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Interview with MN Dance Company

February 3, 2020

Recently, BTS released "Black Swan", a moving and emotional song encompassing the intricacies of art and performing.  Instead of starring in the video themselves, BTS and Big Hit employed MN Dance Company to not only star in but to also choreograph the piece for the debut of the song.  

The end result was brilliant.

Included is the complete transcript so that Nastja and Michal’s passion for the art of dance can be fully appreciated, as well as what went into creating this beautiful art film.

What is the philosophy of MN Dance Company? Also could you provide us with a brief history of the company?

 

NASTJA: We are telling stories in our personal way. Our style is pure, expressive and the movement comes out of researching the concept, which is supported by a unique way of transmitting the storyline. We create intuitively, mixing different dance techniques and with this, we are moving the borders of various dance styles. We like to express the beauty but also the roughness of the world we are living in.

 

MICHAL: In our performances, we focus on the individual in nowadays society. Often we reflect on the actual social themes. A lot of times we find inspiration in Greek mythology and we are placing the ancient myths into nowadays times. We combine different art forms as a medium to tell our stories. We are often working with actors, musicians, visual artists, … We love to create something out of nothing – just out of our bodies. It's amazing how many different stories you can tell through your body. And we love that dance gives the freedom of interpretation.

 

NASTJA: The company, was founded at the end of 2008 and is playing a vital role in the popularisation of dance among all generations. We are both founders and choreographers of MN Dance Company.  We are dedicated to dance from our childhood. 

MCHAL: I originally come from Poland and I started as a hip hop dancer, taking part in many competitions.

 

NASTJA: Among others, he won the title of a world champion over five times.

 

MICHAL: Nastja is coming from Slovenia and she started with classical ballet and contemporary dance. Our paths crossed at Rotterdam Dance Academy CODARTS, where we met and both graduated. Now we live and create in Slovenia.

 

NASTJA: During the times of our studies we got the chance to work with the most well-known choreographers, among that we also got the chance to create our own works. We are very aware and thankful for all the experience and knowledge we received on our path.

 

Last year we were celebrating ten years of our creative work as MN Dance Company. During all these years we created a large number of different artistic projects, most outstanding from all of them are our full-length performances, performed in theatres around Slovenia and abroad.

How long have you been dancing/been with the company?

 

MICHAL: The two of us are the founders of the company. We choreograph and dance for MN Dance Company since the very beginning. We started as a duet and then we expand the company to more dancers and other artists. 

 

Who are the dancers in the art film?  What aspect did each one bring to the table to make this such a success on your part?

 

NASTJA: Our group members are various depending on the project. Usually in our works are performing international dancers and the number of dancers depends on the project we are creating. Each year we are organizing international audition to choose dancers for a specific project. Usually we both dance in our projects but since Michal was injured at that time he was more responsible for the choreography and the creative process.

MICHAL: In the case of BTS art video, besides Nastja we decided for a cast of six talented dancers matching the purpose of choreography from our educational program. Alongside our works for theatres we also have an educational program for dance and all of these dancers are a part of it, they are our students. Most of them took their first dance classes with us. Like for example, the main dancer of Black Swan video Luka Vodopivec made his first dance steps under our mentorship. We thought that they are ready for this experience and that would be a great opportunity for them. The names of the dancers of the BTS art video are Nastja Bremec Rynia, Luka Vodopivec, Noemi Capuano, Gabriel Vassili Biondini, Matija Mačus, Meta Konjedic, Eva Podlogar.

 

NASTJA: We are very proud of our dancers for their work and dedication to this project. 

 

How much knowledge did you have about BTS before being offered this opportunity?

 

MICHAL: We were familiar with BTS's music. We became fans of their work. We love their innovative approach, positive energy and the messages they are communicating through their music. We also respect their artistry and the idea that they are introducing different art forms to a wide range of audiences.

 

How did the collab come into being?

