Andrej Petrovič: P/One of The Seven

My name is Pride. I am a cheater.

I cheat you of your God-given destiny…
because you demand your own way.
Beth Moore

P stands for ,,Pride” – pushing the borders to go out of the rules. Selfishness and your own victory. It doesn’t matter if Pride comes before the fall or fall comes before the Pride, because PRIDE always wants to shine.

Andrej Petrovič, a prominent dancer working with the world’s most renowned choreographers, is returning home to work on a series of solo performances, each dealing with one deadly sin. All seven should result in the eighth performance. Pride is the first sin.

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The following performance reviews were generated within the project Dance Season 2018/2019 - a Slovak nationwide project of analyzes of contemporary dance performances and discussions, which was supported using public funding by Slovak Arts Council.

The solo of a great dancer about the journey of, or rather the process of becoming a slave to one’s own shame. Petrovič elevates both pride and the shame in his work to a some kind of cult, a prestigious affair. He drags his throne, a chair that is a burden to him, but then he seizes it, spins on it, and enjoys himself. We have a chance to see a man becoming a slave as well as a fallen, proud king.

by Marek Godovič

Many works are currently based on improvisation. This piece, on the contrary, relies on precisely guided movement, to the point that he, the dancer, is the master of everything. Although, sudeenly, this is reversed and the movement controls the dancer. Even the music, reminiscent of a heartbeat, gradually penetrates him, as if movement entered from the outside and then again going back, from the inside of him, takes control of the whole space.

by Katarína Cvečková