SOPOTJA

Dance performance, festival production premiere

Institute MOJA KREACIJA, Maribor (within the 20th Platform of Contemporary Dance)

Premiere 5 September 2026, Great Hall, Maribor Puppet Theatre

Choreography Beno Novak, Enya Belak, Jerca Rožnik Novak 
Dancers and co-creators Kaja Vidič, Vita Trantura, Zarja Ferlinc, Katja Kučina, Neža Koprivnik, Brina Vadnjal, Rebeka Marinšek Počivavšek, Maša Bozovičar
Lighting design Gašper Bohinec 
Executive production Mojca Kasjak 
Production Institute MOJA KREACIJA, Maribor (20th Platform of Contemporary Dance) 
Co-production Plesni Teater Ljubljana, Puppet Theatre Maribor, Cultural Quarter Minoriti, Plesna izba Maribor, Center plesa Maribor 
With the financial support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia and the City Municipality of Maribor.

The SOPOTJA festival production was initiated by artistic and programme director Mojca Kasjak to mark 20 years of the Contemporary Dance Platform. It was developed through two workshop phases under the artistic direction of Ben Novak, in collaboration with Enya Belak and Jerca Rožnik Novak. Together with Niko Rajšek and Veronika Valdés, they work within the pop-up collective PINBODY, part of the REZIDENS programme produced by Plesni Teater Ljubljana. The production highlights collaboration, creativity, and community.

SOPOTJA explores the intimate core of bodily memory and the ways in which time transforms relationships between bodies. Images and gestures form a living archive, interwoven with personal and collective memories that may appear sharp, soft, emotional, or estranged, yet remain inscribed in the body. This unfolds in a dialogue between the conscious and the unconscious. Through encounters with movements from the past and their transformation, new meanings emerge, forming a collective body through individual histories.

Beno Novak graduated from the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance in 2016 and continued his studies at the Department of Dance at Tisch (New York University) and The Place Dance Academy (London). He has collaborated with numerous choreographers and companies across Europe. He co-created Resurrection 2.0, winner of the international jury award at Gibanica 2023.

Enya Belak is a multidisciplinary artist from Ljubljana working across film, choreography, and new media. She holds an MA in Directing Fiction Films from Goldsmiths, University of London. Her works include the documentary Aerowaves at 25, the interdisciplinary project Blue Ink, and the VR dance film DANCESCAPES. In 2026/27, she is an artist-in-residence at the Dance Theatre Ljubljana with the project SOPOTJA.

Jerca Rožnik Novak is a Slovenian dancer, performer, and educator based between Ljubljana and Vienna. She trained at the Anton Bruckner Private University and holds a degree in Social Work from the University of Ljubljana. She has worked with various European choreographers and companies, including Willi Dorner and SILK Fluegge. Her practice focuses on participatory and interdisciplinary work.