Iščoča is the first phase of Urša Rupnik's original work and the first part of the project History of Slovenian Contemporary Dance. "Historicizing Slovenian contemporary dance engages society by opening, researching, and re-actualizing a part of Slovenian dance history that is often silenced, overlooked, and disregarded. With the project, I want to provide an insight into this part of dance history while at the same time confronting this same history with the present, with current trends both in the field of performance and dance-technical physicality. The project is a kind of tribute to a history that liberates bonds past and gives wings to the future," Urša Rupnik.

The author of the project, as a descendant of the tradition of expressive dance, enters the process with a sense of honor and respect for the ceremony; at the same time, she personalizes it as part of her personal dance story, and on this level, she questions her responsibility towards history, the community and herself. Iščoča searches through the treasure trove of Slovenian expressive dance, which is also partly her personal dance history and tries to untie her burden of responsibility and commitment to tradition through the motif of the Rebellion. "From the analysis of a historical artifact, it passes into a narrative about personal encounters with people from history books, I capture their humanity in my memories, I embody the material of the dialogue with the past and confront it with the present," says Urša Rupnik.

In recent years, Urša Rupnik co-created the award-winning dance performance Measure of Pleasure (Majcen, Rupnik, Sviderski, 2020). unbearable. I love you! (2022) and actively explores the heritage of Slovenian expressive dance through various performance formats.

Foto: Drago Videmšek

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