Day 1 - „Into The Web“
Synesthetic Project: Arachne
Nika Bauman / Sarah Maria Dragović / Virna Kljaković /
Anna Bárbara Bonatto
The first day opens with the premiere of Synesthetic Project’s new creation, Arachne - a performance where ritual and myth are woven together into a shimmering web of sound, movement, and symbolism.
Three musicians and a dancer invite the audience into a space transformed into a vast, web-like installation. Here, stories of womanhood, connection, and transformation unfold like threads of silk, binding the performers and the audience in a shared ritual. Classical and folk music intertwine, carrying echoes of ancient traditions while resonating with a contemporary pulse.
At its heart, Arachne is a celebration of empathy, sisterhood, and the delicate yet unbreakable bonds that tie us to one another. Before and after the performance, visitors are invited to wander through an accompanying exhibition of visual artworks and media, expanding the ritual beyond the stage into a living dialogue of art forms.
Day 2 – „Threads of Tomorrow“
A Fashion Show Reimagined
SALICULA / Anna Asamer / Brian Lawlor / Simone Lorenzo Benini / Manuel Schager / Maartje Pasman / Mirjam Plank / Virna Kljaković / Nika Bauman
The second day celebrates the intersection of sustainability, fashion, and performance with a reimagined fashion show that turns recycling into art. Young designers Nika Vrbica and Anna Asamer, both dedicated to upcycling, transform discarded materials into new forms that carry stories of renewal and resilience.
The evening opens with George Crumb’s Vox Balaenae (Voice of the Whale), a haunting meditation on nature and time. Dancer Simone Lorenzo Benini, dressed in an upcycled creation from Vrbica’s Nautilus collection, channels the fluid, timeless voice of the ocean through movement.
In the second part, the stage becomes a living runway: dancers Maartje Pasman, Mirjam Plank, and Simone Lorenzo Benini animate upcycled creations by Vrbica and Asamer. Their gestures are accompanied by the inventive sounds of Brian Lawlor, who plays on instruments both scavanged and recycled—an echo of how beauty can be reborn from what was once forgotten. This is not only a fashion show, but a poetic reminder that creativity and sustainability belong together.
Day 3 – „Spinning a Tale“
Stories of (not so) Long Ago
Sakina Teyna / Mahan Mirarab / Omid Darvish / Kasho Chualan / Marko Ferlan / Gaj Bostič
The third day dives into the emotional depth of contemporary music, memory, and resilience, led by Kurdish artists whose stories resonate across borders.
In an intimate duo with guitarist Mahan Mirarab, Sakina Teyna shares Ich habe in eine Geheimsprache gesungen - a powerful personal narrative of struggle, resistance, and loss. Her voice, at once fragile and unyielding, becomes a vessel for histories often silenced, carrying the emotional weight of exile and the unbreakable strength of survival.
The evening continues with Omid Darvishi and his collective, who weave experimental, traditional, and jazz elements into a soundscape that is both ancient and new. Drawing inspiration from Zoroastrian literature, their music becomes a bridge between the myths of the past and the visions of the future - a reminder that storytelling, in all its forms, is how we endure and how we dream forward.