.digital
IVAN, UNFILTERED
*with Ivan Ugrin
written CHIDOZIE OBASI
Croatian-born, Amsterdam-hailed multidisciplinary artist Ivan Ugrin spent the last decade finding and shaping his stride. “I’ve been a professional contemporary dancer for fifteen years, with stints as a movement director and a model,” he tells LE MILE’s Fashion Market Director, Chidozie Obasi, the moment they meet in Spring, during a sun-soaked day in Milan ahead.
Ivan wears a total look by DIOR
The past year was a rough one for everyone around him, himself included. “It was a year of monumental changes, but also a year of big personal growth,” he shares, adding how he feels very proud of how far he’s come. “I changed my creative field, going from the contemporary dance world into a more fashion-driven realm,” he says. “My modeling career kicked off, and I honestly feel very grateful and blessed to be where I am right now,” he adds. Below, we grabbed five with Ugrin to unpack influences, career feats and future hopes.
Ivan wears a sweater by MICHAEL KORS and underwear by ISABEL MARANT
Chidozie Obasi
Who’s been your biggest influence while growing up?
Ivan Ugrin
Growing up, I was a very goofy kid that would play out scenes from Jim Carrey movies, especially Ace Ventura, as I really admired him. To this day, I still quote a lot of the jokes and physical humor.
Could you unpack your biggest career feats so far?
I don't really look at my career as one big feat after the other. But rather, I take pride in a lot of small, but equally meaningful events, like every time I premiere a piece. Or when my mom came to see me perform for the first time when I was twenty five years old (and then secondly when I was thirty three (she only saw me on stage twice). I’m also thrilled when a person who attends the show comes to me after it, telling me how the performance impacted them. I’m also elated when I catch a glance of a friend in the audience that I had no clue he was going to be there that night. In the past, I performed a lot for kids, and putting up a show for them made me fall in love with performing even more. I performed this kids’ play titled TETRIS by Erik Kaiel in a Palestinian refugee camp in Jordan. It was one of the most beautiful and heartwarming experiences of my career; the kind of experience that reminds you of the power of art.
And touching on the complex moments and, in turn, rejections, how have they shaped your persona?
No one likes rejections, but no one knows rejections better than performing artists. I personally have been rejected a lot of times. So much so that I have not passed a single audition in my career. I don’t do well under that kind of pressure, and I feel in the audition setting I’m unable to show my full potential. For all the jobs I’ve undertaken, I was either recommended by my peers or I personally wrote to choreographers directly, expressing my desire to work with them. So I’d say that these situations have impacted me a lot as a young dancer. I had to deal with most of them on my own, understanding I should not take every rejection to heart. Some things are just a matter of timing and luck.
Ivan wears a total look by PRADA
Ivan wears a sweater by ISABEL MARANT, shirt by LOUIS VUITTON, shorts by LESSICO FAMILIARE and shoes by CHURCH’S
Where did you study, and how has your path in dance been?
When I was eighteen, I moved to Zagreb to study Veterinary medicine. That same year I started dancing Jazz twice a week at TALA Dance Center in Zagreb. I didn't know much about dance at that time apart from how it felt in my body and how it made me feel. Dancing felt good, it felt right: It felt like I finally found my passion. Those hours spent in the studio made me feel free without any worry. I was told by my teachers that I was talented, but it was hard for me to understand that at the time. All I knew is that I wanted to be as good as I can be and I wanted to dance. I enrolled at Amsterdam School of The Arts, at the Modern Theater Dance department. I skipped a year, so I finished 4 years of education in three years, landing a graduation in 2013. After that moment, I worked mainly as a freelancer, most noticeably with Arno Schuitemaker and Connor Schumacher. I was part of a ICK/Emio Greco Pieter Scholten company in 2016 for a year, while they were artistic directors of Ballet National de Marseilles.
You’re also taking ballet classes, correct?
Yes, I still take ballet classes a bunch of times a week. During the week, as my daily practice I mix Yoga, Ballet and weight training at the gym. Nothing prepares you for dancing like classical training.
What projects are you working on?
This is a good opportunity to say that I am free and ready to work on new projects as I’m about to perform the last shows in the Netherlands, in beautiful pieces I am part of.
What’s next for you?
The next thing for me is to start new exciting dance projects in Europe. And together with my amazing agent Jane, we are focusing on my career as a model and movement director within the fashion space.
Ivan wears a blazer by FENDI, shirt by SANDRO and shorts by PHYSIQUE DU ROLE
photography
ANDREA CENETIEMPO
fashion market director + stylist CHIDOZIE OBASI
head of production JESSICA LOVATO
fashion coordinators ALBERTO MICHISANTI + EDWARD PUSCA
make up EDOARDO DE FALCO via WM MANAGEMENT
hair FUJIWARA TAKAHASHI via MKS MILANO
talent IVAN UGRIN via DEJAPRIS AGENCY
fashion assistants VALENTINA INVERARDI + VINCENZO VITELLO + SEBASTIAN RAFAEL
fashion market director + stylist CHIDOZIE OBASI
head of production JESSICA LOVATO
fashion coordinators ALBERTO MICHISANTI + EDWARD PUSCA
make up EDOARDO DE FALCO via WM MANAGEMENT
hair FUJIWARA TAKAHASHI via MKS MILANO
talent IVAN UGRIN via DEJAPRIS AGENCY
fashion assistants VALENTINA INVERARDI + VINCENZO VITELLO + SEBASTIAN RAFAEL
credits
all Images (c) LE MILE
and Andrea Cenetiempo