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Plenary meeting DETAILS
IETM Spring Plenary Meeting in Bratislava 23-26 April 2009
From 23-04-09 till 26-04-09 - Bratislava, Slovakia
Plenary meeting - All Parts - posted by IETM on 31.10.08
Curators' Performance Selection
Off Programme
*******
Documentary Films
City Trips
Fancy Dress Closing Party!
Advertisment for the artistic programme broadcasted on the Slovak television
Curators' performance selection
By Romana Maliti, Vladislava Fekete, Martina Vannayová, Miroslava Kovárová
Read the following articles, to learn more about the history and the situation of the performing arts in Slovakia!
- A Very Brief Outline of the History of Slovak Theatre, by Professor Vladimír Stefko
- Dance in Our Genes, by Mira Kovárová
- The Phenomena of Slovak Theatre, by Romana Maliti
- Everything you wanted to know about Slovak theatre (but were afraid to ask)
Please book your performances here. You will be able to modify your choices on the spot, at the ticketing desk, located next to the registration desk. The ticketing desk will remain open until one hour before the performances start.
Please note that you must collect your tickets yourself directly at the venues at least 10 minutes before the beginning of the performance.
Bolero... and more
Mário Radacovský, Igor Holovác, Paul Lightfoot / Sol Leon
Slovak National Theatre - Ballet, Bratislava
Modern ballet - Evening of Dance Miniatures (No text)
Venue: SND - Historical building
Thursday, April 23rd 18:30 - 20:30
Performed by: soloists and choir of the Slovak National Theatre Ballet
Change...
Choreography and Direction: Mário Radacovský; Music: Gioacchino Rossini, Johann Sebastian Bach; Costumes: Eva Rácová
When Dying Means Life
Choreography and Direction: Igor Holovác; Music: Arvo Pärt; Costumes: Eva Rácová
Meeting a Swan
Choreography and Direction : Mário Radaèovský; Music: Peter Tchaikovsky; Costumes: Anik Bissonnette
Bolero
Choreography and Direction: Mário Radaovský; Music: Maurice Ravel; Stage Design and Costumes : L'udmila Várossová
Susto
Choreography and Directed by: Paul Lightfoot, Sol Leon; Music: Ludwig van Beethoven; Stage Design and Costumes: Paul Lightfoot, Sol Leon; Light Design: Tom Bevoort
EMOTION AND VIGOUR
Miscellaneous themes, freshly choreographed features, modern visual language and a pure dance statement – these may be the characteristics of this event composed of dance miniatures by two Slovak choreographers; Igor Holováè and Mário Radaèovský and a well-known tandem from the Nederlands Dans Theater – choreographer Paul Lightfoot and dancer Sol Leon.
In their choreographies, the creators develop various motifs – the instability of love and relationships, the need for change and inspiration, love in its purest form, love we are willing to die for, the endless fight of contrasts in us and around us, the passing of time… Their choreographic line is specific and rich in components, not omitting humour and playfulness. It is based on classical dance but has been modified into a contemporary, dynamic and physical expression of a great plasticity, closer to today’s audience. The evening is opened by a playful choreography entitled Change followed by two contrasting duets. Igor Holováè (1964) is emotionally and physically intense in his choreography. The more dream-like and playful duet by Mário Radaèovský (1971) entitled Meeting a Swan provides an enjoyable contrast. In the second half of the evening we can hear music by two great composers – Ravel and Beethoven. Bolero by Mário Radaèovský is based on the principles of a game of chess and is dominated by the energy of the male dancing. The evening’s climax is Susto, meaning fear in Portuguese, a horror. The couple - Paul Lightfoot and Sol Leon, dance under the stream of falling sand and enchant the audience with an atmosphere of light irony and pulsing energy.
Leonce and Lena
Georg Büchner
Theatre (Simultaneous translation in English)
Venue: SND - Drama
Thursday, April 23rd 2009 19:00 – 21:40
Translation: Ján Rozner; Adaptation: Martin Cicvák; Direction: Martin Èièvák; Dramaturgy: Martin Kubran; Stage Design: Tom Ciller; Costumes: Marija Havran; Music: Petr Kofron;
Performed by: Emil Horváth, L'uboš Kostelný, Diana Mórová, Robert Roth, Zuzana Fialová/Helena Krajciová, Ján Gallovic, Oldo Hlavácek, Leopold Haverl, Vladimír Obšil, Gabriela Dzuríková, Alexander Bárta, Branislav Bystriansky
GRACEFUL THEATRALITY
Büchner´s play Leonce and Lena is a multi-layered tangle of fable, satire and humour. The actors of the Slovak National Theatre interpret it as a typical story about “princes” and “princesses“ whose crowns do not fit on their heads and who look at life as if they saw it for the first time, waiting for “their turn” to be in control. Their sentences seem both infantile and nihilistic. It is a fairy-tale about endless adolescence which rejects the rules of adulthood. We ask ourselves what the world would look like when Leonce and Lena seize power. In the striking stage setting, designed by Tom Ciller (Dosky Award for Best Stage Design for the season 2007/2008), the characters’ thoughts are flowing freely, whereas their coincidental meetings seem to be driven by destiny, under the tree of knowledge. The production constantly balances on the boundaries of utter playfulness and the philosophy of power. Leonce and Lena is one of the productions of the last season that give a fresh and light feeling and that look at dramatic art and at the art of life with less seriousness.
