Autology Discology

by Samo Gosarič and Jelena Milovanović

A mixed media dance pop event

On Wednesday, 28th December 2011,

At 9 pm in Ljudmila’s project room, Rimska 8, Ljubljana

The mixed media dance pop event Autology Discology is a continuation of the 2008 project Autobiography Discography. It addresses the deconstruction of choreography through the use of selected pop music and cooperation models for free choreographies as practiced by Alice Chauchat. The main theme forming the instructions that control the dance moves can be found in the selection of five popular songs (from various genres) from the artist's personal discography ; for pop music is inscribed into our consciousness through totally unconscious principles. We sing the lyrics without ever wondering how stupid they truly are, we dance to music without realising the repetitiveness of the moves, and we whistle melodies that have managed to wiggle their ways into our memory without us ever knowing the lyrics. The discography is a personal selection of musical preferences, and discology is the research of the social effects of this selection, for the music selection speaks about fashion, lifestyle, desired emotions, the individual's temperament and other social conventions which dictate how the identity is constructed. The project does not have a classical dramaturgy, the dramaturgy is completely flat, after every song there is a pause, and each song is repeated once or twice. The choreography is based on movement tasks. While performing the movements the dancer describes parts of what he/she is doing. He/she can describe a totally anatomic movement such as for instance “I am making an arch with my legs” or he/she can find a similar association in the lyrics, such as for instance “Elevating higher as my body's moving lower”. The dancers develop their moves on the material that originates from the process and on the basis of associations that emerge from the lyrics that often make no sense. The purpose of such associations is for the dancers not to rely on their memory of the body movements and cultural memory but to be directed by the lyrics. The dramaturgy is thus defined by five songs. We follow two different interpretations of the same popular source; however the audience does not hear the music, for the dancers are hiding it from the public in the same way as individuals do while walking down the street with an mp3 player and headphones. We do also not hear the music because it is “protected” by the copyrights linked to popular music. Instead of the pop music the visitors are submerged into ambience instrumental guitar music that floods the original score with numerous sound effects and rocks everybody into a manipulative muzak. During this time the dancers are sweating to the vivid songs and every now and then they break the atmosphere with a strange, often very funny statement, which originates from the lyrics of the selected songs. The texts and dance instructions are constantly written onto the bodies of the dancers. The projector is connected to the Kinect sensory system, which detects the movements of the dancers. The bodies that are trying their hardest to dance to the lyrics become the targets of these lyrics that are unconsciously being written into their bodily and mental memory.

Team:

Samo Gosarič and Jelena Milovanović (artists), Slavko Glamočanin (programming, electronics), Tina Avšič (video), Ida Hiršenfelder (advisor, text), Simon Bergoč (musical interpretation / live music interpretation), Robertina Šebjanič (advisor, coordination)

Translation: Sunčan Patrick Stone

PR and proof-reading: Helena Božič

Thanks: Maska Ljubljana, Maja Lovrenov, Vesna Krebs, Alice Chauchat

Samo Gosarič (1979) is a writer and artist working in theatre. As a writer, author and assistant he has intensively dealt with the Slovenian neo-avant-garde. His works include: »Hodi Performans (Walk Performance) « (Maska, 2008) – a reconstruction of neo-avant-garde street performances and a lecture performance, »Komad za Matjaža Hanžka (A Piece for Matjaž Hanžek)« (PTL, 2009) – a dance homage to the visual poetry of Matjaž Hanžek, »Kako narediti reistično predstavo? (How to Make a Reistic Performance?)« (2010) – a dance adaptation of the theoretical texts written by the group OHO. The more personal pop-performance “Autobiography Discography” (Kiberpipa, 2008) belongs into his 'prehistory'. He also wrote dance and theatre critics for the newspaper Večer, was the editor of two festival newspapers, together with Ana Perne he co-authored the exhibition set at the 40th anniversary of the Glej theatre and as a dramaturgist or assistant he cooperated with Janez Janša and Milan Tomášik.

Jelena Milovanović (1976) has been working as a contemporary dance choreographer and dancer for a number of years (A Piece for Matjaž Hanžek, Samo Gosarič, PTL 2009; Reistic Performance, 2010, Displaced Body 2010, co-authored together with Milan Tomášik; Displaced Body - Remix 2011, co-authored together with Milan Tomášik), she has directed two ballets within the Postojna Ballet Association (Fairy-tale through Slovenian Mythology and Around the World with Ballet 2011), and worked as a dance teacher (she is currently teaching at the Postojna Ballet Association, while her previous teaching experience includes: Secondary Music and Ballet School - Department for Contemporary Dance, Association Terpsihora, PK Obsession, KUD Plac), producer (Viktar zavod and zavod Emanat), and a mentor at the dance club Obsession; she also occasionally writes critics for festival newspapers (City of Women, Mladi levi festival).

Production: LJUDMILA, Ljubljana digital media and culture lab at KUD France Prešeren Trnovo. The project is financially supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia and the Town Municipality of Ljubljana. (Ljubljana 2010/2011)