Matjaž Farič | Strahovi I Ghosts I 유령

Matjaž Farič: kratek biografski pregled

Matjaž Farič se s plesom ukvarja že od desetega leta starosti. Njegov plesni slog sta močno zaznamovala tudi gimnastika in karate, ki sta ga zanimala v otroštvu. Letos mineva štirideset let od prejema njegove prve mednarodne nagrade, ki je predstavljala prelomnico in začetek njegove poklicne poti na področju sodobnega plesa.

Izobraževanje in zgodnje obdobje

Že v zgodnji mladosti je organiziral in vodil vrsto plesnih skupin v Murski Soboti, najprej v osnovni šoli, kasneje pa v srednji. V drugem letniku gimnazije se je prešolal v Maribor, da je lahko obiskoval baletno šolo, ki je takrat predstavljala edino možnost formalne izobrazbe s področja umetniškega plesa v Sloveniji. V tem obdobju je še vedno vodil plesno skupino v Murski Soboti, hkrati pa kot plesalec sodeloval v predstavah Plesnega gledališča Celje.

Po končani srednji šoli in odsluženi vojaščini se je priključil novoustanovljenemu Plesnemu teatru Ljubljana (PTL). Po enem letu je izpopolnjevanje nadaljeval na dresdenski šoli Palucca Schule. Tam je osebno spoznal Gret Palucco, ki je bila skupaj z Mary Wigman pionirka sodobnega plesa v dvajsetih letih 20. stoletja.

Ustanovitev skupin in koreografski preboj

Po vrnitvi v Slovenijo je ustanovil skupino Vzhodni plesni projekt, občasno pa sodeloval tudi z amsterdamsko skupino TestWorks. Kot koreograf je deloval v PTL, kot plesalec in koreograf v kozmokinetičnem gledališču Rdeči pilot, obenem pa je vodil Plesni studio Intakt.

Leta 1991 je po intenzivnem sodelovanju z različnimi režiserji v Slovenskem mladinskem gledališču tam režiral predstavo Veter, pesek in zvezde, za katero je prejel nagrado na Borštnikovem srečanju.

Sredi devetdesetih let je ustanovil Skupino Matjaža Fariča in v Cankarjevem domu uprizoril Trilogijo – sodobnoplesno reinterpretacijo treh ključnih baletnih del: Labodje jezero (Čajkovski), Romeo in Julija (Prokofjev), Posvetitev pomladi (Stravinski). V tem obdobju je v tujini koreografiral dela za Diversions Dance Company iz Cardiffa (danes National Company of Wales) in Studio za suvremeni ples iz Zagreba.

Pomembna priznanja in mednarodna gostovanja

Leta 1997 se je na povabilo Ksenije Hribar pridružil umetniškemu vodstvu Plesnega teatra Ljubljana. Kmalu zatem je ustvaril predstavo Klon, za katero je (skupaj s Trilogijo) prejel nagrado Prešernovega sklada. Klon je bil uvrščen v končno selekcijo takrat najprestižnejšega koreografskega tekmovanja Rencontres chorégraphiques internationales de Seine-Saint-Denis, kar mu je odprlo vrata na odre v Parizu, Londonu (ICA) in na Dunaju (ImPulsTanz).

Ob koncu devetdesetih je na pobudo Ministrstva za kulturo s Cankarjevim domom sodeloval v pilotnem projektu »umetnik v rezidenci« (artist in residence). V treh letih je ustvaril: Terminal (predstava leta 1999 po izboru tednika Mladina), 10° pod 0 (v okviru omnibusa Hotel Europa je gostovala po Avstriji, Italiji, Nemčiji, Litvi, na Poljskem, v Rusiji, na Švedskem in v Franciji na festivalu v Avignonu), Pohujšanje (po Cankarju), koprodukcija s SNG Opera in balet Maribor, premierno uprizorjena v Gallusovi dvorani.

Zavod Flota in festival Front@

Leta 2001 je ustanovil zavod Flota, ki ga umetniško vodi še danes. Leta 2006 je na njegovo pobudo nastal mednarodni festival sodobnega plesa Front@ v Murski Soboti, ki je leta 2025 praznoval svojo dvajsetletnico. Festival je nastal z željo po decentralizaciji umetnosti, okoli njega pa se je razvila tudi mednarodna mreža Beyond Front@.

Režija in zadnje obdobje

Leta 2010 je diplomiral iz gledališke in radijske režije na AGRFT. Za svojo diplomsko radijsko igro Hamlet je prejel veliko nagrado na mednarodnem festivalu Prix Marulić. V zadnjem obdobju se posveča predvsem gledališki in operni režiji: 2016: Pes, noč in nož (M. von Mayenburg), SSG Trst., 2017: Grozljiva lepota / Paurosa bellezza (M. Sosič), SSG Trst in Il Rossetti, 2018: Hamlet (W. Shakespeare), SSG Trst, 2018: Lepotica in zver (P. Glass), SNG Opera in balet Ljubljana, 2018: Moški z nožem, SNG Opera in balet Ljubljana, 2019: Posvetitev pomladi (lutkovni balet), Lutkovno gledališče Ljubljana.
Leta 2025 je zaokrožil avtorski opus, ki vključuje dela: Druga stran ulice (2019), Nezaželeni (2024) in antimuzikal Splozka tla (2025).

