In her childhood and youth, Ksenija Hribar (1938–1999) never dreamed of becoming a dancer. Her parents sent her to ballet school because she was a problem child. Only when a dance teacher at the Ljubljana Ballet School told her that she possesses absolutely no talent for ballet, did Ksenija Hribar decide to prove her wrong. Even when she first travelled to London in 1960, after seven years of performing in the Ljubljana Ballet chorus, she did not imagine that dance could be her profession. But meeting Marie Rambert and the teachers in her school proved her suspicion that there could be a dance that represented a physical and intellectual challenge to her. When in 1962 she saw the film A Dancer’s World (1957), in which American contemporary-dance choreographer Martha Graham on the peak of her creativity presents the dance profession, the dancers and the studio work, Ksenija Hribar was amazed and decided to dedicate her life to dance. Even though she met the biggest ballet stars in the 1960–1962 period in London, she did not move there until April 1965 when her friend G. B. Wilson brought news to Ljubljana that Martha graham is opening a school in London. Ksenija did not have to think twice; in two weeks she packed her bags and moved to London for almost a decade and a half. Before her was a city that was changing into the (pop-)cultural and artistic metropolis of the world. In late 1960s, it was this cultural and artistic bubbling that helped British contemporary dance to establish a cultural system that came first place also on the European level. Schools with appropriate higher education, student- and professional ensembles, infrastructure, production, post-production, state- and private subventions, international tours, a fund for the re-qualification of dancers after they finished their dancing career, and state-accepted diplomas. In this pioneering work, Ksenija played a more important role than we previously thought. Ksenija, Xenia, Londonska plesna leta Ksenije Hribar 1960–1978 is a cultural history of contemporary dance, which reconstructs the British story of contemporary dance to find dancer and choreographer Ksenija Hribar in it; to give her a voice and tell the story from her perspective. The book accompanies her during her beginnings, her
first visits to London, but mostly when she was a part of the programmes of Robin Howard (1924–1989), philanthropist, dance patron, and dance enthusiast, also the founder of the London Contemporary Dance School (1965), the London Contemporary Dance Group student- and professional ensembles, the London Contemporary Dance Theatre (1967–1994), and The Place dance centre, which celebrated 50 years in 2019. During her student years (1965–1967) and when she was a member of ensembles (1967–1974), Ksenija met remarkable names from the world of contemporary dance, art, and journalism, worked with many esteemed choreographers, and performed on great stages of contemporary dance. The book brings her British dance story to an end in the years when she studied and lectured at the Victoria University Manchester and then spent two years returning home. It ends when Ksenija began playing with the thought of repeating her British dance experience in
Ljubljana.

Zahvale

Uvod

Če odidete, bomo za vami poslali milico!
Ljubljanski balet in prvi odhod v London, 1953–1960

Nottinghillski baletni farovž
V šoli Marie Rambert, 1960–1962

Na voljo imaš neznatno malo časa, da se lahko rodiš v trenutek
Film Plesalčev svet in odkritje Marthe Graham, 1962

Na televiziji sem občasno migala z ritjo
Tri prehodna leta v Ljubljani in odhod v London, 1962–1965

Nikoli se še niste imeli tako dobro!
Londonsko kulturno vrenje, Robin Howard in začetki sodobnega plesa v Veliki Britaniji, 1965

Ples po vzletnih stezah
London School of Contemporary Dance, 1965–1967

Naučiti se plesat in zdržat, četudi komaj stojiš pokonci
Prelomno leto in prihod Roberta Cohana na London School of Contemporary Dance, 1966–1967

Vsi so se strinjali, imeniten začetek
Debitantski nastop London Contemporary Dance Group v Gledališču Adeline Genée, 1967

Človek mora biti resnično nor, da se odloči za umetniški poklic
Postkrstna depresija in obisk Robina Howarda v Ljubljani, 1968

Od akrobatov do barve, ki jo umetnik razprši po steni
5 situacij, koreografije »mešanih medijev«, 1968

The Place!
Hiša na Ulici Duke’s 17, selitev Roberta Cohanav London in priprave na otvoritev plesnega centra, 1968–1969

Pravi plesni čudež
Otvoritev plesnega centra The Place, novi nastopi London Contemporary Dance Company, 1969

Ansambel bo treba razpustiti
Izredne razmere v Plesnem skladu in priprave na turnejo po Jugoslaviji, 1969–1970

