Mala Kline, biography / interwiev

 Mala Kline (SLO/BE/NL) is a performer, choreographer, researcher and writer. She holds BA in philosophy and comparative literature (UL, Ljubljana) and MA in theater (DasArts, Amsterdam). Her own author-based work is embedded in technology of dreaming – creative and performative practice based on the affective and transformative performance of image. She is extensively engaged in different research, educational, publishing and founding activities. She founded EMANAT – institute for affirmation of contemporary dance in Slovenia, SOI Slovenia for dissemination of dream and imagery work throughout EU, and recently DREAMLAB – mobile laboratory for research and development of imagery and dream work as related to performing arts practices. Currently studies with the School of Images (NYC) and is writing PhD on ethics in performing arts at the Department of Philosophy (UL, Ljubljana) and within the framework of a-pass (postmaster program for performing arts in Brussels). She has received major awards on the field of contemporary dance in Slovenia: Golden Bird Award (Zlata ptica), Triton Award (Povodni Moz) and recently Award of Ksenja Hribar for choreography.

www.malakline.com

INTERVIEW

G: Where are you starting from and how?

M: I’m interested in people and their potential. I work in theater because it is a playground where I can do all the things that I like most in my life – move, think, write, sing, build castles of sand and houses of cards. I’m interested in theater as a place of remembrance of who we are, who we were and who we could be. I work in theater because it gives me an opportunity to imagine, think, and create different possible worlds, parallel to the one we live in. I love the fact that everything can be created from scratch and out of the blue. I work with imagination and body. I explore how images move people, how they displace us and connect us.

G: Which way are you going?

M: I studied Philosophy and Literature. I danced professionally from when I was 17, touring the world with dance companies. I spent half of my life on stage. I always tried to run away from it, but life always brought me back on stage. So on day when my boyfriend left me for another girl, I realized theater has been the only everlasting friend I had and I finally gave in and accepted that I was anyway committed to an indefinite contract with it. Once when I did that, my work came to life and started to tell me what to do. Now I only listen to it and nobody else anymore.

G: Where are you going to?

M: This year I plan to finish my PhD in Philosophy. Once when the vision will be there, we’ll build a center, where we’ll do long term research and residencies, and where we’ll work on stage productions for a year and a half or more. And then we’ll call it art and it will be art of living as well.