 

MICHAL: This happened all unexpected and still today we find it hard to believe. We don't know how they found us, but we assume through our Youtube channel. Big Hit Entertainment contacted us in October if we would like to do a choreography for BTS's new single. We had to prepare the choreography and sent it to them for a review. They liked our creation and next thing we knew we were already in LA recording the Art film in December. We are very thankful for this opportunity to BTS and Big Hit Entertainment.

 

What inspirations did you draw from for this dance?

 

MICHAL: Big Hit Entertainment sent to us the meaning of the song and what they would like that choreography represents, but we had all our artistic freedom in creating.  We really like the concept of the song. All the artists at some point in their careers can relate to it. As an artist aiming for perfection, you always try harder and harder to pursue perfection. You can easily get caught by the fears, but you can overcome them by staying true to yourself.

 

NASTJA: We wanted to express all this through the body in nonverbal communication to be able to reach out to the audience and instinctively it brought us to the final result. We were trying to portray the feeling of the song. The emotion of being caught by your fears and trying to fight them. To be free. We wanted to express all this through our body language the body in non-verbal communication to be able to reach out to the audience.  

 

Which styles and techniques did you incorporate into your choreography?

 

NASTJA: We would say is our personal way of expression. We are both coming from different backgrounds but we fused all our knowledge into our training methods and to dance vocabulary used in performances to express different concepts. 

 

MICHAL: For each performance, we try to explore the story through the movement. Otherwise, our morning training is based on classical ballet, yoga and physical floor work and acrobatic elements. 

 

NASTJA: The dancers from our educational program are trained with us in contemporary and hip-hop.

We heard there was a previous version of the choreo. How do the two differ? What do you feel are the major differences?

 

MICHAL: Yes while exploring we had few versions of the choreography. The first one was more a sketch of what could happen and the second one was given more thought and time to it. 


How was the location for the shoot decided?  It was a truly stunning location. How was it to dance on that floor, barefoot?  

 

MICHAL: The artistic team behind the video decided for the location. We found it very interesting and fitting to the concept. The video was recorded in an abandoned shopping mall in Los Angeles. Of course, the floor was not perfect for dance but maybe more problematic then the hard surface was the cold since the temperatures on that day were very low. Either way, dancers were focused on the execution of the choreography and all the film crew took really good care of the dancers. 

 

As you may know, Jimin studied contemporary at Busan Arts School and has performed a few solo stages in the genre. Have you had a chance to see his dancing, or that of the other members?

 

NASTJA: We saw some videos of Jimin's performances. We think that he, and all other members of BTS, are great dancers and we would be very happy to see them performing our choreography. 

 

If there is one thing you would want a non dancer to know about dance what would it be?

 

MICHAL: I think that everyone dances even not knowing about it. It is not like the choreography dance but more improvisation, we dance our lives, we improvise them - we can say it is a sort of dance. We move when we walk and the music can be the surrounding sounds. Whenever we use gestures we communicate, so we can say we dance and it is natural.  When the baby learns how to stand and walk on their feet the next thing the baby does is to naturally move when hearing the music. 

Some of us train to dance it in the studios and perform it on stages but we all dance - we all move. 

NASTJA: The dance was always present and has a strong social aspect.  Dance can truly change lives and also heals.

 

What’s next for MN Dance Company?

 

NASTJA: Now we are going to create the choreography fort the company Balletto di Roma from Rome, Italy for their 60th anniversary. Besides that, we will be touring with our latest performance DE-SET in Slovenia, The Netherlands, and Hungary. 

 

Is there a possibility of another collab in the future with BTS?

 

MICHAL: We are very open to that. It would be really great to collaborate with BTS again. 

Is there anything additional you would like to add or to let BTS’ fandom ARMY know?

 

MICHAL & NASTJA: Listen to your heartbeat there is a rhythm in it. Do not let the outside noise override your own melody, intuition, and purpose because all the answers are within you already. If you listen to your pulse carefully you may find living, creating, dancing your own life.

 

Do not be scared to rise and to fall because also in between flying moment happens. Keep on dreaming because your dreams become your reality.



 

The answers were given by Michal Rynia and Nastja Bremec Rynia – cofounders of MN Dance Company and choreographers of Black Swan Art Film.

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