Performance Spirit Willing, new choreographic work by award-winning Canadian authors David Raymond and Tiffany Tregarten. The Performance premiered at the end of 2025 on the main stage of the Gothenburg Opera, performed by the Gothenburg Opera Dance Company, one of Europe’s leading institutions of contemporary dance. The European tour of the performance will begin with a performance at the Swiss Steps Festival.
Branislav Jovančević, a composer and music producer from Belgrade, is the author of the original music for the performance. Him music in the performance Spirit Willing functions as an autonomous stage element, actively shaping the dramaturgy and the relationship between sound and movement. Composed in close collaboration with the choreographers, the music combines atmospheric electronic textures with emotionally precise motifs, accompanying the exploration of resilience and transformation that lies at the heart of the choreographic concept. The collaboration on the Spirit Willing project confirms the international relevance of Jovančević’s authorial expression and his ability to establish locally formed musical practice as an equal part of the contemporary global artistic context.
Jovančević’s statement: ”For me, working on the play Spirit Willing represents an important turning point in my career, but also a confirmation that the artistic path does not have to be linear or predefined by institutional frameworks. I come from an enviornment that is often seen as peripherial to the dominant center of contemporary art, as well as from a practice that is not strictly shaped by the academic dance or composition complex with an authorial language that is formed differently – through experience, experiment and working outside of established systems. What is equally important to me is the potential that such projects have for empowering young artists, especially those who do not come from formally recognized educational systems. I believe that contemporary art must remain an open field, in which curiosity, risk and consistency in thinking are valued, and not exclusively academic biographies. If my participation in such a production can send a message that the door is open to a different profile of authors, for those who come from hybrid, interdisciplinary or independently constructed practices, then that work takes on additional meaning. In this context, I see Spirit Willing not only as an example of how institutions can open up to a wider range of artistic exepienes and sensibilities. Such openness is crucial if we want vibrant, relevant and socially responsible contemporary art, one that does not reproduce closed circles, but creates new spaces for dialogue, exchange and collaboration.”
Sources we used: Preventer press release