Bruno Isakovic's DENUDED to Make U.S. Premiere at La MaMa

La MaMa, in association with the 2016 Queer New York International Arts Festival, will present the U.S. premiere of Denuded by Croatian choreographer Bruno Isakovic. Building on Isakovic's solo of the same title, this latest version of Denuded is performed by an international ensemble of nine dancers from Croatia and the U.S.

Denuded will be presented Thursday-Saturday, September 29-October 1, at 8pm, and Sunday, October 2, at 6pm. The solo will also be presented (for one performance only) on Wednesday, September 28, at 8pm.

Denuded is a rigorous exploration of the relationship between the breath and physical tension, and the ways in which they permeate the body in each moment. Isakovi? first created Denuded as a solo in 2013, and then as a duet in 2014. With multiple bodies, he transforms his approach to movement to bring into play the dynamics of a diverse ensemble, examining various aspects and levels of interaction among the performers, as well as the relationship between the performers and the audience. The body is engaged in organic, brutally decelerated, and controlled movement that gradually shifts in texture and scale. "Movement and the relationship within the group is suspended in the natural speed of the breath," says Isakovi?. "The movement's weight, muscle tension, position in space; and even the associative links between the performers are suspended within it." With the body in constant transformation, the viewer is faced with a continuous rereading of Denuded's shifting shapes, distortions, and images.

Denuded is performed by Branko Bankovic, Željko Drmic, Dina Ekštajn, Kaia Gilje, Lana Hosni, Ana Mrak, Ana Vnucec, Bosiljka Vujovic-Mažuran, and Mia Zalukar. The solo will be performed by Bruno Isakovic. The creative team includes Zvonimir Dobrovi? (artistic advisor), Mila Pavicevic(dramaturg), and Aleksandar Cavlek (lighting designer).

Performances are at La MaMa's Downstairs Theater, 66 East 4th Street (between 2nd and 3nd Avenues). Tickets prices are $25 (general), and $20 (students/seniors). La MaMa continues its 10@$10 initiative in which the first 10 tickets sold are only $10 each - advance sales only, first come, first served. Tickets can be purchased online at www.lamama.org. Denuded is presented as part of the 2016 Queer New York International Arts Festival, which is taking place at multiple venues from September 20 to October 2.

Bruno Isakovic was born in Zagreb. He studied dance at the Rotterdam Dance Academy, and graduated from the Amsterdam School of Arts. The recipient of numerous scholarships and awards, he has worked internationally as both a dancer and choreographer. Isakovi? is a collaborator in the newly opened BA course in the field of dance art at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb and at Bilgi University for the Performing Arts in Istanbul. In 2004 he created Sounded Bodies Festival, where he invited various performers working with voice and sound in relation to movement. His recent works Denuded(solo version), Guernica, and Disclosures have been touring extensively in North and South America, Asia, and Europe.

Denuded is produced by Domino and the Studio for Contemporary Dance in Zagreb. Funding for Denuded has been provided by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia, City of Zagreb Office for Education, Culture and Sports, realized in the framework of the European project "Be SpecACTive!", CapoTrave/ Kilowatt (Sansepolcro, Italy), Bakelit Multi-Art Center (Budapest), B-51 (Ljubljana), Domino (Zagreb), LIFT (London), Tanec Praha (Czech Republic), Teatrul National Radu Stanca Sibiu (Romania), and York Theatre Royal (UK), with the support of the Creative Europe Program of the European Union.

Domino is a non-governmental, nonprofit organization based in Zagreb that produces numerous festivals and events in Croatia and internationally, including the Perforations Festival, Queer Zagreb, and the Queer New York International Arts Festival. Domino was established in 2003 and has since grown to be the biggest independent art organization in Croatia, producing, presenting, and commissioning over 100 performances and events a year.Studio for Contemporary Dance, founded in 1962, is the first Croatian contemporary dance ensemble in Zagreb. Its current work is based on innovation in the field of contemporary dance, always accepting and seeking new elements in artistic research. The ensemble has worked with numerous Croatian choreographers as well as with many leading choreographers and teachers from France, the U.K., the U.S., Spain, Slovenia, the Netherlands, and many others.

The Queer New York International Arts Festival, now in its fifth year, presents contemporary performance and visual art that broadens the traditional concepts of queer (in) art. For more information, visit www.queerny.org.

La MaMa is dedicated to the artist and all aspects of the theatre. The organization has a worldwide reputation for producing daring performance works that defy form and transcend barriers of ethnic and cultural identity. Founded in 1961 by award-winning theater pioneer Ellen Stewart, La MaMa has presented more than 5,000 productions by 150,000 artists from more than 70 nations. A recipient of more than 30 Obie Awards and dozens of Drama Desk, Bessie, and Villager Awards, La MaMa has helped launch the careers of countless artists, many of whom have made important contributions to American and international arts milieus.

La MaMa's 55th season celebrates the creative and collective histories of La MaMa's local and global communities. Since its beginning, La MaMa has forged creative partnerships with artists based in different parts of the U.S., Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. In recent years, these long-term relationships have taken on new life through distance collaborations over the Internet. The 55th season embraces new pathways forged in performance and technology to connect the myriad experiences, politics, conflicts, aesthetics, intimacies, and dreams of people and communities participating in an increasingly globalized world.