Dunja Jocić, Bitef dance company: Lost landscapes (2020)

Humanity has always tried to master life and slow down or completely eliminate death. At this point in development, we seem to be within reach of that goal. What does the future hold for those who welcome it? For now, we are still mortal, but that could change within our lifetime. We are working on it. We want to find out where the error is in our code, in the program of our genes. Have we conquered the natural laws and overcome the limits of nature by reconstructing it, projecting it in our visions, works of art and scientific achievements? Can we even perceive the difference between our projection of nature and nature itself? Why do we have an expiration date? What are we dying for? How do we become immortal? Or long-lived enough to decide for ourselves when we've had enough of life. Man loves life. He has always been afraid of aging, the passage of time that brings him closer to the abyss of finitude of which he knows nothing. He was always horrified by the departure of loved ones as a reminder of his transience. Where are the limits of our body and where are our minds? We have managed, as the most resourceful and aggressive form of life on the planet (which we are unconsciously destroying), to reach sophisticated scientific and technical achievements that allow us to drastically change the way we look at life and death. The practical application of artificial organs, from the brain to the limbs, is getting closer and closer, which will be far more durable and effective than the ones we currently have and which were given to us by nature. Where are the boundaries between natural and artificial? What do we gain and what do we lose? Where is the ethics, is it disappearing? Did we thereby make this form of human existence (which we are witnessing) to be only one link, a step towards the Overman? Towards a man-machine that has no time and biological limitations like we do now? Are we the last generation of homo sapiens?

Lost Landscapes is not my first choreographic collaboration with this fantastic group of players. That is why I can say with certainty that what has not changed in the last few years that I have not met these dedicated people. Although in fact almost the entire troupe has changed and now there are many young, gifted dancers, the meaning of their dance and common consciousness remained floating above the Bitef dance company like some kind of good spirit and that is a huge value. It has remained the same, and it is very rare. These young people are exciting for me as a choreographer, with strong expression, broad understanding and delicate humor. The seemingly hard-to-combine difference of their individualities represents a real treasure and a great inspiration from which this play was largely created. These guys and gals work extremely professionally and I sincerely thank them for that. Bitef dance company is a rare example of how things in Serbia and Belgrade (when we talk about the contemporary dance scene) can work perfectly when there is a will, a desire for serious and hard work, and a love for dance and performance. It is a great shame and it is completely unimaginable to me that a city the size of Belgrade has only one troupe like this and only one theater dedicated to contemporary dance. There should be more of them, both troupes and theaters, because Belgrade deserves it and needs it. It's related. That's how the scene is built and nurtured. That's progress. My great love, deep respect and huge support for Bitef dance company.

Dunja Jocić