EXTER.Live — immersive dance performance / presentation
October 22, 2021 at 19:30 / Mystetsky Arsenal
RODOVID Publishing House, with the support of Ukrainian Cultural Foundation, has created their project: Alexandra Exter's Avant-Garde: Kyiv Period. This project revolves around the publishing of the monograph in Ukrainian about Alexandra Exter, a prominent and symbolic Ukrainian Avant-Garde artist. To introduce this publication, RODOVID presents Exter.Live, a challenging, interdisciplinary, and bold project, mirroring Exter’s methods and work.
Exter.Live is an immersive dance performance inhabiting the striking Mystetskyi Arsenal. It incorporates contemporary dance, fashion design, live music, and video. The installation begins in the ticket hall, weaves through each gallery of the expansive Mystetsky Arsenal and concludes with a press conference describing RODOVID’s book on Alexandra Exter. This installation coincides with the museum’s Futuromarennia exhibition, which plots the Ukrainian avant-garde, featuring artists like Alexandra Exter, Anatolii Petrytsky, Vadym Meller, and Kazimir Malevich.
Utilizing Exter’s life and collection as a jumping off point, the various disciplines woven together in this installation aim to reimagine her work through modern lenses. The fashion design, choreography, and composition each place Exter’s themes in dialogue with a contemporary context, seeking not to replicate her work, but to mold it into an evolved variation.
Watch the teaser (photo and video collage: Anatolii Sachivko; music: Viktor Rekalo; costumes: Fedir Vozianov; dancers: Vladyslav Detiuchenko, Stefanie Noll, Kateryna Kurman, Bohdan Kyrylenko)
Stefanie Noll, choreographer: The show is comprised of an international cast of ten dancers, bridging performers from Kyiv and New York City. These performers are presented as ‘living exhibits’ inhabiting the gallery space; they are presented for consumption in a similar way as the paintings adorning the walls. The dancing both precedes the audience’s entrance and succeeds their departure to demonstrate the performer’s role as a ‘living exhibit.’
Stefanie was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, but grew up in the United States where she received her training from the Joffrey Trainee Program, Marymount Manhattan College, and the Arts Umbrella Graduate Program. Most recently she has danced with Ballet BC as an emerging artist. In 2020, she had the opportunity to be one of six to work with Crystal Pite through the Arts Umbrella Choreographic Mentorship program. She has performed repertory by Marco Goeke, Johan Inger, Mats Ek, Sharon Eyal, as well as new creations by Crystal Pite, Amos Ben-Tal, Lesley Telford, and Lukas Timlak. She has worked commercial jobs for Apple, The US Embassy UAE, West 18th St Fashion Show the Movie, Hundred Waters (musical artist) and Bibi Zhou (musical artist). Amidst her performance career, she has received grants from the McCall MacBain Foundation (Canada) and the Charlotte Street Foundation (USA). She is currently working as a part of Alejandro Cerrudo’s evening length show co-produced by the Joyce Theatre NYC.
Interview with Stefanie in buro 24/7
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photo by Sergey Melnitchenko
Well-known Kyiv based designer Fedir Vozianov, known for his conceptual collections at the intersection of avant-garde art and fashion, has created a unique collection of dresses-paintings for Exter.Live, which will serve as costumes, scenography, and movement inspiration. Lidia Zakharchenko (Zahara clothing brand) has similarly designed a limited collection of hats for the performance.
Fedir Vozianov. Photo by Kira Kuznetsova
The performance was filmed, so that the ephemeral experience might have been digitally captured and available to be shared with a larger audience. Anatolii Sachivko, founder of Kyiv based Apace Crew and director, choreographer, and cinematographer served as videographer for the project.
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Anatolii Sachivko
Performance Team
Choreographer: Stefanie Noll
Designers: Fedir Vozianov and Lidia Zakharchenko
Videographer: Anatolii Sachivko
Music: Viktor Rekalo
Dancers: Vladyslav Detiuchenko, Kate Kuznetsova, Kateryna Kurman, Bohdan Kyrylenko, Polina Lukanska, Volodymyr Marchuk, Jordan Lang, Aliza Russell, Stefanie Noll
PR: Valentyna Klymenko
Line producer: Anna Levchenko
We would like to thank «Mystetsky Arsenal» NCAMC team
EXTER.Live — is a part of the «Alexandra Exter's Avant-garde: Kyiv Period» project and is realized with the help of Ukrainian Cultural Foundation and РМBА-14, kmbs alumni group and their friends.
The performance was filmed by director, choreographer, and cinematographer Anatolii Sachivko.
Support: The EXTER.Live project is looking for additional financial support. If you would like to help in any way, please contact us rodovid2@gmail.com
Read more:
- About the project
- About Alexandra Exter
- About Alexandra Exter as a curator (from the "ALEXANDRA EXTER" monograph)
P.S. Did you know that there is no Alexandra Exter street in Kyiv?
Famous avat-garde artist, she lived in Kyiv for many years, organized emblematic exhibitions in the city, painted magical Kyiv landscapes and gathered artists, philosophers, directors and writers in her art studio, but her name is still missing from the city map.
What can you do?
We've started a petition on the Kyiv City Council page.
Sign it and tell your friends!