Velocity Dance Center Presents Vladimir Kremenović UTOPIA: TOUCH

Velocity Dance Center partners with the Design in Public Festival, CommonForm, and inter/national performance organizations in the US and the Balkans to present their first performance premiere since the beginning of the pandemic: UTOPIA: touch, an hour-long live virtual performance choreographed by Vladimir Kremenović.

UTOPIA: touch is the second performance in a series of works drawing inspiration from: brutalist architecture; principles of socialism and democracy; lasting questions surrounding the breakup of Yugoslavia; and Vladimir's life in Bosnia and Herzegovina and experience as an immigrant in the US. This iteration is particularly concerned with exploring the geometries and heritage of Yugoslav monuments dedicated to the People's Liberation War against the Axis Powers during World War II while experimenting with what it means to create dance works in quarantine.

This ambitious piece has been fully conceptualized and rehearsed via Zoom. The final work will be presented as a live-streamed meeting between the dancers quarantining in their respective homes. The performers utilize the app's specific interface to explore what brings us together and apart in this time of cultural upheaval. How do we rebel and resist oppression during a pandemic? What does it mean to bring the watchful eye of the internet into your home while seeking artistic fulfillment and healing?

Rather than attempting to eradicate potential technological difficulties the live performance embraces the lagging, glitching nature of digital communication. Vladimir sees it as a way to celebrate the years of long pauses, lost connections, and garbled sentences that allowed him and countless other immigrants around the globe to remain connected to their distant families and cultures. This show will mark Vladimir's first dance work that his parents and sister will be able to witness in-real time.

Vladimir's interest in exploring brutalism as source material for creating dance began when he moved to Seattle after graduating from Middlebury College, VT. As a recent immigrant from Bosnia and Herzegovina, he has been seeking ways to process the cultural trauma induced by the Bosnian War of the 90's while grappling with the political corruption, disenfranchisement and abuse present in both Bosnia and the United States. He saw this global architectural phenomenon as a way of bringing two cultural landscapes closer in order to reflect on the past together.

Brutalism is a mid-century architectural style defined by its monolithic and monumental appearance, large-scale use of unprocessed concrete and steel, and a focus on utilitarianism. Vladimir hopes to bring a new awareness to this style that's often misunderstood as bleak and foreboding. For him, it evokes feelings of nostalgia and belonging.

UTOPIA: touch is co-presented with CommonForm and the Design in Public festival and is supported by funding from 4Culture. The performance will also be presented in Oakland, CA where it will be live-projected on a building by ProArts Gallery & Commons. The live-stream will also be hosted by dance organization Stanica in Belgrade, Serbia.

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