Ksenija Hribar Lifetime Achievement Award 

Ljubljana, Slovenia (2023) 
Awarded to Iztok Kovač for outstanding achievements in the field of contemporary dance. 
Awarded by the Contemporary Dance Association Slovenia. 
Members of the expert jury: Dragana Alfirević, Teja Reba, Nataša Živković

 

Award citation:

Remembered in the history of dance as the falcon that flew in from the east and flapped its wings with incredible speed, Kovač never really stopped flying.

Dancer, choreographer, educator and artistic director Iztok Kovač is not only an outstanding artist whose oeuvre spans over several decades, but literally the driving force of Slovenian contemporary dance, whose persistence and vision managed to pave him the way to the European market and at the same time change the way of thinking about private institutions in the field of art. Iztok Kovač put a trademark on Slovenian contemporary dance and consolidated its presence on a global scale. His opus includes almost forty original projects and dance films, management of the international group and production institute En-Knap, as well as the founding and artistic management of the dance ensemble En‑Knap Group and the Španski borci Culture Centre, which, in addition to its own repertoire production, continuously presents the work of Slovenian and international contemporary dance productions to the public.

The first turning point in his work is certainly represented by his iconic solo performance How I Caught a Falcon (1991), which indicated the fundamental components of his later choreographic work, which – together with the influences of Belgian contemporary dance of the time, a brief collaboration with the Rosas dance company, meeting with Ksenija Hribar, and participation in Slovenian theatrical productions – paved the way for the recognizable aesthetics of the En-Knap Group, whose first piece Spread your Wings (You Clumsy Elephant) premiered in 1993 at (and in a production by) the Belgian festival Klapstuk. In the following 14 years, the projects of the internationally oriented En‑Knap Group, which was formalized as a production institute the following year, leave a lasting mark on the Slovenian art scene by establishing close collaborations with composers, scenographers and dramaturgs, while at the same time maintaining its commitment to transnationality and multiculturalism of the dance group beyond borders, in which performances are co-created by Slovenian and international dancers. Together with them, Kovač develops specific principles of artistic creation, which are reflected in the performances in the structural tension between closed parts and open ones, where chance enters the game, in the establishment of a choreographic order that is repeatedly challenged by improvisation, in the body of dancers, where these opposites are literally embodied on the border between discipline and freedom, between gravity and floating. The group’s dance films are additionally characterized by a specific atmosphere, which certainly helped to establish a recognizable En‑Knap aesthetic. It should also not go unnoticed that at the turn of the 21st century, the En-Knap group and institution helped to form and establish a generation of female choreographers – Maja Delak, Andreja Rauch and Mala Kline, to name just the most prominent – who performed their first original productions in this context and who later continued their independent artistic journeys.

The next turning point of Kovač’s work was in 2007 when he founded En‑Knap Group (EKG), the first permanent contemporary dance ensemble in Slovenia. The new format of the group was soon followed by a new content, and the new organization also influenced the poetics of the group, with production focusing on repertory work. Since its foundation, the EKG ensemble, which is also known for its international dance members, has collaborated with many Slovenian and international choreographers and theater directors and created a series of full-length performances, and they present their repertoire both on national stages and on regular international tours.

In 2009, when the En-Knap Institute took over the management of the Španski borci Culture Centre, the ensemble finally got its home venue, and at the same time Kovač began the next phase of his work: positioning the Španski borci centre as a new space dedicated to contemporary dance. Their programme includes co-productions, hosting international dance performances and the organization of dance festivals, competitions, improvisational events, professional meetings and educational and other (non-dance) programmes.

In addition to his last original production Homeland, which premiered in 2021, in the uncertain times of the new post-pandemic reality, we should also mention the project Stage360, which clearly reveals Kovač’s curiosity, drive and tireless reflection on the position and ways of presenting dance in new environments and circumstances, with new technologies and for new audiences. It is precisely with these qualities and personality traits that Iztok Kovač, at every turning point and in often impossible conditions, managed to inscribe contemporary dance in the minds of the Slovenian cultural public and at the same time contribute to its recognition on a global level.