WHO WOULD WANT A MOTHER LIKE MINE?

Dalija Aćin, Serbia

Who Would Want a Mother Like Mine?

The unusual, intimate and provocative performance “Who Would Want a Mother Like Mine?” is based on a re-examination of different aspects involved in a mother-child relationship, seen from the point of view of a child as a constantly present “critical eye”. In particular, it focuses on a confrontation of simultaneous positions of Dalija Aćin as an author and a mother. The complexity of such a life situation brings to the fore the everyday question: When you are a parent (too), how much right to your own life choices do you have: to choose friends that you like, profession, emotional relationships, lifestyle...?  
The author’s decision to produce a play with her own daughter, where the child has an active role of a partner, as a gesture of introducing a real life situation on the (public) scene, speaks about the need to re-examine the relationship between a mother and a child and see it in such ways that go beyond the realm of the well-known and safe positions and roles.

The performance is based on documentary materials – home videos from Dalija and Marisa’s everyday life backed by the audio recording of an interview with Marisa where she speaks about her perception of Dalija as a mother – and on the other hand, Dalija’s dance solo, which is an element independent of their family life. However, the performance as such is not documentary. Stage setting includes (partial) improvisation, in which Milan Marković makes live selection of the interview as raw material, throwing it as a challenge to Dalija’s dance. Delegating in this way, the author/mother is deprived of the final control over the events on the stage as well as the interpretation of Marisa’s statements, opening an opportunity of playing with uncensored recordings, ‘desirable and undesirable’ statements and sudden coincidences of Dalija’s dance and Marisa’s commentaries.

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DALIJA AĆIN, born on 1974, has graduated ballet school in Belgrade and gathered the knowledge and practice of contemporary dance trough many workshops and residencies in Europe.
She presented her works on the prestigeus international festivals such as Impulstanz, Tanz im August, Urban Festival (Kiasma), Festival Particules, Tanztendenzen, Mladi levi, Week of contemporary dance, Oppla, as well as on the most important Serbian festivals such as BITEF, BELEF, Infant.
She collaborated with international artists like Isabelle Schad, Thomas Lehmen among others.
She received the award Prix Jardin d’Europe for the production “Handle With Great Care” on Impulstanz Festival 2008 in Vienna, as well as The Award for Research into the Possibilities of Borderline Theatrical Areas at the Infant Festival 2007.
Recently she created two dance performances - for children (2008) and for babies (2010). Performance for children “The Book of Roaming” was awarded at TIBA Festival.
She is co-founder and coordinator of Station Service for Contemporary Dance Belgrade, co-founder of Nomad Dance Academy and the member of Artistic Board of Nomad Dance Academy.
As a free lance artist she lives and works in Belgrade, Serbia.