Tehtnica, ki se neprestano spotika in pada iz ravnovesja
Ansambel se dokončno preimenuje v London Contemporary Dance Theatre in krsti deset novih koreografij 1970

Poti bratstva in enotnosti
Na jugoslovanski turneji, 1970

Ansambel dozori
Iz Samot in Ravni na novo evropsko turnejo, 1970–1971

Dobrodošel kontrast prevladujoči sodobnoplesni resnobnosti
Začetek Ksenijinega koreografskega leta, 1972

To ni nikakršen ples!
Ples in njegovi ljudje, 1972

Popolnoma neumna, blesava, napol odtrgana …
Premiera koreografije Treeo na londonskem avantgardnem Woodstocku ICES, 1972

Otožno petje in tenkočutni gib
Ljudje in Maša, Ksenijina zadnja krsta na ansamblovem repertoarju, 1973

Ples nad breznom zgodovine
Turneja po Južni Ameriki in slovo od ansambla, 1973

Bi se želela vrniti?
Doma v Ljubljani, medtem nesreča v Manchestru, vrnitev v London in zadnja evropska turneja, 1973–1974

Konec mojih angleških plesnih let
Triletni študijski počitek na Viktorijini univerzi v Manchestru, 1974–1977

V Ljubljano sta me preselila mačka
Vračanje v Ljubljano, 1977–1980

Kratice, slovenski prevodi nekaterih britanskih institucij in kratka opomba

Seznam koreografskih del, v katerih je Ksenija Hribar nastopila ali jih je ustvarila v Veliki Britaniji med letoma 1967 in 1973

Viri

Drugi viri

Literatura

Imensko in stvarno kazalo

Knjiga londonska plesna leta Ksenije Hribar, 1960–1978
TV Slovenija / Kultura / 28. 10. 2020

Kako je plesalka Ksenija Hribar živela v Londonu
Radio Slovenija / 1. program / Kulturni fokus / vodi: Urška Henigman / 13. 11. 2020

Melita Forstnerič Hajnšek: (INTERVJU) Rok Vevar, plesni zgodovinar: Za zmanjšanje plesne dioptrije
Večer / 9. 12. 2020
“As this field has no institutional protection, it has experienced such erosion in the last decade that the systemic effects of the last three decades completely vanished. /…/ Slovenia is a huge cultural and artistic monastery, where an incredible number of people perform their creative rituals in great solitude. This is perhaps the only true and sad achievement of our young republic.”_Rok Vevar

Mojca Kumerdej: Slovenska in britanska zgodba Ksenije Hribar
Delo / Sobotna priloga / 12. 12. 2020
I knew I was writing the book for more readerships. I wished for it to have an academic apparatus, yes, but also the form of readable documentary prose, in which I could employ Ksenija’s biography to clarify some key events and contexts of dance history, individual aesthetic turn, the scorching heat of the London metropolis in the 60s and 70s, and, last but not least, the changing Ljubljana of that era. It is amazing how all these things consolidate in Ksenija’s story. In order to do it picturesquely enough, I watched numerous documentary clips of the material culture of the time and read through a sensible amount of cultural and political history._Rok Vevar

Rok Vevar, teatrolog in raziskovalec: Trenutne oblastne garniture nič ne jezi bolj kot ustvarjalnost in inteligen
Dnevnik / 18. 1. 2021
It must also be added that a certain form of contemporary dance does get public attention recently, as it has been appearing for a decade on numerous state celebrations as an empty denominator. The authority most enjoys its gymnastic plasticity devoid of meaning – but of course nobody notices that it is in fact sports. I believe that they think the same thoughts that Josepha Goebbels did when he wrote to prominent dancer and choreographer Mary Wigman on the occasion of the Olympic Games in Berlin being opened: “The Ministry of Propaganda and Public Enlightenment is not interested in philosophy when watching dance.”_Rok Vevar

Profil
TV slovenija / vodi: Polona Balantič / 10. 2. 2021

Londonska plesna leta Ksenije Hribar
Radio Slovenija / program ARS / oddaja Oder / vodi: Rok Bozovičar / 9. 2. 2021

Andreja Kopač: Hvala vzdržljivosti in potrpežljivosti plesalcev
Delo / 13. 4. 2021
Ksenija Hribar’s London story of contemporary dance cannot be separated from her dance family, which was established by Robert Howard’s Dance Foundation and for which Rok Vevar claims to be the community marked by a contagious humanitarian spirit and the one that Ksenija belonged to the most.