An author cycle that annually supports artists in developing innovative connections between music and performance organised by Zavod Sploh
research
2023
The title Ventilator cycle organised by Zavod Sploh evokes movement, circulation, and exchange—between ideas, forms, techniques, and people. It opens space for experimentation, collaboration, and unexpected artistic encounters.
Soft Power — Concept by Kristina Aleksova (2023)
This edition focuses on the concept of soft power—Joseph S. Nye’s term for influence through cultural appeal rather than force. Drawing on ballet’s historical ties to political power, the research examines how this seemingly delicate art form has shaped social ideals, gender roles, and national identities. By intertwining ballet conventions with contemporary performance practices, the work explores how tradition and control coexist within today’s media-saturated world.
VENTILATOR #1: NO PAIN, NO GAIN
31 May 2023 at 20:00, Španski borci
Authors and performers: Kristina Aleksova and Anita Wach
“The magnitude of a progress is gauged by the greatness of the sacrifice that it requires.” — Friedrich Nietzsche”
The first event in the Ventilator cycle focuses on the theme of sacrifice. While the brutality of ancient rituals may belong to the past, sacrifice remains a driving force of social progress. Society continues to demand submission to higher purposes—physical, mental, or moral—requiring the surrender of time, body, and even life for the common good. The intertwining of violence and devotion, and the ambiguity between victim and oppressor, reinforce the belief that progress is achieved through endurance and pain.
How much freedom is exchanged for security?
How many lives are given for health and beauty?
How much pain is tolerated for progress?
VENTILATOR #2: DON’T STOP ME NOW
22 October at 19:00, Kazina – Julij Betetto Hall
Authors and performers: Kristina Aleksova, Anita Wach, and Eduardo Raon
The second Ventilator event explores the theme of ecstasy—a state of emotional intensity that transcends rational thought and self-control. It is a moment of expanded perception, where imagination breaks through the boundaries of the known, yet inevitably seeks to return to reality. Ecstasy opens a space between surrender and restraint, between reason and impulse. The body becomes both subject and instrument, following its own mechanical and instinctive logic in a game where the mind hesitates to let go.
VENTILATOR #3: MATTER OF INTERPRETATION
22 November at 20:00, Španski borci
Authors and performers: Kristina Aleksova, Anita Wach, and Luka Piletič
The third event focuses on interpretation—the act of translating movement and meaning. Ventilator #3 takes inspiration from the framework of genesis, weaving stories with layered genealogies and chronologies. Historically, storytelling has affirmed collective identity and served as a means of reconciliation. This event investigates whether the fusion of language and movement can similarly bridge the distance between performers and spectators. Here, movement becomes myth—blurring the line between fiction and fact.
VENTILATOR #4: CAN WE DO THAT?
13 December at 20:00, Španski borci
Authors and performers: Kristina Aleksova, Anita Wach, and Lana Zdravković
Co-produced by KITCH – Institute for Artistic Production and Research
The fourth Ventilator event turns toward the notion of soft power, interpreted as the desire for endless self-reduction. In collaboration with philosopher and performer Lana Zdravković, the work unfolds as a mechanical ballet of desire—an ongoing sequence of promises, illusions, and insatiable repetition. The performers expose the paradox of liberation: that the expression of desire may not lead to freedom but to a transformed form of commodification.
VENTILATOR #5: KEEP CALM
24 December at 19:00, Španski borci
Authors and performers: Kristina Aleksova, Anita Wach, and Ena Kurtalić
“What would an ocean be without a monster lurking in the dark? It would be like sleep without dreams.” — Werner Herzog
The fifth and final event of 2023 takes place on Christmas Eve—the night of quiet expectations, joyful pretence, and restless hearts. Keep Calm invites everyone who has nowhere to go, who does not wish to go anywhere, or who seeks to escape the burden of celebration. A collective exhale, an evening of strange serenity, leading to the promise of deep and restful sleep.
Previous Project
Don’t Force Me to Say What I Think
Spectacle
collaborator
2023