About the performance
Deep underground, where light is scarce and silence is almost audible, once lived Perkmandlc – a small, mischievous creature surrounded by coal dust and the mystery of dark mine shafts. He was the guardian of the underground and a friend to miners, though no one ever caught him at work. He knew how to make sure miners heard the rustle of danger in time, and sometimes he played little pranks—hiding a hammer, moving a lamp, or creating a sound illusion that made everyone laugh in the middle of a hard day. Miners believed he existed, but no one ever saw him.
Then came the years when the mines in Zasavje closed, when human footsteps disappeared from the tunnels. The mine dwarf, who thus lost his “job” and his home, was forced to take to the road. He set off into the world above ground to continue his mission—to help people. On his journey he finds himself in entirely new, unfamiliar environments and situations. Like Alice in Wonderland, he discovers, learns, marvels, and stumbles into unexpected adventures. He makes himself a home in a nearby tree. And although people do not accept him at first, a trial brings them together and proves that mining values such as friendship, honesty, compassion, and mutual help have not disappeared.
Every Alice has her own Wonderland, and every Perkmandlc can find a mission in a new world—one that opens the eyes, ears, and hearts of both children and adults, showing that with good will, cooperation, and acceptance of diversity, differences among people make the world more colorful, inspiring, and magical. A vivid combination of dance and circus elements, animation, light, text, and music by the group Orlek will carve a particularly magical path for the dwarf Perkmandlc under the choreography of Branko Potočan.
About the author
Branko Potočan (1963) spent his childhood and youth among miners in Hrastnik and even worked in the mine for a year. In his dance stories, he nostalgically and playfully returns home, this time accompanied by Perkmandlc. He began dancing already in primary school. As a teenager, he founded the breakdance group Gumiflex and was a member of the France Marolt Folklore Group. He attended the Faculty of Sport in Ljubljana and at the same time started a professional dance career.
In 1986, he joined Dance Theatre Ljubljana and, as part of the avant-garde group led by Ksenija Hribar, participated in all major productions. Between 1990 and 1993, he worked in Brussels with world-renowned choreographer Wim Vandekeybus and, with the Ultima Vez company, toured major dance and theatre stages across the globe. In 1994, he founded the physical theatre group Fourklor, with which he has created over 30 full-length performances in thirty years. He is the author of more than 50 performances and has received several awards for his work. He also works as a pedagogue, choreographer, and movement consultant, and leads workshops on contemporary circus. In addition, he is the artistic director of the international performing arts festival Rdeči revirji in Zasavje.