Director Martin Èièvák (1975) is a graduate of the Janáèek Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno, the Czech Republic, and is one of the most successful young directors in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. He was awarded the Alfréd Radok Prize for Talent of the Year 2000 and the Dosky Award for season 2003/2004 for his direction of Roland Schimmelpfennig´s Arabian Night. His works are characteristically playful and imaginative, and the purity of symbolism and visual conception in his works follow the modern European theatre approaches.
Kubo - A Hundred Years of Pain. Comedy
Jozef Hollý
Puppet theatre for adults (Subtitled in English)
Venue: Nova Scena
Thursday, April 23th, 19:00 – 20:30
Adaptation: Martin Geišberg, Marián Pecko; Direction: Marián Pecko; Stage Design: Jaroslav ; Costumes, Puppets: Eva Farkašová; Music: Róbert Mankovecký; Choreography: Tomáš Nepšinský;
Performed by : Karol Cicmanec / Dominik Zaprihac, Marek Geišberg, Ján Haruštiak, Nad'a Jelušová, Ivana Kovácová, Marianna Mackurová, Marek Pastírik, Viktor Sabo, Peter Stolárik, Alena Sušilová, Jozef Šamaj, Mária Šamajová, Silvia Severíniová / Tatiana Jánošová, Peter Vanoucek
EXPRESSIVE DRAMA WITH ELEMENTS OF CIRCUS
The production of Kubo is original for several reasons – professional critics consider it the most important and artistically most significant project of contemporary puppet theatre in Slovakia. It successfully represented Slovak performing arts at many festivals and guest performances in Slovakia and abroad and was awarded several national and festival prizes. For a few seasons, it has been one of the most popular productions of the On the Crossroads Puppet Theatre designed for a young audience as well as for adults. It brings a new approach to the genre and was the most often staged Slovak comedy of the beginning of the 20th century. The story of negative human features and manipulation is observed through the eyes of “village simpleton” Kubo. But this Kubo is not a typical idiot; he is a man who lives in a world of his own visions, images and emotions. His examining look uncovers the truth and reflects the world around him as well as ourselves. Although his view is exaggerated, the result is not black-and-white – the show is a circus of genres, a generous mixture of drama, street theatre, cabaret, musical theatre, physical theatre and film.
Marián Pecko (1958) directs in several theatres and puppet theatres in Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic. He is an extraordinary artist who uses theatre to search for and name the fundamental human and moral values. His use of metaphor and symbolism is fascinating.
Dead Souls (pictures of the new world)
SkRAT Company
Non-verbal theatre (No text)
Venue: A4
Thursday, April 23rd, 19:00 – 20:05 and 22:30 – 23:35
Conception, Direction: Dušan Vicen; Light Design, Musical Mix: Ladislav Mirvald;
Co-authors, Performed by: Vít Bednárik, L'ubo Burgr, Lucia Fricová, Dana Gudabová, Inge Hrubanicová, Milan Chalmovský, Vlado Zboron
AESTHETICS OF BANALITY
The SkRAT Company continues the activities of the cult Stoka Theatre (1991 – 2006). A number of independent theatre groups were formed from this theatre as a reaction of theatre professionals to the lack of opportunities to perform contemporary performing art without the compromises brought about by co-operations with traditional repertoire theatres.
Directors of the SkRAT productions are ¼ubomír Burgr (1964) and Dušan Vicen (1966), who is the two-time holder of the Alfréd Radok Prize for Best Czech and Slovak Dramatic Text. Authorial productions of the SkRAT were seen also by audiences abroad (Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Serbia and Slovenia) and received the main prize at the Nová dráma / New Drama Festival of Contemporary Slovak and World Drama. The productions, often based on improvisation, search for themes oriented to current issues and are characteristic for their post-modern views on man.
Dead Souls is wordless theatre of scenes depicting the so-called culture of housing estates and people whose lives are mutually interwoven, but exhausted. Without uttering a word, their drama is caused by every-day life filled by trivial situations. The empty night housing estate casts a shadow on its residents; on stage, we can see fragments of flats – bedrooms, kitchens or bathrooms where smaller or bigger tragedies take place. These people long for fulfilment but are not able to live according to their projections. In their world they move from one place to another, communicate without words, cry without tears, laugh without voice. Fragments of the film by O¾ga Paštéková – Petržalka after Midnight and shadow animation by Daniela Krajèová are also used in the production.
Kebab
Gianina Cãrbunariu
Theatre (Subtitled in English)
Venue: SND - Studio
Thursday, April 23rd, 20:30 – 21:50
Translation : Jana Páleníková; Direction: Ján Šimko; Dramaturgy: Martin Gazdík; Stage Design and Costumes: Jerguš Opršal; Music: Matúš Homola;
Performed by: L'ubomír Bukový, Juraj Igonda, Tatiana Poláková
NEW DRAMA
In previous seasons, the three ensembles of the State Theatre Košice (opera, ballet, drama) created a number of remarkable productions which occupy an important place in Slovak theatre– they are characterised by modern theatre processes and themes which address a broad scale of spectators.
It is similar with the production of Kebab by the contemporary Romanian author Gianina Cãrbunariu. The themes she works with deal mainly with authentic feelings of young people from the post-Soviet countries. Director Ján Šimko tinkered a bit with the text of the play. He adapted it to the Slovak context by which he gave it a seal of authenticity and a more universal meaning. Three young Slovaks stagger about Ireland looking for their life chance which was denied to them in their home country. Their unsuccessful attempts to fulfil their goals and projections about their lives are excellently performed and seem to be screened on a film sheet in front of us in sharp cuts. The story of young emigrants from Eastern Europe reflects the sad reality of today: on the stage, we see their initial euphoria and drunkenness about their visions of success in showbusiness replaced by depression and ending in a tragic situation.
