En-Knap Productions

Film production Vertigo Bird by En-Knap Productions, 2008

En-Knap Productions, a non-profit institution for the organisation and realisation of cultural events, was established in 1994, a year after the establishment of the international dance group En-Knap by the choreographer and dancer Iztok Kovač. Primarily a producer of contemporary dance performances, the organisation is also an active film and video producer. Recent productions include the 10 MIN project, performed by the EnKnapGroup. The first instalment, 10 MIN East, joined 5 choreographers and directors from Croatia, Hungary, Romania, and Slovenia to reconsider the fluidity and elusiveness of time in the context of geographical and social frames and ideologies. The second, 10 MIN South, featured choreographers and directors from Croatia, Russia, Spain, Serbia, and Venezuela/the Netherlands and premièred in November 2010.

In 2007 En-Knap Productions established EnKnapGroup (EKG), the first permanent professional contemporary dance group in Slovenia, and since 2009 it manages also the multi-purpose Španski borci Culture Centre in Ljubljana.

Stage production

Since its beginnings, En-Knap Productions acted as the producer of dance performances by the international dance group En-Knap, which was founded in 1993 by Iztok Kovač in Leuven, Belgium under the wings of the production-managing house Stuc and the Klapstuk Festival, Belgium. The group immediately gained wide recognition abroad as well as at home, while Iztok Kovač received the Prešeren Foundation Award for the group's first performance Spread Your Wings (You Clumsy Elephant) [Razširi krila (slon nerodni)] (1993) and for his acclaimed solo How I Caught a Falcon [Kako sem ujel Sokola] (1991). This was the first time that the highest national cultural award was given to an artist coming from the field of contemporary dance.

The group's later productions include Sting and String – First Touch [Struna in želo – prvi dotik] (1996), Codes of Cobra [Zakonitosti kobre] (1997), Far Away from Sleeping Dogs [Daleč od spečih psov] (1999), Emanatio Protei (2000), all choreographed by Iztok Kovač, Hu Die (2001), choreographed by Iztok Kovač, Julyen Hamilton, and Denes Dabrei, and Throw of the Dice [Met kocke] (2003), choreographed by Kovač and the film director Sašo Podgoršek, which celebrated the 10th anniversary of the group's activities and brought together the group's former dancers and collaborators. The work of Iztok Kovač and En-Knap has toured extensively and received numerous international and domestic awards, among others also the London Dance and Performance Award from Time Out magazine in 1993 for the solo How I Caught a Falcon, Suzanne Dellal International Dance Competition Award in 1994 for best choreography for performance Sting and String - First Touch, and the Swedish Grand Prix International Video Dance Award in 1996.

En-Knap Productions has also produced works by other artists, such as Mala Kline, whose début Campo de Fiori received the Golden Bird Award in 2004, Andreja Rauch, whose performance Weavers [Tkalci] was chosen as the best performance at the 2007 Gibanica (Moving Cake) Festival of Slovene Dance, Maja Delak, Hanna Preuss and Yasmine Hugonnet, who participated in the mapXXL programme of the Pépinières européennes pour jeunes artistes in 2005.

In 2007 En-Knap Productions established EnKnapGroup (EKG), the first permanent professional contemporary dance group in Slovenia, which includes an international team of dancers. The group, selected via audition, works with renowned Slovenian and foreign choreographers and directors.

Since 2009, En-Knap also manages the multi-purpose Španski borci Culture Centre intended to contemporary performing and visual arts, music, and literature. The centre provides performing, rehearsal, and exhibition spaces as well as a mediatheque and a reading room.

Film production

What are you going to do when you get out of here? by knapeci on YouTube

En-Knap Productions filmography includes five dance films and six documentaries, most of which were made in collaboration with the Slovene film director Sašo Podgoršek. The most acclaimed films include Vertigo Bird [Vrtoglavi ptič] (1996), which received the Award for Best Film at the Festival of Slovenian Film and the Springdance Cinema Award in Holland; Dom Svobode (2000), both directed by Sašo Podgoršek and featuring choreography by Iztok Kovač; the short film Taming the Time [Krotilci časa] (2000), directed by Dan Oki, a Croatian film and video artist from De Vrije Academie, the Hague; and What Are You Going to Do When You Get Out of Here? [Kaj boš počel, ko prideš ven od tu?] (2006), recipient of the Best Short and Medium-length Film, the Special Achievement Award for Best Editing, and the Kodak Award for Best Cinematography at the 8th Festival of Slovenian Film.

International cooperation and education

The En-Knap Productions Institute is a member of the Aerowaves network, which offers cross-border performance opportunities for the emerging European choreographers. In 2011 it co-organised of the inaugural Aerowaves Spring Forward Festival at the Španski borci Culture Centre in Ljubljana.

In the 20+ years of En-Knap Productions' activities, the institute has collaborated with over 50 international and national co-producers and organised over 80 workshops, master classes, and auditions, in which over 3000 dancers and other artists have participated.

It has collaborated with many acclaimed international co-producers, such as Hebbel-Theatre, Berlin; The Place London; Kunstlerhaus Mousonturm, Frankfurt; Springdance Festival, Utrecht; Kunstencentrum Vooruit, Gent; Szene, Salzburg; TanzBremen, Bremen; Podewil/TanzWerkstatt, Berlin; Joint Adventures, Munich; Luzerntanz, Luzern; and CNDC L´Esquisse, Angers. The production of the performance Codes of Cobra was funded within the EU Kaleidoscope programme 1997.

In 2003 En-Knap launched the training programme AGON (now run by Emanat Institute, which focuses on three aspects that enhance professionalisation and the existing education in the area of contemporary dance and performance, namely Agon-T (training), Agon-R (research), and Agon-M (mobility).

In collaboration with the European programme Culture 2000, En-Knap Productions successfully realised the international experimental project CIMET (Cultural Intersections, Mobility, Education and Tradition) in 2004/2005. CIMET was created to meet the needs of young artists from the region who were embarking on their creative careers and seeking opportunities to further their skills in contemporary dance, performance, and experimental theatre. Several productions were made within the educational/research context of the project, among them Gallery of Dead Women [Galerija mrtvih žensk] (2005) by Maja Delak and Mala Kline; 4U by Rebecca Murgi; and student projects from SEAD. The project's co-organisers were SEAD – Salzburg Experimental Academy Dance (AT) and Inteatro in Polverigi (IT) with associate partners the Body Unlimited Programme of CPAC – Contemporary Performing Arts Centre, and the Academy of Arts, University of Novi Sad, both from Novi Sad (RS).

Gallery

Film production Dom svobode by En-Knap Productions

Film production Vertigo Bird by En-Knap Productions, 2008

Still from the film Vertigo Bird by En-Knap Productions, with Iztok Kovač atop the chimney and Aleš Hadalin in the foreground.

External Link

En-Knap Productions website
The CIMET project case study on Evrokultura.org (in Slovenian)

En-Knap Productions

Contents

Stage production

Film production

International cooperation and education

Gallery

See also

External Link

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