By performing the piece “Koan” on the stage of the Student Cultural Center in Belgrade, the artist Julyen Hamilton from Belgium opened the fourth International Sola Festival organized by the Belgrade Dance Institute, which this year also offered a rich program at three important locations in our capital.
Julyen Hamilton from Belgium with the performance “Koan” opened this year’s festival on May 23, starting at 19:00 at the Student Cultural Center.
“After 45 years of creating and performing solos all over the world, I still consider this performance form to be relevant and socially important, at the same time a unique and fulfilling theatrical entity,” says the Belgian artist, explaining the meaning of the title of the work Koan, in the translation of a paradoxical anecdote – riddle without a solution.
In the Cultural Center of Belgrade on Sunday, May 26 at 7:00 p.m. in the Artget Gallery, the French artist Sophie Baquet presented herself to the audience with the performance “Daria” which was inspired by Anton Chekhov’s novella “Pavilion no. 6”. The action takes place in the mental ward of a hospital in a remote Russian region. “The novel is the story of the downfall of Dr. Ragin, a doctor at the hospital, who himself is imprisoned in Pavilion No. 6 and dies there. Daria is the only female character, she appears in several lines, several chapters. This enigmatic figure, which barely perceptibly passes through the text, indicated to me the possibility of re-examining the narrative of Chekhov’s novella in a different way. Daria is Dr. Ragin’s landlord and discreetly, yet persistently follows his daily life until his final downfall. Daria observes – we assume – hears, thinks. What does Daria “think?”, the French artist questions in her work.
The finale of this year’s festival went to the American artist who lives and creates in Brussels, Davis Freeman, who performed his solo “Nothing happens without you” on Monday, May 27, starting at 8:00 p.m. at the National Museum of Serbia.
Drawing inspiration from the space of the performance and the audience in the room, Davis considers the past, present and future of the world around us. Can inanimate objects become sacred? Can we forgive someone in order to free ourselves? How to say goodbye? Nothing Happens Without You is an invitation to bear witness, to participate and embrace the spirits within and without with a kiss… or maybe even a slap in the face. You decide, is the theme of this cathartic acoustic solo, balancing between light and dark.
The accompanying program of the Sola Festival was performed as part of the Belgrade Family Days on the Big Stage at Trg Republike, where the first-year students of the Belgrade Dance Institute presented their works.
The following were introduced to the audience: Kira Photiou, who performed a solo “Ο χαμένος τα έγια ολα – The loser takes it all”; Ryan Koh Yik Heng, who performed the solo “SABRINA” and Sanela Žoljić with the solo “NOT MY RESPONSIBILITY”.
All programs of the Solo Festival, as in previous years, were free.