Ján Šimko (1976) is a progressive young director who is interested in theatre as a place for promoting social issues. His style of directing is characterised by his work with documentary theatre techniques, his original socio-political interpretation of plays and his work with actors in which he uses epic theatre techniques, which is quite untraditional In Slovakia.
Before Retirement
Thomas Bernhard
Theatre (Simultaneous translation in English)
Venue:Astorka Korzo '90 Theatre
Thursday April 23rd, 21:00 – 23:10 and Saturday, April 25th, 18:30 – 20:40
Translation: Ján Štrasser and Peter Zajac; Direction: Juraj Nvota; Dramaturgy: Andrea Dömeová; Stage Design and Costumes: Mona Hafsahl;
Performed by: Zita Furková, Zuzana Kronerová, Peter Šimun
DISCOURSES ON HISTORICAL MEMORY
From its founding in 1990 the Astorka Korzo ´90 Theatre has been one of the leading theatres in Slovakia. In both conception and name, it follows the legendary On Korzo Theatre which was closed for political reasons in the early 1970s, the time of normalization. On Korzo Theatre was famous for its inventive and provocative dramaturgies and direction of world plays, which were considered unacceptable by the communist regime.
The Astorka Korzo ´90 Theatre presents an attractive repertoire based on the personal participation of Slovakia’s most important actors such as Peter Šimun, who received the prestigious Dosky Awards 2006 as Best Actor for the character of Rudolf Höller. Before Retirement represents not only artistic but also political and social satisfaction for Slovak society, whose government collaborated with the Nazi regime during the so-called Slovak state (1939 - 1945).
In the gloominess of the lounge, three siblings dance their dance of death in expectation of the time when they will once again be able to celebrate the birthday of their spiritual leader Himmler. Behind their civilized masks, they hide the monstrous faces of small-town people who dream of ethnic cleansings and gas chambers. The celebratory atmosphere is mixed with outbursts full of rage and gradually grows to monstrously grotesque proportions when the real secret of the family eventually appears. The production may be characterised as metaphorical realism showing the evil and historical practice of its repeating. This production was awarded Nová dráma Grand Prix as Best Production at the Nová dráma / New Drama Festival of Contemporary Slovak and World Drama 2006.
Director Juraj Nvota (1954) is one of the founders of the Astorka Korzo ´90 Theatre. Characteristic features of his work are his thorough approach to text, large space given to actors and their participation. He is also talented in revealing poetic features and humour even in the most tragic situations.
UNA (Unknown Negative Activity) - Shouting Opera in Movement
RootlessRoot Company, Slovakia – Greece
Dance theatre (No text)
Venue: Arena Theatre
Thursday, April 23rd, 21:00 – 22:15
Choreography and Concept: Jozef Frucek and Linda Kapetanea; Performed by: Martha Frintzila, Jozef Frucek, Linda Kapetanea, Vasilis Mantzoukis, Edken Lame and Marianna Tzouda; Music: Vasilis Mantzoukis; Text: Jozef Frucek; Stage Design: RootlessRoot and Dimitris Nasiakos; Costumes: RootlessRoot and Natasha Dimitriou; Light Design: Dimitris Nasiakos
OPERA IN MOVEMENT
The main inspiration and initial point for creation of UNA is the person named Theodore Kaczynski, aka “The Unabomber” who was a terrorist who wanted to fight against what he perceived were the ‘evils of technological society’. According to his manifesto Industrial Society and its Future, humans must return to a simpler way of life to live well and prosper.
“Shouting Opera in Movement” is a hybrid combining different elements of performing arts into a more “dysfunctional” language than the one we usually use. Singing, talking, dancing and live music are translated into a psychological gesture, chaotically reconstructed to become an over-exaggerated language that can express the complicated world of lonely men in the more and more complex world we live in.
The libretto consists of the texts of the manifesto by Theodore Kaczynski, articles from newspapers concerning his actions and records from the proceedings of his trial as well as book writings about violence and human behaviour. All this material is precisely composed into the libretto where the music is played live and intervenes with the action on the stage. It consists of compositions of “musique concrete”, which is produced by a computer. The electric guitar patterns sometimes have a primitive character, but when meeting the fragile lyricism of the songs, they create a powerful psychological contrast.
After a rich professional experience and common work in the Ultima Vez Company in Belgium, the Slovak dancer Jozef Fruèek (1975) and the Greek dancer Linda Kapetanea (1973) founded the RootlessRoot Company in Greece, where they now live. They create their own projects, develop choreographies for other companies in Europe and work as teachers at home and abroad. Their first appearance in Slovakia took place at the Divadelná Nitra 2008 with the choreography entitled Sudden Showers of Silence, which won enthusiastic reactions from the audience. The world premiere of UNA will take place in Bratislava.
