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.
The point of departure for Codes of Cobra is Trbovlje, Iztok Kovač's birthplace. Trbovlje is a mining town in industrial Slovenia that, for Kovač, symbolizes the mythical essence of Eastern Europe. Kovač blends his collaborative film work, which includes an extraordinary mix of international dancers, with live performance on stage. The dancers enter into a dialogue with the images on the screen—an echo of Kovač's enduring fascination with questioning the boundaries between improvised and set choreography. Codes of Cobra is suffused with intricate structures, human emotions, and mischievous exchanges. Kovač constructs a highly personal artistic language out of the broader exigencies of his geographical situation. The work is accompanied by music by Croatian composer Krunoslav Levačić, who uses a steam turbine as the principal source of sound.