#55 Residency in Croatia

The third week of DTA Residency was the final week of our stay in Rijeka, Croatia. During the last week we had the most intensive rehearsals in studios and for 2 days had a chance to have technical rehearsals at the venue “HKD” itself during the TranziT Festival. The presentations took two days and two spaces, exhibition space and the main stage of the theater. Technicians were supportive and helpful, some of the participants had more needs at the stage and it was chaotic in the beginning  but all simplified their needs as possible and it all went smoothly. There were some timing problems but we collectively managed to face it wisely and calmly. In the end everything went amazingly well. We successfully completed two days of presentations. The audience was small but their energy and appreciation was felt by each participant, on the second day the audience increased and they were also very interactive to the works we showed and even took part in my experiment on the stage. On the second day we finished the presentations with every participant on the stage and had a little chat with the audience. It was a nice and spontaneous moment to discuss our works and share the feedback. 

After the presentation we went to have a little “goodbye party”, we shortly talked about our experiences and had some fun time together. Saying goodbye to all these beautiful and inspiring people felt heartwarming, we got used to each of us so much that it all felt sad. One thing we are all sure about is that we are keeping in touch and are welcoming each other to our home countries.  After saying goodbye to the full team, in 3 hours we went to the bus station and started our long journey to Georgia. The trip was tiring after rehearsals without good rest and 10 hours layover at the airport, but we finally safely arrived in our country. During the third week we also had a chance to attend a very informative 2-day lab research  “Make the Time Stop” by London based Theatre “RE” at HKD during TranziT Festival. I personally enjoyed the workshop very much and gained new skills and abilities. 

To summarize the “Dancing Together, Again!” Residency in Rijeka, Croatia curated by Zak Valenta in three words it would sound like : Inspirational, Culturally Engaging, Must-to-have Experience! For me this whole program was very unique and special. It really expanded my artistic as well as personal mindset and views, gave me an enormous practical and theoretical knowledge, it encouraged me to build new important relationships and connect with all these people from different backgrounds, countries and ages, made me experience Croatia with pleasure. For me this feels like the beginning of something very interesting and motivating. I'm sure we will develop more and more collaborations in the future with each other, as we have already made steps towards that.

I would also love to add, that working with the team collectively, sharing our works and discussing it  was outstanding and the most important moment to me and I wish we have had more time working together on the projects, as somehow it was hard to keep in contact with everyone when we started rehearsing as some took it in a very intensive way and we were somehow separated.

Moreover, I want to highlight that Zak was very friendly, helpful and supportive during this process. He strongly engaged with us and gave us helpful solutions and directions during the first week and I would like to have had that intensive communication last to the other weeks more. As he is truly professional and very intelligent, it felt inspiring to have a word with him and gain more knowledge. He made this residency very special and interesting, I’m personally more than thankful to be and work with him! 

In the end I want to express my huge gratitude to the whole big team behind this amazing and important DTA residency program. Thanks to all the partners from Croatia, Poland, Italy and Georgia and the departments! You all made this program excellent in a very comfortable way to give us a huge possibility to connect and work together! What you do is truly magical! I’m honored that I was part of this powerful experience and can’t wait to meet you all again in Poland! 

By Xosilita (Nino Khositashvili)

Treći tjedan DTA Residency bio je posljednji tjedan našeg boravka u Rijeci, Hrvatska. Tijekom prošlog tjedna imali smo najintenzivnije probe u studijima i 2 dana smo imali priliku imati tehničke probe u samom prostoru “HKD” za vrijeme TranziT Festivala. Prezentacije su trajale dva dana i dva prostora, izložbeni prostor i glavna pozornica kazališta. Tehničari su bili podrška i pomoć, neki od sudionika su imali više potreba na pozornici i bilo je kaotično u početku, ali svi su pojednostavili svoje potrebe koliko god je to moguće i sve je prošlo glatko. Bilo je problema s timingom, ali kolektivno smo se uspjeli mudro i smireno suočiti s tim. Na kraju je sve prošlo nevjerojatno dobro. Uspješno smo odradili dva prezentacijska dana. Publika je bila malobrojna, ali svaki je sudionik osjetio njihovu energiju i zahvalnost, drugog dana publika se povećala i također su bili vrlo interaktivni s radovima koje smo prikazali i čak su sudjelovali u mom eksperimentu na pozornici. Drugi dan smo završili prezentacije sa svakim sudionikom na pozornici i malo popričali s publikom. Bio je to lijep i spontan trenutak za raspravu o našim radovima i razmjenu povratnih informacija.