Orthopoeticum
Maja Hriešik (ID:), Debris Company, Bratislava
Physical theatre (No text)
Venue: Mala Scena
Thursday, April 23rd, 22:30 – 23:30
Concept: Maja Hriešik (ID:), Debris Company; Direction: Maja Hriešik; Dramaturgy: Barbara Gindlová; Choreography : Stanislava Vlceková; Design, Stage Concept and Technical Assistance: aktivnagruppa – Lukáš Kodon, Katarína Mrázková and Norbert Knap; Stage Design and Costumes: Eva Rácová; Music: Jozef Vlk;
Performed by: Maja Hriešik, Stanislava Vlceková, Jozef Vlk, Martin Piterka
CONCEPTUAL DANCE NOT ONLY ABOUT PAIN
This production was created by renowned young contemporary artists who focus on dance, physical theatre, music, stage design and new media. Through its research and theoretical outcomes, it has become one of the most interesting contributions to contemporary conceptual dance in Slovakia. The creator of the concept, Maja Hriešik, was inspired by the problems and pains of real people’s bodies – her own and other participants’ in the project. Composition and decomposition of this “physical and poetic medical record on the stage” is directly connected to the functioning of the healthy and malfunctioning of the damaged spine. Choreographic and visual elements follow the image of the healthy spine’s anatomy, body deformations, shapes of orthopaedic instruments and X-ray pictures. The production openly speaks of the feelings of a person who loses all ability to move naturally and fights with the blocking or limitation of movement caused by physical pain. It also deals with how the malfunctioning of the body influences the thinking of a person and his/her sense of searching for new meaning though the inner beauty of movement.
Maja Hriešik (1978) is a distinctive personality in contemporary Slovak theatre. She is also active in the field of theatre theory and publishing (she deals with the theme of physicality of the performer in the context of European theatre and the issues of the independent theatre scene in Bratislava) and works on educational projects focusing on dramatic writing. Recently, she has moved away from dramatic works and surprised audiences with her contemporary opera debut – at the State Opera in Banská Bystrica she directed the Slovak opera Under Cherries in Full Bloom by Vladimír Godár. Orthopoeticum is her dance and physical theatre debut.
The Platform (searching for identity in 18 scenes)
Miloš Karásek
Theatre (Subtitled in English)
Venue: Mala Scena
Friday, April 24th, 17:30 – 19:05
Stage Setting and Direction / Mise en scène et réalisation de décors: Miloš Karásek; Music / Musique: Michal Koøán; Dramaturgy and Translation to Ruthenian / Dramaturgie et traduction en langue ruthène: Vasil' Turok;
Performed by / Avec: Jozef Tkác, Vasil' Rusinák, Evgen Libeznuk, L'uboš Mindoš, Marián Marko, Svetlana Škovranová, L'udmila Lukacíková, Sergej Hudák, František Javorský; Voice / voix: Michal Hudák
BECKETTIAN SATIRE IN RUTHENIAN STYLE
Miloš Karásek has mixed visual and theatrical views of the world as he is a sculptor as well as a director and playwright. In both spheres he consistently avoids realism. Even though in his play The Platform he constructs seemingly realistic dialogues, he leads them in an existentialist and absurd way. His work is reminiscent of Beckett mixed with Sartre, but seasoned with folk farce and something that is typical to Slovak mentality. The Platform is something like “Stationendrama” where people change, rather than places. Two men in black suits sit on a bench and fleetingly meet various characters – a person who wants to commit suicide, a dominatrix, an angel, a director of a theatre etc. Existentialist thoughts are mixed with banalities and absurd humour. Together, though, they create strong statements about fundamental human issues. The production was awarded the Dosky for Best Music (thanks to the renowned Czech composer and musician Michal Koøán) and was successfully presented at the Neue Stücke aus Europa in Wiesbaden. The Alexander Dukhnovitch Theatre is a community theatre using the Ruthenian language. The Ruthenians are eastern Slavs who have never had their own state and are often mistakenly thought to be the Ukrainians. During the communist regime, which repressed the Ruthenian minority, this theatre was called The Ukrainian National Theatre.
Miloš Karásek (1960) studied architecture, but since the mid-1980s, he has been making theatre. Firstly he worked with Blaho Uhlár (coincidentally at the Ukrainian National Theatre in Prešov) with whom he wrote their authorial projects, theatre manifestoes and with whom he founded the legendary Stoka Theatre (1991 - 2006). From the late 1990s he has worked alone writing and directing his own plays and is also a renowned sculptor. His works are known for their sense of dynamics, emotion and ability to observe reality giving it an original, artistic shape and unique humour.
Memory of Bratislava I.: Stories from Petržalka (interruption)
Ján Šimko and the producing team
Theatre (Subtitled in English)
Venue: Studio 12
Friday, April 24th, 17:00 – 18:55 and 22:00 – 23:25
Direction: Ján Šimko; Dramaturgy: Martina Vannayová and /et Zuzana Ferenczová; Stage Design and Costumes: Jerguš Opršal; Music: Pavol Plevcík and Andrej Hruška;
Performed by: Maroš Balážik, L'ubomír Bukový, Petra Fornayová, Juraj Igonda, Pavol Plevcík / Pavel Graus, Henrietta Rab / Slávka Daubnerová
DOCUMENTARY DRAMA ABOUT THE LOST MEMORY OF ONE PLACE
Petržalka is the biggest housing estate in Central Europe built at the time of rough normalisation in the 1970s. A long time ago, during the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, when it was called Engerau (in German) or Ligetfalu (in Hungarian), until its demolition due to the massive construction of the new blocks of flats in the 1970s and 1980s, the people from the town knew this place as a pleasant, relaxing suburb of Bratislava. During World War II it was annexed by the Nazi Germany and a gathering camp for Jews and Roma was situated here, from which they were transported to concentration camps. After the war, the expelling of the Hungarians took place here and when the communists decided to build a giant housing estate, the residents had to leave their houses, which were then demolished. The documentary drama Stories from Petržalka works with real stories of residents of Petržalka, both those who remember the old Petržalka and those who moved into the anonymous “cubbyholes” (as the blocks of flats have been pejoratively called) and had to create a relationship with this place. It is a generational and historical statement about a place which lost its memory.
