SONG by Mala Kline is based on the Song of Songs, one of the greatest mystical texts of the Western tradition, which is essentially an anthology of love songs that celebrate and sing the praises of love and symbolically praise it as the strongest link between beings and the fundamental reason for human existence.
Like the Song of Songs, Mala Kline’s choreography is a subtle, minimalist and meditative approach to love that explores the magical potentials of language and the scope of relationships it can create. It explores how language as a medium – spoken or unspeakable words – can bring us into a relationship with the unnameable, the body, the space, the music and the audience. SONG is the first part of a trilogy that seeks to mobilize our understanding through our emotional and sensory sensitivity. “SONG is a love song we write with every utterance,” says the author, quoting the Song of Songs 1: 2: “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth.” In the words of Nika Arhar, SONG hints at a shift to more intense contemplative depth.
Mala Kline is a performer, choreographer and writer. In her authorial choreographic works, she uses Saphire ™ working techniques with individual and communal dreaming to create unique worlds woven from and generated through the language of our dreaming. Her work is marked by the practice of presence, a return into the creative space, and a contradictory world of images. She has been awarded with the Golden Bird Award, Triton Award and Ksenija Hribar Award for choreography. She holds BA in philosophy and comparative literature (UL, Ljubljana), MA in theatre (DasArts, Amsterdam) and PhD in philosophy (University of Ljubljana and within the a.pass research centre, Brussels). She is a certified practitioner and teacher of Saphire™ imagery and dream work by Catherine Shainberg and the School of Images (New York). In 2018, she founded ELIAS 2069 – School of Prophecy, located in a pristine natural resort deep in the wilderness of southern Slovenia.
Concept and Choreography: Mala Kline
Creation and Performance: Eftychia Stefanou
Space and Costume Design: Petra Veber
Music: Nenad Sinkauz
Light Design and Direction: Jaka Šimenc
Executive Producer: Ajda Kline
Producer: ELIAS 2069, Mercedes Klein
Co-producers: Pekinpah, Španski borci Culture Centre/EN-KNAP Institute, Platform 0090 Antwerpen, Kino Šiška in and Nomad Dance Academy / CoFestival.
Financial support: Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia, City of Ljubljana
Duration of the performance: 47 min
