The Cycle of a Flower Crown

Crows. Photo: Kamil Hauptmann.

Author Regina Janzen

I’ve grown up with them. As a child I was dancing in full clothing to honor the tradition of folklore. Yet, I have found new ways of decorating myself nowadays – piercings. I fell in love with a classical instrument, the cello. Instead of playing it with a cello bow, I play the strings only with my fingers. My hair is innocently braided, like my mother did it when I was a girl, yet I’ve dyed it grey. My black outfit decorated with straps, gives me a feeling of a soft uniform. I am connected to you. Every time I hear the sound of your brothers and sisters, I feel as one with you. As you sing, I start to sing as well. 

You’ve replaced my flower crown with a crown decorated with the same black straps as my dress. I guess, you’ve recognized me as one of you. We are playing in harmony together. As I feel your rhythm, you feel mine. You start to play with each other and explore my tradition that you are a part of. An ancient fairytale that connects me to my roots. Yet, I am not meant to stay in the past. I am meant to find my way through traditions with where I am today. 

Are you doing as I say? Are you flying as I play? You are so playful. Are you enticed by my music? You follow the rhythm so accurately. Are you enslaved by the rhythm? Maybe hypnotized? You repeat and play. Smart and intelligent as you are, you use sticks to climb high. Flying high above my sky. I wish I could fly with you. Flay away from the bond I feel down here. 

As I play along, I am sure you recognize the tune of the song, the old words, the story. Yet, you seem to be enjoying my spin to it. The twist, that becomes rawer the longer I play. 

You appear as sisters. You are so in tune with each other, intertwined and I can’t help but wonder: can I be your third? 

I feel my female energy through the representation of you. I’m feeling a new cycle. Death and Rebirth. Are these your names?

My flower crown fell. My innocence is gone. I am not the person I used to be, yet not the person who I am about to become. I’m in limbo. However, throughout this melancholy that I feel, I am at peace. The music is helping me. It’s connecting me to you, and as I watch you after I stopped playing, I feel almost hypnotized to join you under the tree, on which you are taking rest. While we are bathing under the moonlight together, I realize that there is always freedom and peace, no matter how turbulent or unknown the path ahead is. Maybe in my new life, I am supposed to be just like you – a crow.  
 

EDITORIAL NOTE:
This text was written as part of an international writing workshop entitled Alternative Formats, aimed at developing alternative ways of writing about dance. The workshop was a collaboration between Taneční aktuality and Performing Criticism Globally and took place during Move Fest Ostrava 2021, kindly supported by EEA Grants, and the resulting texts were written in response to productions at this festival. Regina Janzen’s text The Cycle of a Flower Crown responds to Holektiv’s performance Crows.

Vrány
Koncept: Andrea Vykysalá, Karolína Křížková
​Interpretace: Šárka Říhová, Aneta Bočková
​Režijní spolupráce: Eliška Brtnická
​Scénografie: Herrmann & Coufal
​Hudba: Terezie Vodička Kovalová
​Kostýmy: Michaela Čapková
​Lightdesign: Niels Doucet
​Produkce a PR: Andrea Vykysalá, Sára Pospíšilová