dancer, choreographer, pedagogue

With her work Jasna Knez (1949, Trieste) has been continuing the tradition of Slovene modern dance as developed by Živa Kraigher (and established by Meta Vidmar, who founded and ran the first Slovenian private dance school from 1933 to 1956). A student of Živa Kraigher, Jasna started dancing at the age of eight and was later one of the more visible representatives of the Contemporary Dance Studio. She also studied dance at the London Contemporary Dance School and introduced oriental dances to Slovenia.

Jasna Knez performed in dance performances by choreographers Živa Kraigher, Lojzka Žerdin, Nada Kokotović, Damir Zlatar Frey and Matjaž Farič. She has created numerous dance-theatre projects and presented them at festivals and alternative and experimental stages across Slovenia, former Yugoslavia and abroad.

Her main interest is improvisation as a dance form in interaction with music, painting, video and film, which she has been exploring with artists such as Miloš Bašin, Beg na grad, Janko Messner, Intermedia, Lado Jakša, Brina Jež Brezavšček, Bor Turel, Dolina odmeva, Melita Osojnik, Klarisa Jovanovič, Vasko Atanasovski, Vlado Batista, Tone Stojko, Dušan Muc, Stane Jagodič. As choreographer she has worked with theatre directors Matija Milčinski, Lojze Domanjko, Sergej Verč, Vesna Arhar-Štih, Branko Brezovec, Rade Šerbedžija, Samo Strelec, Žarko Petan, Eduard Miler, Branislav Mićunović, Nick Upper and others.

She worked for many years in the neighbouring Austria and Italy (Studio Actis from Trieste), regularly taught oriental and modern dance throughout Slovenia and held workshops for dance mentors and music teachers in primary schools. An occasional writer, Jasna every now and then publishes short stories and literary fragments in newspapers and magazines. In 1998 she and Alan Asta launched the project Dance Homestead – centre for cultural activities and rural revitalisation, in the frame of which she created many performances and public events in the streets and squares of Koper.

Jasna is the recipient of many dance awards, among other also the 2013 Ksenija Hribar Award for outstanding life achievement, presented by the Contemporary Dance Association Slovenia. On the occasion Neja Kos, dance critic and dance adviser at the Public Fund for Cultural Activities of the Republic of Slovenia, wrote: Jasna Knez is a true voice of the alternative. She is perceptibly-imperceptibly, but without fanfare, imprinted in the Slovenian cultural space and time.

Links: Youtube (video)

 

PERFORMANCES AND CHOREOGRAPHIES

COLLABORATIONS AS CHOREOGRAPHER AND DANCER

COLLABORATIONS AS CHOREOGRAPHER IN THEATRE

COLLABORATIONS AS DANCER

ORIENTAL DANCE

PEDAGOGICAL WORK

VIDEO/FILM/TELEVISION

AWARDS

 

LINKS TO VIDEOS

SELECTED PERFORMANCES IN MORE DETAIL