Iztok Kovač is a choreographer and founder of En–Knap. Following the international success of his solo How I Caught a Falcon (1991), he became one of the key figures in the development of Slovenian contemporary dance. He founded En–Knap Group, Slovenia's first permanent contemporary dance ensemble, and serves as artistic director of both En–Knap and the Španski borci Cultural Centre. His works have toured internationally for more than three decades. Additionally, his artistic practice includes six dance films, international pedagogical work, guest choreography and the direction of major national events in Slovenia. During the Covid period, he initiated Stage360, developing dance works in virtual reality.
Although dance technique is no longer as central or prescriptive as it once was in the organisation and creation of ballet, the step remains the basic element of dance and, in a way, its synonym. The first treatise on the correct positioning of a dancer’s feet dates back to 1589, while in 1725 the choreographer Charles-Louis Beauchamp codified the five foot positions on which classical ballet technique is based. During the centuries that followed, the steps themselves remained largely unchanged, while modes of interpretation shifted according to the aesthetic fashions of different historical periods.