Ján Šimko (1976) is a progressive young director who is interested in theatre as a place for promoting social issues. His style of directing is characterised by his work with documentary theatre techniques, his original socio-political interpretation of plays and his work with actors in which he uses epic theatre techniques, which is quite unconventional in Slovakia.
Cells
Louise Bourgeois / Sláva Daubnerová / Eduard Kudlác
Theatre / installation (Subtitled in English)
Platform for contemporary theatre and performing arts
Venue: A4
Friday, April 24th, 18:00 – 18:40 and 22:00 – 22:40
Written, Directed and Performed by: Sláva Daubnerová; Dramaturgy: Eduard Kudlác; Visual Concept: Sláva Daubnerová and Eduard Kudlác; Co-production: Phenomenontheatre
Text fragments taken from diaries and notes of Louise Bourgeois
DE- AND RECONSTRUCTED RECOLLECTIONS
The monodrama Cells is inspired by the series of installations of the same title by the visual artist Louise Bourgeois, born in 1911 in Paris. The Cells by Louise Bourgeois were developed in the late 1980s and were exhibited as a series of six cells. They were rooms with real prison walls made of found steel or glass doors and windows, with furniture, mirrors and various personal belongings. The Cells were based on the construction of the memories Louise Bourgeois gives a physical form to, and by which she lives again the traumatic moments of her life.
The key point for the concept of P.A.T. was taking a cell as an isolated sphere where personal moments take place. The inspiration source and material for the production is taken from the extensive work of Louise Bourgeois: the authors work with the texts of the artist, quote her diaries and follow her working methods of deconstruction and reconstruction. Nevertheless, they anchor them into their own context and create their own model of a woman who deciphers in herself different forms of pain.
The P.A.T. Company has been functioning from 2006 as an independent platform for contemporary theatre, dance and new media. The P.A.T. focuses on solo projects and productions in co-operation with guest actors, dancers, visual artists and musicians. The P.A.T. regularly presents its production in Prievidza, the A4 - Zero Space in Bratislava, in independent cultural centres, theatres and festivals at home and abroad. Its founder and leader is Sláva Daubnerová (1980).
Canto Hondo (a deep song about her...)
Šárka Ondrišová, Kamil Žiška
Dance theatre (Subtitled in English)
Venue: SND - Historical building
Friday, April 24th, 18:30 – 19:30
Theme, Screenplay and Direction: Šárka Ondrišová and Kamil Žiška; Choreography: Šárka Ondrišová with the use of physical material by the performers ; Dramaturgy: Lucia Blašková; Music: Kamil Žiška, Ján Kružliak, Jozef Vlk; Stage Design: Miro and Jaro Daubrava; Costumes: Lea Fekete; Light Design: Róbert Polák;
Performed by : Stanislava Vlceková, Ján Hromada, Anna Sedlacková / Monika Horná, Csongor Kassai, Miroslava Klementová, Kamil Žiška, Ján Kružliak
www.elledanse.sk
A MYSTERIOUS FAMILY STORY
Canto Hondo tells an emotional story of a young woman who is dealing with her painful present and trying to cope with the traumas of the past. Nevertheless, she remains unable to forgive, unable to step out from the circle … There are three generations of one family, which depicts the never-ending traumas of the relationship between the mother and daughter and misunderstanding in marriage. It is a dance performance which offers a powerful aesthetic and emotional experience for those who like when dance associatively tells a story. The production organically connects expressive means of the movement, stage design, live music and dramatic acting. The authors delicately balanced all the components and created a compact whole, which is often surprising in the intensity of the atmosphere accumulated in the space of a plainly furnished room in an old house. The quality of the production is strengthened also by the professional attitude and personal contribution of all the performers, including the well-known Slovak actor Congor Kassai as well as renowned personalities of the independent dance scene (Anna Sedláèková, Stanislava Vlèeková).
Despite the fact that the authors of the production have been known in the artistic community for quite a long time, they founded the ElleDanse Theatre as late as 2007 and Canto Hondo is their first project.
Choreographer Šárka Ondrišová (1971) studied choreography at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava and recently she has been working mostly in the sphere of musical or drama theatre. Kamil Žiška (1979) is a director and composer. In 1997, he and Jakub Nvota founded the Túlavé divadlo (Wandering Theatre). Kamil Žiška also works on his own. His work has an inclination towards the traditions of cabaret and folk theatre.
The Canto Hondo received three of the Slovak critics’ Dosky Awards 2008 in Best Production, Best Director and Best Music categories.
