Curve for Gauss
Curve for Gauss is a title that draws on the commonly used model of the Gaussian curve, or normal distribution, in statistics and other sciences. The basic premise is that the results of measuring a particular trait across a population will mostly cluster around the average value. Those who do not fall within this central portion of the distribution form the “uncontrolled” minority—those with either high or low results for the examined trait.
The performance poses the question: might those segments of the community—those at the extremes—be precisely the ones who bring “disruption to the average,” i.e., life itself? Curve for Gauss is a process of deconstructing our understanding of social phenomena, where extreme and average values are treated as equally relevant, where the individual is placed alongside the generalized, where the integrity of the picture (however imperfect it may be) stands next to a precise description of its parts, and where beauty becomes impossible without acknowledging pain…
The performance has been staged in Serbia, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro.
Choreography: Boris Čakširan and Sanja Krsmanović Tasić
Music: Aleksandra Đokić
Dramaturgy: Marko Pejović
Costume Design: Boris Čakširan
Lighting Design: Paun Pavlović
Voice: Svetlana Gogić
Performers: Ana Živković, Andrijana Lubina / Miona Petrović, Danijel Todorović, Jelena Stojiljković / Mina Kontić, Jovana Rakić, Senad Sopnić / Jana Milenković, Stojan Simić, Svetlana Gogić
Dance Pedagogue: Dejana Budiška
Co-production: Group “Let’s…” and Cultural Institution “Vuk Karadžić”
Premiere: December 2008
…The main fascination in this performance lies precisely in the way the performers with disabilities have mastered their bodies and felt the internal rhythm of the group—the way they, despite not being able to hear the music, understood and experienced even the slightest impulses, syncopations, and accents in ensemble play. The movement, thoughtfully and skillfully guided by choreographers Boris Čakširan and Sanja Krsmanović Tasić, with the wholehearted support of dance pedagogue Dejana Budiška, resulted in a strong emotional charge—yet without a hint of pathos. A compelling dose of theatricality in this stripped-down, dimly lit space was brought by blind performer Svetlana Gogić, who sang on stage in multicolored crinoline-style dresses, giving the group the needed sense of drama and poetry.
Jelena Kajgo, Politika Daily, 28. 12. 2008.
Curve for Gauss is a delicate, at times touching performance that is by no means just a token of political correctness or a trend (although such projects are quite popular in Western Europe), but rather proof that commitment, a spirit of inquiry, and devotion to theatre—in all its forms and on all levels—most often…