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Off-beat
Ljubljana, November 1, 2011, Daliborka PodbojDancer Milan Tomášik topless and in high heels
His dance oeuvre encompasses wide array of dance linguistics and scenic expressions, besides classics and modernity he tackles also historical Renaissance, the dance of animated, light steps and noble posture, which elevates and enriches Tomášik's dance expression.
And it was his personified nobility of movement and the beauty of his dance expression that were reflected also in his latest performance, solo dance Off-Beat. The title, which is originally in English, is hard to translated into Slovene, it could mean without a blow, although the performance follows the footsteps of feet in shoes which are heard as blows (yet he never falls to the ground), or without measure, well, the rhythm of breathing and heartbeat give measure to the structure of movement, nevertheless there are no prominent rhythms of our time. The title could be translated as "no sensation" as well, yet the performance itself is a sensation for it has been quite a while since so much dance lyric and beauty of movement were seen on our contemporary scene. In my opinion Off -Beat is an offbeat moment of intimacy when a person floats on the wings of happiness and allows themself to fly and dream.
On the stage of Dance Theatre Ljubljana glances were tempted by large hanging white balls, scenic metaphors for chandeliers. Beneath them arched inflated elliptic rubber shapes - inner tubes, larger than those of lorries, which were reminiscent of parlour sets. The scene and costumes were designed by Jasna Vastl. While the costume pieces used by the dancer picturesquely and visually ingeniously complemented the dancer's form of movement, small scenic flaws came to light in the course of the performance. After two performances the white inflated shapes started to deflate more or less fast so some of them were already visibly smaller, although that was not interfering with the scene. What was interfering was the height of the inflated chandeliers as they obstructed the view of some spectators due to their viewpoint or seats so they could not see certain dance segments and comprehensively follow what was happening on the stage. However, when the sounds of Baroque music resound and the dancer spreads his dancing wings the inspiration of parlour dance history is immensely inspiring. Tomášik not only dances, but literally floats across the space with spread out, melodious arms and proud mellowness as if inviting audience in his world of splendour and grandness of dancing spirit. Topless, wearing knee-length wide black trousers, richly puffed in baroque style, with prominent wide belt, and high-heel shoes with clips. His dancing is not baroque; it does not display the demanding technique of baroque steps, although at a certain moment he uses the typical style of baroque arms, created against the backdrop of crinolines and laces of the fashion of that era. He devises his dance on Baroque music and with the musicological advice of Lidija Podlesnik Tomášik. He performs it also in the silence of movement, with the stamping of feet, and combines it with modern electronic sounds (music by: Janez Krstnik Dolar, Saša Kalan).
In his dancing flight, he seemingly opens up new spaces, new illusions. In front of us is a young enthusiastic nobleman who with a new costume piece, upper white cloak, forms a new image of that era, maybe a nobleman with a sword ... in a word, a new dance elegance. When he dons an inner tube which he softly rumbles on the floor with, the illusion of cavalry is created, and with another one which rumbles more keenly of some other, more heavily rolling machines. To show all this only as a moment of dancer's playful optimism there follows a mischievous high jump into the stacked opening at the third inner tube. Like a magician who wants to show off his skilfulness, he takes props out and returns them back into the openings of stacked inner tubes. A new image is formed in the moment when the dancer drops his baroque trousers and there is now in front of us a young man wearing a long skirt, a brand new stylized image. With additional long skirt of cut-up rectangles Tomášik already performs a new dance sketch, a new style of movement reminiscent of the philosophy of martial arts. This time it is not only the dancer who floats in the softness of his movements for the swirls of movement and spatial volume are drawn also by floating sides of the added skirt. Costumes were designed by Andreja Stržinar, and shoes by MM.
Dance solo Off-Beat is a rich, visually in-depth gallery of dance sketches in which artist Milan Tomášik combines art, his knowledge and pleasures against the backdrop of the era of court history, with the performing modernity of dance, with his time.
DELO, 9.2.2012, Mojca Kumerdej
Review of Milan Tomášik's Dance Performance: Through baroque origin to foundations
In dance solo Off-Beat choreographer and dancer Milan Tomášik tackles dance and performance elements from temporal distance.
Choreographer and dancer Milan Tomášik designed his dance solo Off-Beat as a basic temporal dialogue between two eras, modernity and Baroque, and dialogically incorporated fundamental dance performance elements in it. It seems, in fact, the creator has immersed himself in the Baroque as the originating era of classical ballet in the court of Louis XIV of France with the intention to tackle, from temporal distance, dance and performance elements which do not relate solely to a modern (ballet) dancer but to a dancer in general as well.
In this respect the performance is mostly about the dancer's attitude towards rhythm, both musical as well as internal bodily consisting of breathing and heartbeat, and last but not least the rythm of thought flow. That this is primarily not an interpretation of baroque art but the elaboration of abstract formal elements, is suggested by the dancer who inflates one of the four black round tyres of irregular shapes arranged on the floor, while the audience is entering. In the solo these, as well as huge translucent balls occasionally illuminated from the inside and hanging from the ceiling, are used in many different ways by the dancer. The oval form predominates in the performance, both in the scenic design as well as in the costumes and movements.
The solo is introduced by a baroque scene following the baroque rules which carefully defined motions and movements across the space, and the dancer here wears a black curly wig and stylized baroque black and white costume. The choice of music by Milan Tomášik, a Slovak dancer who lives between Slovenia and Belgium, is remarkably interesting as Janez Krstnik Dolar, a Jesuit and composer born at the beginning of the 17th century in Kamnik, is known to Slovenian audience mostly by name and actually far less for his suites, incorporated in the performance.
Later on, Baroque opens up to modernity in various ways, both with the simultaneous instrumental scores as well as costume transformations and deliberate connections between baroque dance suites and modern movement. With every further scene the movement becomes increasingly stylistically reduced, all the way to the scene where the dancer curtails the movement to the basic, completely meaningless, abstract relationship between a moving body and the immediate exploration and creation of rhythm through the use of the tyres. After this, almost a little absurd scene considering the first part of the solo, and until the end the elements are being structured again into forms including the dancer's exceedingly light circular ballet passage. Nevertheless, the creator leaves the form of the solo open at the end. Due to the deliberate structure and Tomášik's excellent dancing, at the end audience can be surprised that Off-Beat lasts for a solo by no means short fifty minutes.