Solo predstave

Poleg več kot petdesetih odrskih del in številnih koreografij je Farič ustvaril pet celovečernih avtorskih solo projektov: Sanje Maria H. (1987), Zlom (1988), Solo (1993), 3.oLo (2002), Rdeča – sled (2016).

Matjaž Farič: Short Biographical Overview

Matjaž Farič has been active in dance since the age of ten. His unique movement style was deeply influenced by his early interests in gymnastics and karate. This year marks the 40th anniversary of his first international award, a milestone that launched his professional career in contemporary dance.

Education and Formative Years

In his youth, Farič organized and led several dance groups in Murska Soboti—first in elementary school and later in secondary school. During his second year of high school, he moved to Maribor to attend ballet school, which at the time offered the only formal education in artistic dance in Slovenia. During this period, he continued to lead his dance group in Murska Sobota while performing as a dancer with the Celje Dance Theatre.

Following high school and mandatory military service, he joined the newly established Ljubljana Dance Theatre (PTL). A year later, he pursued further training at the Palucca Schule in Dresden. During his studies there, he personally met Gret Palucca, who, along with Mary Wigman, was one of the pioneers of modern dance in the 1920s.

Founding of Ensembles and Choreographic Breakthrough

Upon returning to Slovenia, Farič founded the Eastern Dance Project and collaborated with the Amsterdam-based group TestWorks. He collaborated as a choreographer with PTL and as a dancer and choreographer with the cosmokinetic theatre Rdeči pilot (Red Pilot), and managed the Intakt Dance Studio.
In 1991, after intensive choreographic collaborations with various directors at the Mladinsko Theatre, he directed the production Wind, Sand and Stars, for which he received an award at the Borštnik Theatre Festival.

In the mid-1990s, he established The Matjaž Farič Company and staged his Trilogy at Cankarjev dom—a contemporary dance reinterpretation of three seminal ballet works: Swan Lake (Tchaikovsky), Romeo and Juliet (Prokofiev), The Rite of Spring (Stravinsky). During this time, he also choreographed works abroad for the Diversions Dance Company in Cardiff (now the National Dance Company Wales) and the Studio for Contemporary Dance in Zagreb.

Important Recognitions and International Acclaim

In 1997, at the invitation of Ksenija Hribar, he joined the artistic leadership of the Ljubljana Dance Theatre. Shortly after, he created the production Klon (Clone), which, together with the Trilogy, earned him the Prešeren Fund Award. Klon was selected for the finals of the Rencontres chorégraphiques internationales de Seine-Saint-Denis, then the most prestigious choreographic competition, leading to significant guest performances in Paris, London (ICA), and Vienna (ImPulsTanz).
In the late 1990s, after leaving PTL, he participated in a pilot "artist in residence" program at Cankarjev dom. During this three-year residency, he created: Terminal (named Production of the Year in 1999 by Mladina magazine), 10° Below 0 (part of the Hotel Europa omnibus, which toured Austria, Italy, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the Avignon Festival in France), Scandal (based on Ivan Cankar), a co-production with SNG Opera and Ballet Maribor, premiered on the Gallus Hall stage of Cankarjev dom.

Flota and the Front@ Festival

In 2001, he founded Flota, an institute he still artistically directs and under which he has created the majority of his dance works. In 2006, he initiated the Front@ International Contemporary Dance Festival in Murska Sobota. In 2025, the festival celebrated its 20th anniversary. The festival was born out of a desire for cultural decentralization and a drive to reform local cultural policy. Under his initiative, the international network of dance organizations, Beyond Front@, was also established.

Directing and Recent Work

In 2010, Farič graduated in Theatre and Radio Directing from the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television (AGRFT). For his graduation radio play, Hamlet, he received the Grand Prix at the Prix Marulić International Festival of Radio Plays. In recent years, he has increasingly focused on theatre and opera directing: 2016: The Dog, the Night and the Knife (M. von Mayenburg), SSG Trieste, 2017: Horrible Beauty / Paurosa bellezza (M. Sosič), SSG Trieste & Il Rossetti, 2018: Hamlet (W. Shakespeare), SSG Trieste, 2018: Beauty and the Beast (P. Glass), SNG Opera and Ballet Ljubljana, 2018: The Man with a Knife, SNG Opera and Ballet Ljubljana, 2019: The Rite of Spring (puppet ballet), Ljubljana Puppet Theatre.

In 2025, he completed an authorial opus consisting of: The Other Side of the Street (a dance intervention in public space, 2019), the dance-theatre production The Unwanted (2024), and the anti-musical Slippery Ground (2025).

Solo Works

In addition to over fifty stage works and numerous choreographies for theatre, Farič has created five full-length solo dance performances: Mario H.'s Dreams (1987), The Break (Zlom) (1988). Solo (1993), 3.oLo (2002), Red – Trace (Rdeča – sled) (2016)