11–13 July | 10:00–12:00 | By the Korana River
River Workshops and Improvisations: Play the River – Melita Spahić Bezjak
‘Play the River’ is an immersive dance workshop blending contemporary movement, somatic practices and game theory.
Through a set of interactive choreographic cards and game rules, participants explore physical embodiment and movement inspired by the river, local stories and myths. Through this dance-play within river landscapes, we co-create a living archive of movement and memories of our coexistence with water, shaping and creating new dance narratives.
This three-day adventure will take us into the river landscapes of the Korana, where we will use dance-play to explore a set of physical choreographic cards called ‘Flow Cards’. Our encounter is envisioned as a living dialogue with the environment, where the flowing and ever-changing Korana River becomes our stage, our dance partner, teammate and teacher.
How will we work and dance?
Creating a ‘magic circle’: Each participant maps out their own temporary, invisible play space on site. Once inside this circle, we transition into a free ‘river state’ – protected by artificial game rules and mutual trust for relaxed, open-air dancing.
Exploring movement and natural phenomena: We physically translate natural phenomena into dance tasks. We explore currents as a continuous flow, whirlpools as the memory of a space, tides as rhythm, and river mouths as shared energy.
Dancing on transition points and in the water: We question the boundaries between asphalt and nature on bridges and riverbanks, perform collaborative tasks such as the game ‘Carry a drop of water without spilling it’, and explore jumps, drifting and consciously yielding to the river current. We explore moving in the water, alongside the water, and in partnership with inspiring locations.
Mapping specific locations of the Korana River in the city: Participants will design their own new cards and urban tasks based on what they discover. At the end, we will leave the cards in specific spots (on bridge railings, stones or benches), inviting passers-by to perform our dance score and thereby creating a unique dance topography.
Listening to and sharing our dance stories: We collect memories from our coexistence with water and devise new shared narratives.
OPEN TO ALL!
OPEN TO ALL!
The workshop is participatory, collaborative and open to anyone interested. We want to create a fluid space that connects professional dancers, participants with previous dance experience, and those who are just beginning to explore movement and wish to feel their body in space. Co-creation, dance expression, site-specific work and movement exploration are the main guiding principles of this workshop.
Manifest
Introductory Workshop Manifesto: Play the River!
‘Today, we do not just enter a space; we enter a current.
We declare the banks of the Korana a magic circle. Within it, asphalt is not just concrete, but a shoreline. Your breath is not just air, but a tide. Your movement is not just a step, but a meander finding its way towards the river mouth.
Forget about prefabricated forms and “correct” dance steps. Here, we value that which escapes us – the fleeting, the allusive, and the “in-between”. Instead of producing movement, we allow it to happen.
The rules of our game are simple:
- Listen to the flow: Your body knows where the water wants to go.
- Be elusive: Do not let habits keep you moving in a straight line.
- Respect the boundary: Feel where your skin touches the city and where the city enters you.
- Share the drop: Your every impulse echoes throughout the entire riverbed of our group.
Through these choreographic cards, we co-create a new map of the city – a map of feelings, memories and presence. Our mission is not just to dance, but to bring greater embodiment to the mind and presence to the body.
Where does your body feel the boundary today? Where does your river begin?
The circle is open. Let’s play the river!’