Type: Dance

Ignorance is bliss, so the saying goes. We all blindly strive for more, more, more: a bigger house, a better job, a newer mobile phone. But why do we tend to shy away from the difficult questions related to growth?

In a compelling choreography for two dancers and a web of slacklines – cords to balance on and hang from – Jelena sketches a portrait of people. Poignant and recognizable: can we as humans escape our desire for more, more, more? How much more can we want, and when is enough truly enough?

This choreography is created especially for the Limburg Festival

In rehearsal with the slacklines

CREDITS

Concept and co-creatie – Jelena Kostić and Dyane Donck
Choreography – Jelena Kostić
Composition – Dyane Donck
Danscrs – Blazej Jasinski and Noëmi Wagner
Repetitor – Judit Ruiz Onandi

Type: Dance

How much more can we own? How much bigger can we go? Where does our desire for more come from and where is the breaking point? Loading… Your Last Trip shares the exclusive first material of Your Last Trip.

As an audience member you experience a number of scenes in a special setting, while enjoying a drink. We also invite you to a conversation about the issues that are raised and to leave your mark on the further development of the performance.

Your Last Trip will be an open-air performance by choreographer Jelena Kostić and composer Dyane Donck with two dancers and an opera singer. The disciplines of movement and music come together in a circular arena, amidst a web of slacklines strung between cars. A physically and musically impressive performance, in which we, present-day human beings, see ourselves as if under a magnifying glass.

CREDITS

Concept and co-creation – Jelena Kostić and Dyane Donck
Choreography – Jelena Kostić
Composition – Dyane Donck
Dancers – Blazej Jasinski and Noëmi Wagner
Singer – Els Mondelaers
Repetiteur and artistic advice – Judit Ruiz Onandi
Dramaturgy and text – Lou Cope

Type: Dance

There are times when I think I’m seeing, but I’m not
There are times when I think I’m hearing, but I’m not

We often go through life with our senses closed off. With Blind Spot, choreographer Jelena Kostić invites you to look at the urban environment of Tilburg with fresh eyes.

Fresh perspective

When in 2020 people disappeared from the streets and life was turned upside down, Jelena began to see her hometown Tilburg anew. What struck her was the architecture of the city. The shapes, the play of lines, and the untold stories of the city and its buildings. The blind spots we overlook in everyday life, but which can be made visible and tangible through dance.

Four locations

During Blind Spot, visitors go on a guided walk through the city center with headphones on, starting at Theater De Nieuwe Vorst and ending at the Kantongerecht. A voice leads the visitors along four different locations, where dancers enter into a dialogue with their surroundings. They embody the stories and emotions hidden behind the stones, exploring the relationship between people and structures.

Press

“Acrobatics by three dancers formed the spectacular finale to ‘Blind Spot’, a one-and-a-half-hour walk past places where short dance performances were presented. These performances drew attention to places you would otherwise walk past without noticing them.”

– Brabants Dagblad

CREDITS

Choreography & concept – Jelena Kostić
In collaboration with the dancers – Blazej Jasinksi, Isabelle Nelson, Sarah Prescimone en Josien
Hennen
Voice actor – Maeve van der Steen
Dramaturgic & artistic advisor, concept development – Lou Cope
Repetitor & artistic advice – Judit Ruiz Onandi
Performance text & publicity – Laura Roling
Composer – Dyane Donck
Technicians – Jimmy Niesen en Marvin van de Berg
Production – Andrea van Bussel
Business manager – Petra de Haan
Sales & strategy – Hedi Legerstee
Campaign image – Nataša Radosavljević / Lonneke van der Palen
Scene photography – Milagro Elstak

Made possible with the support of Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, Stimuleringsfonds Architectuur, Gemeente Tilburg & Fonds Podiumkunsten

Special thanks to CAST Tilburg, Tilburg Citymarketing, Theater De Nieuwe Vorst, Thomas Bedaux, Jacq de Brouwer, Peter van Dinter & Dirk van Alphen

Type: Dance

In (UN)BOUND Jelena Kostić investigates what it means to really come close.

In this performance we look at three professional, young dancers and an older non-professional mover. Age and youthfulness on stage, next to and with each other. Four people in the midst of solidarity and aversion. Their love for each other is just as strong as the resistance. If you don’t trust someone, you cannot really fight as well.

(UN)BOUND is a dualistic dance performance about real-life, long-term relationships.

Press

“Kostić seems to have a patent on powerful, physical images of how people cope in life.”

– Theaterkrant

CREDITS

Choreography & concept – Jelena Kostić
In collaboration with the dancers – Judit Ruiz Onandi, Noëmi Wagner, Blazej Jasinski & Josien Hennen
Composer – Dyane Donck
Set design – Niek Kortekaas
Set builder – Simon Haen
Costumes – Biljana Grgur and Jolanda Hendriks
Dramaturgic advice – Thomas Falk, Lou Cope & Judit Ruiz Onandi
Light designer – Ellen Knops
Production manager – Andrea van Bussel
Graphic designer – Nataša Radosavljević
Photography – Lonneke van der Palen & Nikola Kostić

Supported by Fonds21, Gemeente Tilburg, Dans Brabant, Fonds Podiumkunsten, Het Huis Utrecht, Stichting Jacques de Leeuw, Provincie Noord-Brabant & Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds.