introduction
My name is pavleheidler. I go by pavle or pav. My pronouns are they/them. I identify as trans non-binary and/or neuroqueer; I am autistic with ADHD.
I like to say that I was born in a country that doesn’t exist, both because that’s literally true and because I like the way it sounds. The year I was born, 1989, saw the fall of the Berlin Wall and the laying of the groundwork for what was to become the world wide web.
on dancing
I’ve been dancing since I was six years old. I’ve danced for television, on film, on stage, in run-down office spaces and on abandoned factory floors, in mines, in museums, and in countless dance studios. I’ve danced for choreographers, researchers, fashion designers, visual artists, writers, and film-makers.
My experience taught me that dancing isn't determined by the shapes a body makes. Dancing, for me, is an observational procedure; a thinking, and feeling, and sensing, and doing. It is an experimental practice, developed relationally, through trial and error. And, most importantly, a way to communicate non-verbally.
on educating / teaching
An educator and an activist, Jane Elliott was the person who informed me—via youtube—that the verb to educate comes from the Latin root educere meaning to lead out. “An educator,” Elliott concludes, “is one who is engaged in the act of leading people out of ignorance.” I am drawn to Elliott’s associating educating with leading (local, action) and leadership (global, profession). Thinking about what it would take to lead anyone out of ignorance reminds me of what trail leaders do for amateur hikers, or of what skippers do for amateur sailors. (Amateur comes from Latin for the lover of.)
I started teaching when I was 17. At the time, there was no tertiary dance education in Croatia. All of us who left Zagreb to study abroad taught workshops to local artists during school breaks. Very quickly teaching became an integral part of my practice. There’s nothing like sharing your experience with others to help you make sense of yourself.