Leja Jurišić is a dancer and choreographer working in the field of performative and political art. She has performed her original pieces in various institutions across Europe, United States and Mexico. She won numerous awards, among others Borštnik Award and Ksenija Hribar Award together with Marko Mandić for their performance Together.
© David Lotrič
The last Champion of Yugoslavia in artistic gymnastics, Leja Jurišić (Ljubljana, SI) collaborated with Tim Etchells and Meg Stuart and created a series of critically acclaimed pieces. Her works have been shown at Tanzquartier Wien, Hellerau Dresden, Tanzhaus NRW Düsseldorf, BiennaleOnline Art+ New York, Les Subsistances Lyon, and ]performance space[ London.
Reaching beyond the everyday understanding of liminal corporeality, Leja Jurišić occupies various positions of radical performative expression, as if naturally, and almost effortlessly, belonging to the realms of dance, performance art, and political art at the same time.
She moves the spectator’s attention from corporeality as such towards a boundary between a body in motion (text) and, what might be termed, a body within a commotion (context).
The holder of the title of the (last) National Champion of Yugoslavia in artistic gymnastics and a BA in Law, Leja Jurišić received two prestigious national dance awards in Slovenia.
Since her critically acclaimed debut R’z’R (2005) Jurišic has created a series of performances, including I Fear Slovenia (2014, with Petra Veber), King Lear: A Declaration of Sincere Love (2014, with Jelena Rusjan), Ballet of Revolt (2012, with Petra Veber) and Between Us (2009, with Teja Reba).
Jurišić’s works have been shown at institutions such as the Tanzquartier in Vienna, Hellerau in Dresden, Tanzhaus NRW in Düsseldorf, BiennaleOnline Art+ in New York, ]performance space[ in London, U3 Triennale of Slovenian Contemporary Art in Ljubljana, Les Subsistances in Lyon, as well as at three international festivals in Ljubljana: Mladi Levi, City of Women, and Exodos.
As a performer she has been collaborating with the likes of Tim Etchells, Janez Janša, and Meg Stuart.
No stranger to critiques of the social, economic and political distortions of individual and collective liberties, Jurišić perceives the human body as a powerful emancipative mechanism for creating experiences of revolt - for the dancer(s) and the audience member(s) alike.
PRODUCTIONS BY LEJA JURIŠIĆ
The puppet show Dance In Stone primarily opens up the question of how modern human society can so often shape an individual who hates themselves, who is their own greatest rival, their own most despised other. The stones, which in the show function as both puppets and scenography, symbolise the radical other—that which seems uncontrollable or unacceptable, both within ourselves and in society.
On Victory Day, Leja Jurišić and Miklavž Komelj read a dialogue between Capital and Revolution from Pasolini’s Stilna žival, echoing his closing verse: “And yet, this is a day of victory!” The event featured interventions by Darko Suvin (online), Boris A. Novak, Alice Pamuk, and Janez Kardelj, who also exhibited a painting. The interior was of course, designed by Petra Veber.
Join us at Studio Pekinpah (Trg prekomorskih brigad 1, 4th floor) as we mark the 10th anniversary of Tomaž Šalamun's death and 100 years of the Surrealist Manifesto. Through words, movement, and presence, we’ll summon the birds so they cease to fear — for death is but a mistake of naming, and dance is yet to come. Interventions by Miklavž Komelj and Leja Jurišić, with guests Tibor Hrs Pandur, Marko Rop, Dan Rosenberg, and more.
Join us on Wednesday, November 6 at Studio Pekinpah in Ljubljana for the presentation of Djuna Barnes' Antiphon, now available in Slovene. The event will feature a blend of spatial installation, live performance, and reading, with a focus on engaging the translator in dialogue. A unique opportunity to experience one of the most enigmatic works of 20th-century drama.
Notes to Antiphon by Petra Veber and Leja Jurišić is the conclusion of the first phase of reading The Antiphon, the great work by Djuna Barnes, as well as an announcement of the Slovenian translation by Miklavž Komelj, which will be published by cf.
Ljudje posegamo v gozd, a je tudi moč gozda, da oblikuje ljudi, neizogibna. V gozd si gremo celit rane, v gozdu rane nastanejo, tišina gozda ni nenasilna, glasnost sveta prav tako ne. Z Rdečim gozdom Leje Jurišić se sooči pet plesalk in plesalcev, koreografinj in koreografov. Nastaja omnibus soočanj z gozdom in rdečo.
For quite some time, the dancer and choreographer Leja Jurišić has been developing her interest in the arts that in their time transformed the field of art, those that had cut into it, stirred it up, and redefined it. This impulse and focus can be observed in her creative work; she collaborates with artists from various fields to create pieces in which she can cross the conventions and boundaries of a dance performance. In the new piece entitled CONCERT, the horizon of the leap from the dance arts is even bolder, even bigger.
A monument: a structure, a tangible structure, a lasting tangible structure as a reminder to a historical phenomenon, a fixation of a specific memory arising from the fear of loss of memory. Now: to make one who is movement itself into a monument.
Ni mogoče čakati zaman Miklavža Komelja in Leje Jurišić je soavtorski projekt dveh umetnikov, ki prvič sodelujeta. Odločila sta se, da bosta delila skoraj enoleten ustvarjalni proces, znotraj formiranja končnega umetniškega dela pa ne želita sprejemati kompromisov, zato sta ustvarila vsak svoje avtonomno delo z naslovom Ni mogoče čakati zaman.
The meeting of the musician and dancer on the stage, which is also a dance floor and a concert venue, resonates with the connection of the incompatible – the first joint project by Leja Jurišić and Milko Lazar acts as a hybrid experimental work, in which the artists engage in a creative dialogue to transcend their own authorial position.
Other Productions
We are delighted to announce a major retrospective of Matej Kejžar's work at Cankarjev dom from October 1st to 4th.
Gašper Kunšek will perform a bold, durational performance in Kino Šiška - make sure not to miss this one.
Spider Festival is back - this year we celebrate 15 years of its existence! A lot of interesting names will join the Spider stage. See you soon!