Bliss

Bliss from Domino on Vimeo.

Author: Mala Kline
Perforations Festival 2011

The feverish quest for truth often leads to insanity, a frantic search for meaning, order and answers that result in chaos, zaum, and silence. Art asks questions because it is already ‘from the other side’. In the performance Bliss by a Slovenian dancer, choreographer and author, all these elements are mixed. The collective of very diverse performers, ranging from the stand-up comedian who isn’t, to the drag queen who would very much like to be, to the dancer who is more interested in why she is dancing than how, is connected by the need to be in a system without rules, where they can express themselves in the best, or only, way. The strategies of the six-member ensemble are completely different, from shock to niceness, and they contribute to this display of scene schizophrenia, more individually than in cooperation. Processing the results of this game of identity and appearance is hard work for those who need to replace disbelief with facts. Everyone else will, maybe, for a moment, find happiness in this collage of monodrama, musical, essay and tragedy.

Slovenian dancer and performer Mala Kline has worked professionally since 1995, first with the Slovenian company En-Knap, and later with Wim Vandekeybus’s company, Ultima Vez. Among the most important Slovenian dance and New Theatre authors, her own choreographic and directorial work is done both independently and in collaboration with artists from other fields.