Dance Theatre Ljubljana

Ljubljana Dance Theatre (PTL) was founded in 1984. Throughout the 1980s, PTL played a pioneering role in the development and promotion of contemporary dance in Slovenia. Most of today's contemporary dance choreographers and dancers have collaborated with the theatre, and some of them founded their own companies in the 1990s (e.g. Flota Institute, Fourklor, etc.).

History

Ljubljana Dance Theatre was initiated by the choreographer and dancer Ksenija Hribar (also one of the co-founders of London Contemporary Dance Theater and receiver of Župančič Award of the City of Ljubljana) and co-founded with the choreographer and director Damir Zlatar Frey. The establishment of the theatre presented a necessary professionalisation of contemporary dance in Slovenia and the then Yugoslavia. Under the artistic leadership of Ksenija Hribar (Damir Zlatar Frey left the theatre in 1986), PTL was an open dance-theatre group that created a number of important and influential performances. Until 1996, when PTL obtained its own rehearsal and performing spaces in Prule, the majority of performances were presented on the stages of Cankarjev dom, Mladinsko Theatre, Kapelica Gallery and elsewhere. During the next years, the theatre was led artistically by Ksenija Hribar, Matjaž Farič, and Sinja Ožbolt. Recently, the theatre constitutes itself increasingly as a production venue, presenting around 80 performances a year, including both its own productions and innovative domestic and foreign performances.

From 1992-1996, PTL has organised five international Video Dance Festivals, held in Cankarjev dom. In 1993 it presented three premiere performances in the frame of European Cultural Capital in Belgium, which were praised for their innovative approaches..

About

During 25 years of creative activities, over 80 full-length dance-theatre productions, experimental projects, and productions for children have been staged and several of them have won awards. Nowadays PTL functions as an umbrella production house to several choreographers with very different modes of aesthetic expression, and regularly premières new productions (in 2008 by Tanja Zgonc and Stephan Maria Barb, Matjaž Zupančič, Sebastijan Horvat, Tanja Skok, Milan Tomášik, in 2009 by Sinja Ožbolt, Rosana Hribar and Gregor Luštek, Robert M. Hayden, etc.) or shows for children (Petra Pikalo, Katja Povše). It collaborates with the majority of Slovene independent institutes, its co-productions during the past years include: Expensive Darlings (2007) by Emanat Institute, Silent Body (2008) and 3niti (2008) by Flota Institute, Move As (2008) by Exodos Institute, When the Moon is Increasing (2008) by City of Women festival, Utopia I by EPI Centre, etc. Each year, Ljubljana Dance Theatre also produces a début by an emerging maker, offering rehearsal spaces and post-production. Its productions regularly appear at the Gibanica (Moving Cake) Festival of Slovene Dance.

PTL offers regular professional contemporary dance classes and other performing arts related education programmes. The programme Dancelab offers improvisation events, 'work in progress' performances, and different lectures. The workshops (practical and theoretical) during the past years included the following lecturers and makers: the choreographer Mala Kline, the director Sebastijan Horvat, the dramaturge Ivana Ivković, the dancer Karima Mansour (organised by Emanat Institute in the frame of Agon programme and co-organised by City of Women), etc.

In 2008 the biannual festival Ukrep - Festival of Dance Perspectives was launched. Attempting to redefine the emancipatory potential of contemporary dance and performing arts practices, the festival is intended to the presentation of emerging dance makers and aims for a strategic development of contemporary dance in Slovenia. Thus, a number of discussions and theoretical/dramaturgy workshops were organised. The festival closely collaborates with the Seminar of Contemporary Performing Arts, organised by Maska Institute. As part of Ukrep, a number of other activities (called Med-ukrep) are organised between individual editions of the festival. It included lectures by different philosophers, theoreticians and directors and initiated several individual interdisciplinary projects.

PTL collaborates internationally in joint productions with guest choreographers and overseas dance festivals (with the Choreographic Center CCL Linz, the Slovak Žilina Centre, the German i-Camp, and the French Dance Centre Colline 2008).

PTL is a member of Contemporary Dance Association Slovenia and Asociacija, Association of Arts and Culture NGOs and Freelancers.

Venue

Type of venue: Theatre hall;

main use: dance performances;

seating: 90 seats;

performing area: 10m W x 10m D x 4.85m H flat sprung wooden stage floor suitable for dance;

wing spaces: available through use of black masking, 1.5m W SR, 1.5m W SR;

2 exits;

suspension equipment: max load 30kg;

soft hangings: grey opera horizon screen, black wall background;

lighting: 48-channel mixer, 2kw dimmers, lanterns include 16 x PC 1kw, 16 x PC 500w, 5 x zoom profile 15-38, 30 x PAR 64, stroboscope;

sound: Mackie mixer, 4 active loudspeakers, 1 equalizer, 2 CD, 1 DAT, 1 wireless microphone;

stage equipment: Video Beam Infokus (2,500 lumens) video projector, Antracit opera 9m x 4.85m projection screen;

backstage: dressing rooms accommodating 30 persons total;

availability: available for hire

External links

Ljubljana Dance Theatre website

Dance Theatre Ljubljana

Contents

History

About

Venue

See also

External links

Operated by

Financed by