Choreography: Goran Bogdanovski
Dance: Damjan Mohorko, Dejan Srhoj, Goran Tatar, Goran Bogdanovski (Gregor Luštek)
Music: Peter Penko
Vocal: Boris Benko
Sound Design: Gregor Zemljič
Dramaturgy: Mojca Dimec
Light Design: Miran Šusteršič
Stage Design: Irena Pivka
Costume Design: Alan Hranitelj
Thanks to dr. Slavoj Žižek; live telephone interwiev in the the performance
Co-production: Maska, Cankarjev dom in SNG Opera in balet Ljubljana
The production was supported byi: Ministry of Culture of Slovenia and Ljubljana City Municipality
Premiere 14.6.2001
Švic in Švarc PRESS
“Yesterday night in Cankarjev Dom, the Goran Bogdanovski quartet broke through the cultural sound barrier… Superimposing the most noble dance tradition and indicating a refined perception of existence, he created a multi-visual show, accompanied by spontaneous ovation.”
Radio Slovenija, Ljubljana, June 2001, Jasna Skrinjar Taufer
“...Very demanding from the viewpoint of movement but nevertheless excellently performed, this work effectively combines all staging elements and presents a quality leap forward in the work of Bogdanovski and his crew in general.”
Delo (daily), Ljubljana, June 2001, Mojca Kumerdej
“Uniformly dressed in light-coloured, ribbed shirts and skirts, the dancers were - paradoxically - incredibly free in 'universal timelessness'. The Sweat and Soot production is made in such a manner that the movement substance and free invention concurrently create innumerable imaginary spaces filled by the imagination of spectators.”
Dnevnik (daily), Ljubljana, june 2001, Amelia Kraigher
“It is obvious that these excellently trained bodies dance for the sake of pleasure alone, without an omnipresent story, and when (if) we accept that, we can witness a dance show which can make us laugh, relax and enjoy. The response of the audience proves that this show is a pure excess of pleasure and therefore a way to proffer contemporary dance to a contemporary consumer of culture.”
Vecer (daily), Maribor, june 2001, Anja Golob
“Sweat and Soot show, sweated without any injuries in the narrow concrete cube of the Duša Pockaj Hall, and cut in half and perplexed by an amusing telephone interview with Dr Slavoj Zizek, is one of the rare dance performances that does not repulse laymen with its pretentious concept… Jocose and efficient amplification of costumes by Grega Zemljic and a séance of kung-fu elements expertly synchronised by Boris Benko, the singer of Silence, who created
the noise, deserves all commendations. Witty. Sexy.”
Mladina (weekly), Ljubljana, june 2001, Jasa Kramarsic Kacin
“An industrial-sized fan whirrs above the stage; the engine of an approaching bomber throbs in your ears. A quartet of dancers lurk in the shadows downstage, disjointed hands and faces becoming visible moving in and out of a small beam of light. Graceful, balletic moves are juxtaposed with raw, industrial music to comic but also strangely tribal effect. The trance-inducing noise blasts your senses alongside apoplectic seizures that stick in a loop, finally sucking you back into reality with a sharp slap. Elements of comedy are uniquely used with distorted quotes from famous films. At one point microphones are attached to the dancers chests and the sound of their movement, breathing and heartbeat produce a transfixing intimacy and blurring of the barriers. Sweat and Soot blurs your sensory perception and leaves you in a completely different place.”
On line review, Aerowaves - The Place Theatre London, February 2002, Rachel Tonkin