“The mechanism of communication is activated when we look at an empty vessel, not as a negative state, but in terms of its capability to be filled with something.”
Kenya Hara

For their first collaboration, Christina Ciupke and Jasna Vinovrški dive into the time around the turn of the century: they turn page after page in the history books, fascinated by the developments in each discipline of the arts and culture. The development of independent dance, however, remains mostly without mention. Material can be found in the biographies of such pioneers of independent dance as Mary Wigman, Rudolf von Laban and Isadora Duncan, who in turn establish complex connections to the developments of their time from their own point of view. Nevertheless, gaps, empty spaces, blank pages remain.

These trigger both Jasna and Christinas hunger for further research as well as their fantasy. They speculate about the atmosphere, the Zeitgeist, they draw connections, follow traces through the biographies, pose questions along the margins of historiography, enter into a dialogue with their predecessors from 100 years ago, a time full of departure, innovation and upheaval in all aspects of daily life.

What would the artists from that time have thought about their work from today? Would they claim to recognize their influence? What did precarious artistic living conditions mean then, what do they mean now? In what sense do both epochs resemble each other? What do reduction and immediacy mean, both then and now? Are there parallel tendencies to a return back to nature? Which innovations, both now and then, define the rhythm of life and with it notions of time and space? How is time perceived and how can that be mapped out on stage?

They are fascinated by the fact that both now and then a general sense of speed and acceleration shapes people’s sense of life. During the second half of the 19. th century the railway net is being expanded throughout Europe. Travel times are getting shorter, places seemingly move closer together. The new technologies made possible by industrialization enable constructions of towers that represent the Zeitgeist. The Eiffel Tour built 1889 for the World Fair is becoming a sensation. But especially in physics in a short period of time several new concepts are developped among them one that turns the concept of independent time and space as formulated in Euklidian Geometry around: 1905 Einstein is publishing his special theory of relativity introducing the concept of Spacetime. Today mainly the development of information technology, artificial intelligence and virtual reality shape our perception of time and space. Technology is not only since the internet of things an independent agent in a society of humans and machines. In the philosophy of New Materialsim the material world is described as a co-producer, a “participant” of social practice.

Within this space of references, time becomes a further element of this collaboration. With and through time they reflect on their own artistic practice. The white paper in this piece originated in earlier works: not only are they looking 100 years back, they are also looking into their own past and giving it a new life by placing it into a dialogue on stage. The scene with the A4 paper comes from Jasna’s early work Catch 22, and the clock scene is a reference to Christina’s early work Zeitränder.

Christina Ciupke is a performer and choreographer based in Berlin. She develops projects in collaboration with artists from the field of dance and other artistic disciplines. Together they create specific spaces and situations in which closeness and distance, intimacy, perception of time, and togetherness of spectator and performer are repeatedly negotiated. She maintains ongoing collaborations with choreographers Nik Haffner, Mart Kangro, filmmaker Lucy Cash, visual artist Lars Ø Ramberg, composer Boris Hauf, and dramaturge Igor Dobričić. From 2003 to 2004 Christina Ciupke was guest artist at the Center for Art and Media (ZKM) in Karlsruhe. In 2013 she received her M.A. in Choreography from the Amsterdam School of the Arts. Her works (“kannst du mich umdrehen” (2011), “wait and see” (2012), “undo, redo and repeat” (2014)) tour nationally and internationally. Tanzfabrik Berlin has been Christina Ciupke’s partner in Berlin since 2014 and has presented most of her recent works in the frame of their festival formats. In 2016 she joined the the European apap – advancing performing arts project network.
christinaciupke.com

Jasna L. Vinovrški
Jasna L. Vinovrški grew up in Zagreb, Croatia, but has lived and worked abroad since the disintegration of Yugoslavia. In the early 90s she studied in Essen, at the Folkwang University of the Arts, and worked as a dancer and performer with various European choreographers (Groupe Dunes, J. Schömer, C. Sagna, O. Duboc among others) after graduating. During that period she created her first shorter choreographies, including the solo work “Which Club?”, which has won several awards. After moving to Berlin in 2008 with her partner Clement Layes, she founded the company “Public in Private”, where the two artists continue developing separate choreographic signatures while closely supporting each other artistically. In 2012, Jasna received her MA in Choreography at the Inter University of Dance (HZT) Berlin. Her recent work “Staying alive” has been touring all over Europe and was also presented in New York, US, in 2017.
jasnavinovrski.com

[Source: play bill]

TFB Nr. 1165