An equally vulnerable as powerful duet on the theme ‘Embrace’. Two dancers clash and rub, let shyness and age behind them, to end up within each others arms and find themselves and the other.
In our time to act vulnerable often is directly related to (seeming to) be weak. Jelena thinks this is unfair and for this performance (which will premier in the TilburgvoorCultuurNACHT) she will battle with the prejudices against vulnerability and (declining) vitality.
CREDITS Concept – Jelena Kostić Co-choreographed by – Thomas Falk Dance – Blazej Jasinski en Jelena Kostić Music – Dyane Donck
Type: Dance
In THE BOLD, THE BOUND & THE BRITTLE a portrait of our current time is made, live on the theater floor. A new piercing performance by choreographer Jelena Kostić, with unrestrained dance and sudden music.
Two powerful women play their personal, destructive, comfortable and erotic moments until they are redundant. They leave behind the conflict between the brittle and the obscene.
Hinging on a past both distant and nearby, THE BOLD, THE BOUND & THE BRITTLE opens the door to a space where we all step out of our uniform. What remains is our own delicate humanity.
This production was made in 2016
Press
“At their most vulnerable two women show what a female body is capable of. A tour de force that demands respect. (…) With this amazing duet The Bold, the Bound and the Brittle convincingly shows what Kostić and her dancers have to add to the field of dance.”
– Theaterkrant
CREDITS
Choreography & concept – Jelena Kostić In collaboration with the dancers – Judit Ruiz Onandi & Noëmi Wagner Music composer – Dyane Donck Lighting design – Ellen Knops Costumes – Biljana Grgur & Jolanda Hendriks Dramaturgical advice – Thomas Falk & Lou Cope Repetitor – Thomas Falk Photography – Jochem Jurgens Graphic design – Natasa Radosavljević
A coproduction of the Kostić Foundation with DansBrabant, with financial support of Jacques de Leeuw Foundation, November Music and the City of Tilburg.
Type: Dance
Dancers populate the playing field. They each have a clear goal in mind, but the road to it is filled with obstacles, both physical and mental. A poignant performance about the need for flexibility, perseverance and cooperation.
In HOW IT ENDS the dancers are not only confronted with each other, but also with life-size dominoes. In this way the Dutch-Serbian choreographer Jelena Kostić brings the spontaneity and capriciousness of life to the dance floor. In the most literal sense of the word, the blocks, with their unpredictable behaviour, throw up obstacles.
Free Running
Jelena Kostić uses the body as the ultimate narrative instrument in a dance language full of contrasts and emotions. For HOW IT ENDS she found inspiration in free running, a genre within urban dance in which the dancers relate to different obstacles and elements in their environment.
Personal experiences as a motor
The starting point for HOW IT ENDS was Jelena’s interest in the workings of focus and tunnel vision, something she herself has often had to deal with in her career as a dancer and choreographer. Perseverance, trial and error, getting up, starting all over again and sometimes giving up. As part of her research for this performance, Jelena spoke with not only professional athletes and dancers, but also with women in top positions. These concrete, personal stories were the driving force behind a performance that is ultimately about universal and recognisable human experiences.
Version for two dancers
HOW IT ENDS premiered with four dancers in March of 2020, shortly before the lockdown. Because of the corona measures the performance has been adapted for two dancers. This entails the shift of focus from group dynamics to the dynamics between two individuals, who are ultimately dependent on each other.
Press
“The production is an ode to people at play. With blocks, they can occupy themselves endlessly.”
– Theaterkrant
CREDITS
Choreography – Jelena Kostić Dancers – Noëmi Wagner, Blazej Jasinski [in the version for 4 dancers also: Pauline De Laet and Anne Roeper] Dramaturgical & artistic advisor, concept development – Lou Cope Artistic advisor & repetitor – Judit Ruiz Onandi & Thomas Falk Composer – Dyane Donck Set design – Ascon de Nijs Lighting design – Dominique Pollet Costume design – Biljana Grgur Art work / campaign design – Nataša Radosavljević & Nikola Kostić Communication & PR – Laura Roling Production – Andrea van Bussel Business manager – Petra de Haan
Supported by: Fonds 21, Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, Fonds Podiumkunsten, BNG Cultuurfonds, Gemeente Tilburg en Provincie Noord-Brabant
Type: Dance
In some situations, there is no quick fix.
The real challenge then is to be patient, also in contact with others. Only Patience Works Immediately, a twenty-minute location dance performance for two dancers, was created in 2020 in the midst of the pandemic, and reflects on the emotions in a world where our patience is being tested.
Social impact
Especially for care workers of the Elisabeth-Tweesteden Hospital, residents of the residential care centre Het Laar and the women’s refuge Sterk Huis, we first brought this performance live in the period August-November 2020, in the framework of a participation programme tailored to the target group. In this way, we brought dance to people who normally rarely experience the art form of dance, and for whom the distance to art – and its reflective, healing and emotional power – is greater than ever.
Stand-alone performances
Aside from its original form as a social project, Only Patience Works Immediately has also been presented in other contexts.
CREDITS
Choreography – Jelena Kostić Dancers – Noëmi Wagner/Sarah Prescimone, Blazej Jasinski Dramaturgy and artistic advisor – Lou Cope Artistic advisor & repetitor – Judit Ruiz Onandi Composer – Dyane Donck Set design – Ascon de Nijs Costumes – Biljana Grgur
With the support of: Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, Fonds Jacques de Leeuw, Fonds Sluyterman van Loo
