Seemingly different things, such as Christianity, the goddess Isis, Ptuj in Slovenia, Judaism, Pasolini, Alexandria in Egypt, the figure of Kurent, Gnosticism and migration, are woven and intertwined in the town of Aquileia in Italy, once one of the Roman epicenters, which boasts the largest mosaic of Western Roman early Christianity with 760 square meters, in an ardent vision of an erudite dancer about an Afro-Asian united Europe. Europe with otherness at its core, European-non-European Europe, always somewhere in between, in crosswalks, always already connected, interconnected and dependent, interdependent, like a Mosaic, United through fragments of meaning and layers of time, attempts at Unity. Attempts at Mosaic: steps towards sensual archaeology (2025) are a “dance of narrative”, a close embodiment and deep reading of Mosaic as a silent testimony but also a political manifesto of an Afro-Asian united Europe that historically, collectively avoids or eludes borders, Nations, countries or cultures. Mattia Cason, who combines imagination, performativity, memory and collectivity, perhaps dances in different productions, but always dances one performance, in the name of an outrageous revolutionary force of the past.
I deal with body, voice and imagination from two beliefs. Imagination is associated with memory, rather than fantasy. Body and voice, on the other hand, are vessels for transmitting and exchanging collective memories; political utopias buried for too long in foreign lands.
- Mattia Cason
Colophon
Concept and choreography: Mattia Cason
Co-choreography (hip-hop sequences): Zeljko Christmas
Performed By: Mattia Cason, Ruben Gombach, Ahmad Kullab
Head of exercises: Ana Stefanec Knez
Light design: Jaka Shimenc
Visuals: Omar Ismail
Set design, costume design and props: Klinc Primoz, Chiara Defant, Vladimir Vodeb
Photo: Katja Kremeni /
Video: Omar Ismail
Production: Zavod En-Knap
Executive director of En–Knap Institute / artistic director of Spanish fighters: Iztok Kovac
Managing director of En–Knap Institute and Spanish fighters: Marjeta Lavric
Technical coordinator: Jaka Simenc
Technical support: Omar Ismail, Leon Curk, Hotimir knife, Gal Lark Skaberne, Spela Skulj
Executive producer: Karmen Kerzar
Communication and creative strategy: Drazen Dragojevi /
Communication and creative execution: Valerija Intihar
Design By Marko Damis
Head of Finance: Yulia Travanchi /
Event coordinator and organizer: Katja Gabrijelcic
Zavod En-Knap and the Spanish fighters (the administrator is Zavod En–Knap) are supported by: City of Ljubljana - Department of culture and Ministry of culture of the Republic of Slovenia
Navidezno različne stvari, kot so krščanstvo, boginja Izida, Ptuj v Sloveniji, judovstvo, Pasolini, Aleksandrija v Egiptu, lik kurenta, gnosticizem in migracije, se stkejo in prepletejo v mestecu Oglej v Italiji, nekoč enem od rimskih epicentrov, ki se ponaša z največjim mozaikom zahodnorimskega zgodnjega krščanstva s 760 kvadratnimi metri, v goreči viziji eruditskega plesalca o Afroazijski združeni Evropi. Evropi z drugostjo v svojem jedru, evropske-ne-evropske Evrope, vselej nekje vmes, v prečnicah, vselej že povezane, medsebojno povezane in odvisne, soodvisne, kot mozaik, združene skozi delčke pomena in plasti časa, poskuse enotnosti. Poskusi mozaika: Koraki k čutni arheologiji (2025) so “ples pripovedi”, tesno utelešenje in globoko branje mozaika kot tihega pričevanja, a tudi političnega manifesta Afroazijske združene Evrope, ki se zgodovinsko, kolektivno izogiba ali izmika mejam, narodom, državam ali kulturam. Mattia Cason, ki združuje domišljijo, performativnost, spomin in kolektivnost, morda pleše v različnih uprizoritvah, a vselej pleše eno predstavo, v imenu nezaslišane revolucionarne sile preteklosti.
S telesom, glasom in domišljijo se ukvarjam iz dveh prepričanj. Domišljija je povezana s spominom, prej kot s fantazijo. Telo in glas pa sta posodi za posredovanje in izmenjevanje kolektivnih spominov; političnih utopij, predolgo zakopanih v tujih deželah.
—Mattia Cason
Kolofon
Koncept in koreografija: Mattia Cason
So-koreografija (hip-hop sekvence): Željko Božič
Izvedba: Mattia Cason, Ruben Gombač, Ahmad Kullab
Vodja vaj: Ana Štefanec Knez
Oblikovanje svetlobe: Jaka Šimenc
Vizualije: Omar Ismail
Scenografija, kostumografija in rekviziti: Klinc Primož, Chiara Defant, Vladimir Vodeb
Fotografija: Katja Kremenić
Video: Omar Ismail
Produkcija: Zavod En–Knap, Vicino / Lontano
Izvršni direktor Zavoda En–Knap / Umetniški vodja Španskih borcev: Iztok Kovač
Poslovna direktorica Zavoda En–Knap in Španskih borcev: Marjeta Lavrič
Tehnični koordinator: Jaka Šimenc
Tehnična podpora: Omar Ismail, Leon Curk, Hotimir Knific, Gal Škrjanec Skaberne, Špela Škulj
Izvršna producentka: Karmen Keržar
Komunikacijska in kreativna strategija: Dražen Dragojević
Komunikacijsko in kreativno izvrševanje: Valerija Intihar
Oblikovanje: Marko Damiš
Vodja financ: Julija Travančić
Koordinatorka in organizatorka dogodkov: Katja Gabrijelčič
Zavod En–Knap in Španske borce (upravljavec je Zavod En–Knap) podpira: Mestna občina Ljubljana – Oddelek za kulturo in Ministrstvo za kulturo Republike Slovenije