Nakon prezentacije otišli smo na mali “goodbye party”, kratko smo porazgovarali o našim iskustvima i zabavili se zajedno. Oprostiti se sa svim tim prekrasnim i inspirativnim ljudima bilo je drago, toliko smo se navikli na svakog od nas da je sve bilo tužno. Jedna stvar u koju smo svi sigurni je da smo u kontaktu i da jedni drugima želimo dobrodošlicu u naše domovine. Nakon što smo se pozdravili s kompletnom ekipom, za 3 sata smo otišli na autobusni kolodvor i krenuli na naše dugo putovanje prema Gruziji. Put je bio naporan nakon proba bez dobrog odmora i 10 sati zadržavanja u zračnoj luci, ali konačno smo sretno stigli u našu zemlju. Tijekom trećeg tjedna također smo imali priliku prisustvovati vrlo informativnom dvodnevnom laboratorijskom istraživanju “Make the Time Stop” londonskog kazališta “RE” u HKD-u tijekom TranziT Festivala. Osobno sam jako uživao u radionici i stekao sam nove vještine i sposobnosti.

Da rezimiramo "Ponovo plešemo zajedno!" Rezidencija u Rijeci, Hrvatska koju vodi Zak Valenta, u tri bi riječi to zvučalo kao: Inspirativno, kulturno zanimljivo, iskustvo koje morate imati! Za mene je cijeli ovaj program bio vrlo jedinstven i poseban. Stvarno je proširio moj umjetnički, ali i osobni način razmišljanja i poglede, dao mi ogromno praktično i teorijsko znanje, potaknuo me da izgradim nove važne veze i povežem se sa svim tim ljudima iz različitih sredina, zemalja i dobi, učinio da doživim Hrvatsku sa zadovoljstvom . Za mene je ovo početak nečeg vrlo zanimljivog i motivirajućeg. Siguran sam da ćemo u budućnosti razvijati sve više međusobne suradnje, jer smo već napravili korake prema tome.

Također bih volio dodati da je zajednički rad s timom, dijeljenje naših radova i rasprava o tome bio izvanredan i najvažniji trenutak za mene i volio bih da smo imali više vremena radeći zajedno na projektima, jer nekako je bilo teško zadržati u kontaktu sa svima kad smo počeli s probama jer su neki to jako intenzivno shvatili i nekako smo bili razdvojeni.

Štoviše, želim istaknuti da je Zak bio vrlo ljubazan, od pomoći i podrške tijekom ovog procesa. Snažno se angažirao s nama i dao nam korisna rješenja i upute tijekom prvog tjedna i volio bih da ta intenzivna komunikacija potraje iu ostalim tjednima. Budući da je uistinu profesionalac i vrlo inteligentan, bilo je inspirativno popričati s njim i steći više znanja. On je ovu rezidenciju učinio vrlo posebnom i zanimljivom, osobno sam više nego zahvalan što sam i radim s njim!

Na kraju želim izraziti veliku zahvalnost cijelom velikom timu koji stoji iza ovog nevjerojatnog i važnog DTA rezidencijalnog programa. Hvala svim partnerima iz Hrvatske, Poljske, Italije i Gruzije te odjelima! Svi ste učinili ovaj program izvrsnim na vrlo udoban način kako biste nam dali veliku mogućnost povezivanja i zajedničkog rada! Ono što radite je zaista čarobno! Počašćen sam što sam bio dio ovog moćnog iskustva i jedva čekam da vas sve ponovno sretnem u Poljskoj!