Everything for the Nation
Božena Slancíková-Timrava, Ondrej Šulaj
Theatre (Subtitled in English)
Venue: SND - Drama
Friday, April 24th, 19:30 – 22:20
Direction : Michal Vajdicka; Dramaturgy: Daniel Majling; Stage Design: Pavol Andraško; Costumes: Jana Hurtigová; Music: Peter Mankovecký;
Performed by: Zuzana Kanócz, Daniela Kuffelová, Juraj Loj, Žofia Martišová, Branislav Matušcin, Zuzana Moravcová / Lucia Lapišáková, Martin Nahálka, Milan Ondrík, Ivan Vojtek sr.
www.dab.sk
IN SEARCH OF TRADITION
In the theatre season 2007/2008, the productions of the Andrej Bagar Theatre caused quite a stir. It was mostly due to the thematically designed dramaturgical project called The Family Silver presenting five original productions of Slovak classical literary works and plays: Mere Trifles by Jozef Gregor Tajovský, Mother by Július Barè-Ivan, Piargy based on works by František Švantner, Margita Figuli and Dobroslav Chrobák, operetta Blue Rose by Gejza Dusík and Pavol Braxatoris, and Everything for the Nation by Božena Slanèíková-Timrava. Each of the productions expressed its own approach to dealing with the theme of searching for one’s own roots, showing stereotyped and surprising features of the Slovak nation in the past and today. Timrava´s novel, which takes place just before WWI, has been dramatised by film screenwriter Ondrej Šulaj with dominant thematic lines that support a current analysis of Slovak patriotism and the longings of a woman for self-fulfilment, seasoned with a pinch of light irony as well as understanding. The educated and unconventional young woman Viera Javorèíková has outgrown the dimensions of her environment and this is why she cannot come to terms with life in a village and is unable to find a husband. Timrava´s heroes and heroines of the ordinary day, who search for their personal happiness, become, thanks to her thorough psychological sketching, universal and closer to today’s people.
Michal Vajdièka (1976) directed successful works since 2004 in many Slovak theatres. Critics and audiences appraised him mainly for productions of Irish plays (Martin McDonagh, Marina Carr) in which he showed his talent for unforced connection of themes of Irish countryside to the Slovak environment and a meticulous approach to working with actors. His productions are characterised by the generous space given to actors, thorough work with situation comicality and interesting use of stage design (he systematically co-operates with stage designer Pavol Andraško).
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Terra Granus
Michal Ditte
Theatre (Subtitled in English)
Venue: Astorka Korzo '90 Theatre
Friday, April 24th, 19:30 – 21:15
Direction: Iveta Jurcová; Dramaturgy: Michal Ditte; Dramaturgy Assistant: Zuzana Ferenczová; Musical Arrangement: Pavel Graus;
Performed by: Henrietta Rabová, Michaela Hrbácková, Gabriel Tóth, Kristína Sihelská, Kristína Tóthová / Katarína Vakrcková, Réka Derzsiová / Mária Danadová
www.poton.sk
DOCUMENTARY DRAMA ABOUT DISPLACEMENTS
The Terra Granus (The River Hron Land) is based on ground research and acting workshops which took place in 2007 in the Lower Hron Region (Hron is the name of a Slovak river). The Hron Region is a place where several displacements happened after World War II. The primary thematic frame of the creators was “searching for home” in different political, social and cultural circumstances in concrete historical moments. The first one of these events consisted in exchanging repatriates between Hungary and Czechoslovakia (following the Beneš´s Orders) shortly after World War II. The second significant event was the displacement of the people of the village of Mochovce in the 1980s due to the construction of a nuclear power plant. The company based their work on the testimonies collected from the inhabitants of the region: descendants of the deported families or Slovak immigrants from Hungary. The author himself does not come from this region.
When writing this dramatic text, the playwright and dramaturge Michal Ditte (1981) did not work with the collected material only in a documentary way. The text is a collage of six stories of people from different historical periods. Every situation is hyperbolised and imaginative; real and absurd views of people of the past and present intermingle. Terra Granus is both a dream-like vision and real drama about life and theatre making in the conditions of one small town.
Director Iveta Jurèová (1968) is known for her many years of organisational and directing work on amateur stages in Slovakia. She is an originally thinking director with an inclination towards educational activity (she is an author of many educational projects and regularly leads courses and workshops). She is one of the founders of the Pôtoò Theatre where she systematically co-operates with one of the most distinctive contemporary Slovak playwrights, Michal Ditte.
Opening Night
Les SlovaKs Dance Collective, Belgium
Contemporary dance (No text)
Venue: Arena Theatre
Friday, April 24th, 20:00 - 21:15
Choreography and Dance: Les SlovaKs Dance Collective, Milan Herich, Anton Lachký, Milan Tomášik, Peter Jaško, Martin Kilvády; Music Composed and Performed by: Simon Thierrée; Stage Design: Les SlovaKs Dance Collective; Costumes: Mat Voorter, Pepa Martinez; Light Design: Hans Valcke, Joris De Bolle; Produced by : Phileas Productions – ulti´mates / ULTIMA VEZ; Co-production: Teatre Mercat de les Flors (Spain), Fondazione Musica per Roma (Italy), Partner DCJ – Dans Centrum Jette (Belgium), BUDA Kunstencentrum (Belgium)
IMPROVISATION ON A FRIENDSHIP
Mutual trust and openness can be experienced only with friends from our youth, where there is shared professional experience and a way of looking at dance or the world influenced by common roots – this was the basis of the communication between people who found themselves together in a strange environment. These are the attributes which joined the Les SlovaKs Dance Collective members together and led them to form a professional dance group in Brussels. The Opening Night is their first joint work through which they speak about their present and everything that predetermined it. They are playful, witty and full of energy. Their movement proves that they are free in dancing as well as in thinking. Their improvisation is captivating, bearing a broad scale of moods, with references to Slovak folk art as well as experience and understanding of the essence of contemporary dance. Their movement is a mixture of dynamics with the feeling for rhythm, pace and space. The spectator is drawn in by the presence of a moment, the energy and the virtuosity of the performers who are simply happy to be doing what they are doing. An important part of the production is music, which is mixed live by Simon Thierrée.
