Premieres!

Balada - Chorea Slovaca

It has been done! My first performances with SL'UK. The very first was in the Chorea Slovaca program
where I was part of the final choreography (Balada) based on a war between Ottoman/Turkish soldiers and Slovak protectors of the land. Anyhow a lot of military influence; in steps, costumes, props (swords which send the sparks flying everywhere) music and scenery. The show started at 19:00 but I was already fully dressed at 18:15, even though I was only in the last choreography. My entire ritual of things I usually do before a show was thrown out the window. I didn't need to go search for all my costumes and put them in the correct order, find all shoes and arrange them in a logical way and think about speedy costume changes, none of that; for in SL'UK there is not one, not two nor three costume ladies, there are four. And they arrange everything for everyone. So instead of the usual hour of searching for costumes I was done in four seconds. Nervously I paced the halls of the SL'UK building, thinking about every step a million times. One by one I saw the dancers enter and exit the stage, impatiently waiting for my turn. When the moment was there I got rid of my nervousness and just wanted to go out there and be on stage again. I was satisfied with the performance I put on stage even though it was far from perfect.

My second premiere was last Sunday (26th of October) where I danced in the 65th anniversary program for the first time! Here (Kozarovce) I danced choreographies by the hand of Juraj Kubanka (one of the most famous folklor choreographers in Slovak history (more than once he's been called a pioneer on the area of folklor choreographing)). The first choreography goes by the name of Mal'ovani Zbojníci which tells the story of a painting portraying a group of bandits or lumberjacks (I never knew for sure). Slowly they come to life and start doing some incredible hard steps, tricks and formations; a real challenging choreography to dance but all the more satisfying if done correctly. Also they wear interesting costumes and face paint. The second choreography (finale of the first part) is a Kubanka choreography based on the Vychod region (eastern Slovakia) and is called Hviezdnata Noc which means Star-Lit-Night. A choreography with stretched legs, capas (clap combinations), partnering and amazing lines/choreography. Before the show started I set myself a goal which was to try and shine on stage no matter what happened with my steps etcetera. The day after the performance we watched our show that apparently had been videotaped at work. Of course the performance was yet again far from flawless but I was happy to see that at least I gave it my all and that I very rarely saw myself fall completely out of character on stage. After seeing the video I also saw quite some points that I still have to work on, so I'll continue doing so! On to the 65th Anniversary program in Bratislava's Mestske Divadlo P.O. Hviezdoslava (DPOH) 7th and 8th of November :D :D

Mal'ovani Zbojnici - lekker strak broekie