Bitef

WHY RECONSTRUCT "PUPILIJA"? It was a performance, which put together different and new performative practices ofthe 60's - happening, body art, performance art, Improvisation, everyday movement... In that period and in those countries (i.e. in formet communist countries) dance wasn't considered an art form. So one ofthe reasons, which motívales meto reconstructthis performance isto high light its (historical) importanceasthe dance performance avant la lettre. The original performance itself was done by a group of poets whose work was interdisciplinary. Pupilija is one ofthe events Maska is doing in Order to show (an)other (kind of) historu, one, which is being erased by scandalizing and fetishization ofthe original performance. Moreover, forme personally, it is also a continuation ofthe questions of collective, circle, collaboration, "scene" ... which we started in one of my previous works, namely Collect-if. There is (at least one) major aspect ofthe original Pupilija performance, which makes it different compared to other politicai performances of that time: while in most of them a strong ritualistic impact was present, in Pupilija one notices a strong distance from expressiveness. Forme, this makes this performance extremely interesting today and brings it closer to performance art than to dance or theatre. Political dimensión ofthe original show is in its anti-authority attitude and not in a direct politicai confrontation. It is very clear however, that it attacked all forms of authority ofthat time - state, nation, arty, church, theatre and the market! It is also a desperately funny show, certain scenes seem a bit boring (on purpose) and on the whole very cruel as well, but at thè end ofthe day it is a performance, which basically celebrates life! HOW TO RECONSTRUCT "PUPILIJA"? We'll work on Staging and exposing different procedures and mechanisms ofthe original performance as well as of its reconstruction. We are not so interested in the question ofthe "сору / original", because I think postmodernism answered that question very well. Forme it is interesting to re-enact an open field ofthat performance, which is open on different levels: - from non-skillness and everydayness - from non-spectacuiarity to extreme - from free Improvisation and folklore playfulness to military discipline - from collective mind/stupidity - from very formal non-linear language of performance to politically engaged Statements. The questions ofthe authorship is also very crucial in the re-enactement, but I think Pupilija functìons as a kind of open source: it is a kind of anti-authoritarian matrix, which can only be upgraded. There will be elements and procedures in the reconstruction, (dis)playing (with) the context, For example: