Soňa Kúdeľová
Profile

In her projects, the choreographer Kúdeľová intentionally and actively creates conditions for intensive collective collaborations with visual, musical, and intermedia artists. In joint processes of creation, they test the boundaries of different artistic expressions simultaneously in a shared space. In addition to everyday life, people, and the human condition, she is also inspired by professional theoretical texts, studies, and essays on art and society.

Kúdeľová made her debut with the dance production Autopilot (3 December 2017, Studio 12, Bratislava), which reflected on an individual’s effort to find balance with their surroundings, as well as the desire to create a positive and purposefully acceptable image of oneself in the mirror of others. In the production, she focused on the processes leading to the ritualistic stream of fatality resulting from the pragmatism of detachment and generalisation. The choreographer exposes the false illusions of safety and a conflict-free approach resulting from the decision to be absorbed into the majority’s demands, into the current of popularity and trends. In the production, the attempt at self-generalization results in resignation, detachment, and automatization of expression. Pragmatic reactions drown out intimate personal expressions. Autopilot as a content-creating principle in the production makes decisions in situations where we try to avoid making decisions – perhaps because we cannot make them, do not want to, are afraid to take the responsibility, or are just lazy. The author and performer offers the autopilot as a golden mean, a tool that optimizes the possibilities of reality. On stage, however, the autopilot is paradoxically propelled into a maelstrom of maximized productivity and levelled activity. The fragmentation and destruction of the image of the self runs parallel to the changing image of the television screens that form the backdrop of the stage. The performer gradually synchronizes with them until a state of total absence of anything personal occurs.

Kúdeľová’s next project, entitled Autocorrect, is an original solo dance performance, inspired by the algorithm of automatic text correction, as well as the consequences of its use and overuse in everyday life. We observe the contrast between the uncontrolled movements brimming with energy and the deliberately stylized control of the performer’s body. Autocorrect is also a tool of self-control, an instrument controlling our identity. The dance constantly oscillates between the speed and dynamism of the creative process and the pace of everyday life, creating an irregular, shifting rhythm of alternating action and reaction. Intention, action, control, self-control, and correction gradually intertwine in increasing dynamics, multiplying the curve of the vertiginous pace, until total paralysis. The video projection floods the space with images of all the possibilities of the moment (everything/now), manipulating the movement of the performer, throwing her into ever new situations. Through constant adaptation, the dancer becomes an instrument, correction is the dominant component of her expressivity, while the original expression completely disappears under the pressure and mutability of all the enhancements.

Kúdeľová as a dancer draws on the projects Autopilot and Autocorrect in her next title Autonomy (3 June 2021, A4 – Space for Contemporary Culture, Bratislava). In the previous parts of the trilogy, Kúdeľová reflected mainly on themes related to the relationship between automated human behaviour and multitasking. In the last part of the trilogy, she contemplates the autonomy of the individual in connection with artistic activity, the way of thinking, perception, and the mutual interaction of man and art. The performance opens with a quiet declamation of a fragmented sequence of thoughts. Kúdeľová’s precise articulation is echoed by a microphone, her words accompanied by stylized hand movements. The dance gradually gains momentum and intensity until it reaches the state of trance. At its peak, the dancer gradually starts realizing her autonomy and she changes the fast and jerky movements – which are emphasized by an intense sound – and transforms them into smoother, interlocking movement phrases. Getting lost amidst the light beams, searching for independence and authenticity in the tangle of thoughts and sensations, and being overwhelmed by impulses – all of this gradually gives way to relaxation and an easiness of being and movement.

An integral part of Kúdeľová’s work is the visual concept by Boris Vitázek. The projection, in which the dancer appears in various situations, is made up of a combination of animation and footage of reality. The video runs simultaneously with the movement on the stage and supplements the choreography with content, commentary, and punchlines. The visual concept and the dance are symbiotically linked, alternating dominance within each other’s dynamics to evoke a surreal impression.

Long video shots display Kúdeľová in various static everyday situations. When confronted with the action on stage, it is not clear whether this is creative immersion or hedonistic enjoyment of idleness. The symbol of a snail appearing in the projection alternately arouses disgust and curiosity. it represents a strangely appealing creature related to the performer. We see similar symbolism in the image with an armchair. The armchair is an object with which the performer merges, as if here she were transcending the boundaries of her own body, resting in it after movement sequences, relaxing her body to such an extent that the contours of her body merge with the contours of the armchair. On the other hand, the chair also limits her by circumscribing her territory; the possibilities of movement are determined by the chair’s shape. The levitating chair also gradually becomes the central motif of projections, a sign of disconnection. The animation in which Kúdeľová appears in the middle of a floating bubble evokes the social vacuum we found ourselves in during pandemic lockdowns. It reflects the ways in which we were deprived of active actions and how our lives were reduced to the level of reflections, feelings, and self-analysis. Thinking relegated action, dialogue, and confrontation with reality to the background.

In her dance art, Kúdeľová addresses philosophical or sociological issues using ready-made formats. The complex worldview in her work is confronted with simplicity, if not banality of the quest for one’s own “well-being” (in terms of conscious life management). She introduces to the stage the conflict between personal tendencies and established social life demands. Her movement approach shifts this conflict to appear clearly on an ecstatic edge, where she can create a punchline and make room for questions, transfer of existentialist feelings, beginning of a discussion or a polemic.

In her projects, Kúdeľová distinctively explores the overlaps and interconnections in different approaches to performance art. For her, art is both an expression and an object of interest. According to Kúdeľová, art does not exist in itself, but is a rhizome in constant flux that grows into everyday life. She choreographs her works based on sources that provide her with spontaneity during the creative process and allow her to intuitively work with the reception and processing of creative impulses related to the context of the chosen theme and its intersections. Furthermore, through art, she constantly explores the relationship between the body and the mind in their mutual interactions, and the ways they change over time and the manners in which they depend on space. The themes and creative impulses of such research are revealed in Kúdeľová’s work through the themes of interpersonal or social relations, social-psychological adaptations, and an individual’s existence.

2017 – Autopilot, Studio 12, Batyskaf, o.z., choreography: Soňa Kúdeľová. Premiere: Studio 12, Bratislava

2019 – Autocorrect, OZ Gegangere /Project BATYSKAF; choreography: Soňa Kúdeľová. Premiere: Studio 12, Bratislava

2021 – Autonomy, OZ CHAOSMOS; choreography: Soňa Kúdeľová. Premiere: A4 – Space for Contemporary Culture, Bratislava