Les SlovaKs Dance Collective was founded in 2006 and, despite its short existence, it has won the attention of many supporters. The members of the collective began their dance career in Slovakia. After graduating, they left Slovakia and co-operated with renowned European ensembles and choreographers such as ROSAS, Ultima Vez, Akram Khan, Sid Larbi Cherkaoui, David Zambrano. Opening Night has been seen by audiences in Prague, Brussels, London, Salzburg or Madrid.
Be Bop
Contemporary dance (No text)
Venue:SND - Studio
Friday, April 24th, 22:00 – 22:50
Choreography: Stanislava Vlceková; Music and Direction: Jozef Vlk; Stage Design and Costumes: Eva Rácová; Light Design: Ján Cief;
Performed by: Martina Benacková, Denisa Bencat'ová, Michaela Nezvalová, Petra Péterová, Tibor Trulík
ENDANGERED BODIES
The authors of this production were inspired by bebop, a musical movement which was developed in the 1940s and freed the musical form from a strict traditional structure. It enriched jazz with its quick pace, asymmetric phrasing, free and constantly changing structure.
The Be Bop production speaks about how great events are created from nothing, about repeating, about the self-preservation instinct and inventiveness in seemingly desperate situations. Five characters unexpectedly find themselves in a narrow space - a cellar which is gradually filled by fear of a life threat. An innocent play suddenly becomes an extreme situation perceived by each of the characters differently. The struggle to survive rapidly smudges the differences between the characters and provides a mirror in which they can see their real selves. And so, all of a sudden, fragments of emotions emerge together with forgotten memories, sexual motivations, old resignations, fear of the future and the nameless secret of life. Gestures in dance emphasize the personality of each of the characters. Their movement is based on the language of contemporary dance and has natural plasticity and splendidly developed dynamics. The choreography gives space to the individual fortes of each of the performers.
The project was developed by two Slovak artists who are now well known in the contemporary dance sphere – young Slovak dancer and choreographer Stanislava Vlèeková (1981) and Jozef Vlk (1961) who directed, dramatised and composed the music. The production was developed at The Studio of Dance from Banská Bystrica, a professional dance theatre and the only modern dance ensemble in Slovakia to be founded and regularly supported by the state. Since it was established in 1998, it has been giving opportunities to original contemporary dance productions and has been supporting co-operations with exceptional Slovak creators of various artistic genres.
Second Turn
Object theatre (No text)
Venue: Central European House of Photography
Friday, April 24th, 22:00 – 23:00 and Saturday, April 25th, 21:30 – 22:30
Direction: Ján Štrbák; Stage Design: Ján Štrbák; Costumes: Diana Strauszová; Props: everyone;
Performed by: Zuzana Šimová, Jana Šturdíková, Lucia Carnecká, Diana Strauszová
THE WORLD OF FEMALE ARCHETYPES
In the production of Second Turn, the secret inner rituals of man within space and time are materialised. The production deliberately balances on the border between an intimate exploration into the depths of the human soul and a hollow farce. By using different objects, four women examine the possibilities of space and matter in order to depict inner obsessions, traumas, joys, merry and sad moments. This piece of object theatre is formed in such a way as to stimulate perception of the audience and open the room to searching for unexpected connections and explanations. Each of the women brings her own object into the play, whose form and material is decided by herself, and starts a play “reviving” the object into a subject. By doing this, and in the non-theatrical chamber space of a gallery, the objects almost become live exhibits from the museum of one’s own psyche. Second Turn is an almost textless performance, where the important role is played by structure, movement and placing of bodies and objects within the space in mutual correlations. What is examined here is the relation of the object, performer and audience.
The Non.Garde Company is a professional fringe theatre from Bratislava. It forms a base for development of new creations. It gives room to shifting borders, genre blending and interactivity between the audience and the artists. The theatre is created by the MED, VEÏ Associations and their co-workers.
Director Ján Štrbák (1972) is the founder of the Stromy Theatre Association. It was here he established himself as a director interested in non-verbal expressive means and the combination of gesture, movement, light and object. In theatre, he deals mostly with abstractly philosophical themes and examines whether they can be expressed in the material world of theatre.
HEXEN
Debris Company, Bratislava
Contemporary dance (No text)
Venue: A4
Saturday, April 25th, 18:00 – 19:10 and 21:30 – 22:40
Choreography: Stanislava Vlceková, Daniel Racek; Music and Direction: Jozef Vlk; Visual Conception: Martin Piterka; Stage Design: Marija Havran; Costumes and Visual collaboration: Eva Rácová; Light Design: Jozef Vlk, Martin Piterka; Music Performed by: Jozef Vlk, Peter Krajniak, Jozef Lupták, Peter Šesták, Boris Lenko; Partners: ElleDanse, A4 – Zero Space;
Performed by: Martina Lacková, Emil Píš, Daniel Racek, Stanislava Vlèeková and The Fifth
MAGICAL SAMPLING OF SOUND, MOVEMENT AND IMAGE
One of the most remarkable productions of Slovak independent theatre in 2008 is a mixture of the original choreographic views of young Slovak dancers and choreographers Stanislava Vlèeková (1981) and Daniel Raèek (1973) and well-known composer, performer and director Jozef Vlk (1961). This multi-genre production connects minimalist music, video screening and choreography consisting of originally mixed contemporary dance, movements of martial arts and oriental dance based on contact improvisation. HEXEN is a performance of physical theatre of energy, archetypes and humour in which physical relations are made archetypal, based on attraction and repulsion. The creators reject the representation and interpretation and play with stage elements such as tableau, playing with the space and surface, sampling of movements, sounds and scenes, concentration of meanings. HEXEN is a performance about searching for borders between the real and unreal, movement and motionlessness, about the effort to capture constantly changing reality into a magic picture.
