DATE: 14 JUNE 2026
Choreography and direction: Michal Rynia, Nastja Bremec Rynia, MN dance Company
Storyteller: Renata Lapanja
Dancers: Petra Seruga, Nathan Dhugues, MN dance Company
Original music: Andrea Pandolfo
The premiere of Paciferka took place in the welcoming outdoor setting of Cafe Epic, EPICenter Nova Gorica. The performance brought together contemporary dance, music and live storytelling, with Renata Lapanja guiding the audience through an old Slovenian folk tale.
Everything begins over a cup of coffee, as if the ritual of drinking it could awaken deeper stories from the collective unconscious. Through expressive movement and poetic narration, the dancers Petra Seruga and Nathan Dhugues portrayed Paciferka’s journey of escape, courage and self-discovery. The choreography by Michal Rynia and Nastja Bremec Rynia, accompanied by Andrea Pandolfo’s original music, transformed the traditional story into a powerful contemporary reflection on loss, violence, freedom and resilience. The combination of dance, spoken word and music created an intimate and emotionally compelling atmosphere. The performance showed how a story passed down through generations can still speak meaningfully to a modern audience. Paciferka was produced by MN Dance Company and co-produced by ZRC SAZU and international partners within the Creative Europe project The CAFE.
The event is part of the CAFÉ project, co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.