Performing at the national celebration marking Independence and Unity Day was a deeply moving and symbolic experience. The evening unfolded as a poetic homage to nature, memory, and shared origins—broadcast live on national television and performed before a full audience in the Gallus Hall of Cankarjev dom.
The performance was set to a newly created composition, Pod Košatim Drevesom, written especially for this occasion by the group Silence—Boris Benko and Primož Hladnik—and performed live together with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra. The rich orchestral sound gave the evening a ceremonial weight while opening space for intimacy and reflection.
Directed by Neda Rusjan Bric, the dramaturgy grew out of our relationship with nature—wood as origin, memory, and living archive. At the heart of the narrative was the miraculous true story of the Kutin brothers, who discovered a 6,500-year-old tree on their farm. From this ancient wood, new life emerged: musical instruments crafted from time itself, including the violin played during the performance by Lana Tropovšek.
Dance, music, and story merged into a single living organism—linking the archaic with the contemporary, the personal with the collective. Moving between rootedness and transcendence, the performance reflected on continuity, care, and the invisible threads that bind generations together.
To be part of this national celebration—shared simultaneously with audiences in the hall and viewers across the country via RTV Slovenija—was an honor and a reminder of the power of art to speak quietly yet profoundly about who we are, where we come from, and what we carry forward.
Here are some photo moments from behind the scenes.
