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disturbing the semantics of words, sentences and super-sentential units. The semantic field in a natural language greatly defines the way of connecting individual grammar units, which means that by disturbing the order of words and other structural deregulation will lead to certain desemantisation or resemantisation. Apart from the fact that such dissected units can be recomposed visually or sonically, in line with movement composition, desemantisation weakens power relations and hence the inherent ideological repression, manifested by language which conditions our notion of the world. Among the dance pieces discussed here, focusing on linguistic structures is the most explicit in Modal Verbs, in which these verbs as synonymous verbs express a possibility or a necessity and as such directly imply power relations. Among the dance pieces discussed here, focusing on linguistic structures is the most explicit in Modal Verbs, in which these verbs as synonymous verbs express a possibility or a necessity and as such directly imply power relations. These relations are not equally arranged in every language because a language is a reflection of its culture, determining and producing each other imutually. Bearing in mind the fact that meaning of modal verbs change from one language to the other, the author analyses how these differences in the languages she speaks reflect on corporeality and performativity. Changes are visible already from the way the pronunciation of distinct sounds in languages affects the facial mimic. Also, changing the soundscape increases the number of possibilities the author and performer can utilise to respond to a certain performative situation, allowing her to toy with connotations, linguistic metaphors and socio- communication stereotypes, poeticise language, experiment with the sonic level of language, express character of each language through the quality of movement etc. In terms of power relations, the use of multiple languages in the performance also
intrigues over the fact that in the dance world, as well as globally, English is implied as a lingua franca, causing a not always welcome unification. Staying Alive is another piece the author carried out bilingually, in English and in the language of the country she performs it in, and this, evoking the experience of language barriers we have all felt, can serve as a backdrop for humorous twists. Thanks to a larger number of performers, two procedures stand out in Ensemble. A scene of oral self-introduction interrupts the observation of the visual flow and such provided information effect the perception of further events and their understanding. And then, reversely, in the scene of overlapping sounds and mutual overpowering or speaking at the same time, the words revoke and other and the universe they established demystifies.
Solo vs. collective
Since early modern dance, the form of a solo is linked to the emancipation of movement as a condition of independent dance art and the emancipation of the body from various disciplines, even the choreographic one. In other words, a solo was first established as a form in which the authors themselves choreograph and perform their dance as an externalised individual experience. Consequently, a solo is today still the most frequent form of presentation of one’s own artistic endeavours. Let us bear in mind that a solo is the cheapest product present on the art market, but for now I shall leave this train of thought aside. My point is that it is not unusual that Jasna Vinovrški, stepping away from performing pieces by other choreographers and seeking her own creative voice, resorted to the solo form, but here she is unique in the fact that after the initial Mittelwelle AFC, on its sequel, the solo Which Club?, she collaborated with dancer Unita Gay Galiluyo, and only after several other choreographic projects she returned to examining and performing solos, first in Modal Verbs, then in Staying Alive and
Lady Justice. This leads to conclude that Jasna Vinovrški from the onset doesn’t consent to fetishize choreographic creativity as an invention of a unique and outstanding talent, and that she perceives a solo as work and a form always in a relation to someone or something, co-workers, the social context, audience. The last three solos can therefore be observed in the sense of solidifying aesthetic traits and a particular creative maturing. This seems particularly interesting since they are followed by Ensemble, in which the author and the dancers of the Studio Contemporary Dance Company juxtapose the individual and the collective, both on the level of artistic creating and on the level of organisation. Relying on individualism with a capitalist background and juxtaposing them to socialist convictions, a question is raised as to which form of community is possible in a company in which an individual doesn’t represent only their voice, and neither the collectively abstract interests, i.e. whose action reflect both the individual and the collective identity. Which status makes such an impact in relation to a solo as a form backed by the philosophy of individualism, and is also ingrained in the foundations of the evolution of the contemporary dance scene? Can we speak of collective subjectivity and how it is realised? How is responsibility distributed, for an act of art, for anything? From attention to the powerlessness of an individual before the bureaucratic system and the disempowerment of migrants, to referring to patterns and structures supporting power mechanisms, to collaborative and curatorial projects focusing on strengthening the ties on the Berlin scene, the artistic activity of Jasna Vinovrški has always particularly accentuated the social aspect.
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