This blog post was written by Yasmine Bouagga, who is traveling around the Balkans since a couple of weeks - and is staying in Skopje during the Bienniale. Thanks Yasmine!

Nina Božič, from Slovenia, is standing on a stage in a green dress and red high-heels shoes. She is giving a Powerpoint presentation on how to develop creativity in dance - in four phases, as in a business strategic plan. At moments, the business-oriented speech shifts to dance, or rather to sheer, untamed physical expression - like birth giving, like an emotional call to reality. 'Business people should work with artists', the performer repeats, calling for an art in action. Before asking the audience, with humor, if anyone has a job to offer her...

Contrasting with this theatrical performance, based on the presence of the artist and her dialogue with the audience, is Ines Jacques' show. The Portuguese dancer doesn't talk to the audience, she doesn't even let the audience see her directly. In a very sophisticated installation the dancer sets the stage for a poetic 'reverie' : a black box, a lens and a light, a screen. The audience sees the dance performance on the screen, in a blurred image like an antique speechless movie. The only real person on stage is the pianist. The audience cannot see the dancer - is she here? or is it a movie? sometimes we can hear her steps, sometimes her body seems to be metamorhosing through the lense as in a dream. Blurring the limits of presence and absence, the performance is an opportunity for contemplation beyond the borders of the real.

Two contrasted performances, two different visions of art - and many more to discover through the festival.