Fledgling Dancers Amsterdam Presents

Voices to Be Heard

“Air Has no Borders” by Olena Stoian and

“Sound Body” by Kim Baraka

Olena Stoian is a Ukrainian choreographer currently living under temporary protection in the Netherlands. Her deep concern for what is happening in her country, along with a personal journey shaped by ancestral heritage and the collective grief of her people, has led her to explore the relationship between freedom, land, borders, and cultural identity.

A year ago, she began developing a movement language that embodies the Ukrainian experience-one that draws on elements of folk dance, physical labor, and a deep-rooted connection to the land.

As a result, the piece Air Has No Borders was born. The audience is invited to witness the intertwining of past and present through a person caught between struggles for the freedom to make their own choices.

The idea of a trio comes from a sketch by Ukrainian artist Kazimir Malevich ‘Where there is a sickle and hammer, there is death and hunger’. Instead of human faces, a sickle and hammer, a cross and a coffin are depicted. They symbolize the murder of peasants during Holodomor in 1933, when all the food and all their harvest was taken away leaving them for sure death.

AIR HAS NO BORDERS

Chreographer and director: Olena Stoian

Dancers: Nadia Tomazenko, Paola Martire, Olena Stoian.

Original sound: Clara Cozzolino, folk songs “Tsvite teren” by Nina Matvienko, “Tuman Yarom” by Veryovka Choir.

Creative coach: Roberta Maimone.

Production: McKenna Mahacek

Project made possible thanks to the support of:

Lela Di Costanzo and Uri Eugenio for rehearsal support; Anna Chebanenko and Olena Ananieva for research assistance; Project Zakhira for brainstorming creative input; Jort Faber for his guidance on project development; AFK for making the realization of the project possible.

SOUND BODY

Sound Body is an experiment in “sono-archeology” that explores the idea of the body as a sound archive. What happens when we unearth the sounds that live in us? What possibilities for action emerge when we voice the sounds we need to hear but never heard?

Kim Baraka is a Lebanese-born dance artist and scientist based in Amsterdam. Coming from a contemporary ballet background, his current practice centers improvisation as a non-verbal language to connect to the current circumstance. He has recently been interested in exploring the frontier between dance and voice composition. “Sound Body” is his second own choreographic piece after “Struction” (2017), a dance solo honoring cycles of building and destroying. Previously, he was a member of the Beirut Dance Company (Lebanon) and the Pillow Projects Company (Pittsburgh, USA). As a freelancer, he collaborated with artists and researchers in dance, theater, fashion design, photography, film, and philosophy. In 2024, he starred in short film Cobalt, which was awarded Best European Experimental Short and shown in several cultural and academic venues. He is also the founder of Impromptu Amsterdam, a platform dedicated to sharing cross-disciplinary improvisational knowledge to and from the community. For more info: www.kimbaraka.com/impromptu.

Direction, movement, and original sound: Kim Baraka

Dramaturgy: Rebecca Lillich-Krueger.

Production: McKenna Mahacek

Project made possible thanks to the support of: AFK, Ettijahat Rawabet grant, rehearsal and development space from Triplets Amsterdam

Fledgling Dancers Amsterdam wants to extend a special thank you to all of the people who made this work in progress evening possible. Dancers and makers shared the stage tonight, but it takes many more helping hands to make an event like this possible:

Fajo Jansen for offering us a space to share.

Gemma Rijnders for event photos.

Timothy Andrew for event videography.

McKenna Mahacek for production, promotion, lighting, and sound support.

Support for Air Has no Borders from Amsterdam Funds voor de Kunst

Support for Sound body from Amsterdam Funds voor de Kunst and Ettijahat Rawabet grant.

Thank you to the friends, parents, partners, and loved ones for your endless support, without which the journey of each dancer would be much more difficult.

Lastly, thank you for joining and supporting the arts and independent productions.