KARLOVAC DANCE FESTIVAL
Contemporary Dance and Performing Arts Festival
#KDF013 Autumn Edition Program: 16–21. October & 9-11. November 2023. Karlovac, Croatia
THE INVISIBLE FOREST: THE AWAKENING @KDF013
Saturday, 21st October 2023. │ 19.00 │Kino Edison*
Artistic Direction: Mariana Tengner Barros
Co-creation and interpretation: Diana Niepce, Jonny Kadaver, Mariana Tengner Barros, Mee_K and participants from the workshop
Musical Director: Jonny Kadaver
Sound Design and Original Music: Jonny Kadaver and Mee_K
Percussions: Jonny Kadaver and Mee_K
Technical Director: Mee_K
Screen Prints, Props and Ninja Costumes: Mark Angelo
Executive Production: Maria Paula Moraes
Production: A Bela Associação
Support: Embassy of Portugal in Croatia, Camões Institute and Portuguese Republic – Culture / Directorate-General for the Arts
INVISIBLE FOREST: THE AWAKENING is a dance piece directed by Mariana Tengner Barros, co-created by dancer Diana Niepce, musicians Jonny Kadaver and Mee_K and people participating in the workshop. This work is part of the ongoing Invisible Forest project, produced by A Bela Associação (Portugal) and active since 2020. It aims to continue the theme of environmental protection and the importance of older trees in the balance of ecosystems.
The Invisible Forest materializes in different ways:
- specific performances for each performance location, in direct relationship with the arboreal and human community.
- workshops in the areas of dance, screen printing, permaculture in the city/urban vertical gardens and sewing techniques applied to upcycling
- Poetic Guerrilla actions next to ancient trees
- short video films for youtube
To bring together and publicize these activities, the website https://invisibleforest.ninja/pt/floresta-invisivel/ was created where A Bela Associação creates an informative archive and shares the materials with the public.
In 2021, A Bela was invited to participate in the Karlovac Dance Festival 011 with Invisible Forest. For a week, Mariana, Jonny and Mee_K were on an artistic residency in Karlovac, getting to know the local community, filming the oldest and most special trees for the people they were interviewing, recording stories of relationships between humans and trees that were then integrated into the performance. This time, A Bela returns to Karlovac to continue the work of the Invisible Forest, now with the purpose of integrating local people into the performance, creating a dance piece together with the participants to be presented on stage.
The creation process will be carried out in the format of a free workshop open to the participation of people aged 15 and over, including people with disabilities. In this workshop, Mariana Tengner Barros and her team will share various research materials already tested in previous versions of the project. These will be body exercises and the use of movement to stimulate the connection between the body, the mind, each person’s inner world, imagination and how we can transpose ideas to the body and choreography. These practices promote well-being, self-esteem, a sense of belonging and cooperation. The workshop will have after-work hours to allow more people to participate. During the beginning of the day, A Bela’s team will rehearse materials and work on the logistics of creation, including research walks, and will compose the choreography, music and sound design.
The workshop takes place from October 17th to 20th at the Center for Dance and Performing Arts F.R.E.E. D.A.N.C.E. Karlovac and the performance will be presented on October 21st.