The Debris Theatre Company was founded on the original base of the Hubris Company. It has existed almost for fifteen years (with a break in 1999 – 2004). The main expressive means of the Hubris/Debris has been mostly the non-verbal approach to classical literary pieces such as Kafka´s The Trial, Borgés´s The Gospel According to Mark and Joyce´s Ulysses. Later, the company started to focus on authorial theatre. During their existence, the company developed more than twelve productions. The projects of the Debris are based on the knowledge of the development of contemporary dance, performance, installation and site specific work. All entrances – visual, musical, sound and physical, in rhythm within space and time, layers of action in theatrical or other space – exist in parallel, next to each other, playing against the illusion of real time.
Ivanov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
Theatre (Simultaneous translation in English)
Venue: SND - Drama
Saturday, April 25th, 18:30 – 21:25
Translation: Ján Štrasser; Dramaturgy: Monika Michnová; Direction: Roman Polák; Stage Design: Vladimír Cáp; Costumes: Peter Canecký; Music: Michal Novinski; Puppets: Ludvík Poznícek; Choreography: Peter Tabacek;
Performed by: Jozef Abafi, Ján Demko, Jana Eliášová, Eva Gašparová, Michal Gazdík, Marek Geišberg, Viliam Hriadel, Lucia Jašková, Ján Kožuch, Miloslav Král', Jana Ol'hová, Renáta Rundová, Bibiana Tarasovicová, František Výrostko
www.divadlomartin.sk
ENCOUNTER OF CULTURES AND THEATRE PRACTICES
Director Roman Polák created a production which stands out from the standard of the Slovak performing arts. Chekhov’s well-known story is presented here in an original concept which uses new staging possibilities. It uncovers the undercurrents, mostly of the burn-out syndrome which has hit today’s society, but also of the experiences of different cultures which try to live in mutual symbiosis. Polák was successful in creating a production valid in every time, a production placed on the boundaries of invention, originality of direction, acting and thought. Basic Chekhovian questions Who am I? What do I live for? What do I want? are asked here with slapstick comedy lightness, and all the time the production moves along the border between comedy and tragedy. In the middle of the assembly of grotesque padded figures and manipulative characters, as if cut out from Japanese bunraku, staggers the character of Ivanov. In such a colourful group, Ivanov cannot be the main hero, let alone the engine of the production. Nevertheless, he is the stepping-stone for tragicomic situations led from above by puppet strings. The contrast between the black-and-white visualisation and the colourfulness of the inner charge makes this production one of the best that has appeared in recent seasons on Slovak stages.
The productions by Roman Polák (1957) significantly exceed the dimensions of Slovak performing arts. It was exactly here, in the Martin theatre, where his career started in the 1980s and has been flourishing since. It is characteristic for the meeting of intellect with emotions. His two most successful productions – Touches and Reunions (La Dispute) by P. de Marivaux (1988) and Brecht´s Baal (1989) – represented former Czechoslovakia at international festivals throughout Europe (Edinburgh, Belgrade, Toruñ, Wroclaw, Moscow).
Dr. Gustáv Husák (Prisoner of Presidents – President of Prisoners)
Viliam Klimácek
Theatre (Simultaneous translation in English)
Venue: Arena Theatre
Saturday, April 25th, 18:30 – 20:40
Direction: Martin Cicvák; Dramaturgy: Martin Kubran; Stage Design: Tom Ciller; Costumes: Marija Havran; Video Screenings: Peter Kerekes, Marek Šulík;
Performed by: Emil Horváth, Ján Gallovic, Marián Prevendarcík; Children’s Voice Choir of Slovak Radio led by Adrián Kokoš; Accordion – Viliam Majer
REFLECTION OF THE COMMUNIST PAST
One of the most controversial personalities of Czechoslovak history, a lawyer and politician, Dr. Gustáv Husák, was imprisoned in 1940 together with other communists in a concentration camp. In 1951 (after the communist party took over) he was arrested and accused of bourgeois nationalism and in 1954 he was sentenced to life imprisonment. After his release from prison and his rehabilitation, he became one of the persons involved in the reformation movement. During the “Prague Spring” (April 1968) he became a deputy prime minister. After the Warsaw Pact troops’ occupation in August 1968, he participated in negotiations with the Soviet side in Moscow. In 1969, he replaced Alexander Dubèek in the function of the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. In 1975, he was elected the President of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. He was re-elected again in 1980 and 1985. After the events in November 1989, when it was clear that the Iron Curtain was to fall down definitely together with the communist power, he resigned after 14 years in office.
These are only a few of the facts from the life of the “prisoner of presidents and the president of prisoners”, as Gustáv Husák is called by renowned Slovak playwright Viliam Klimáèek. And this is also only a small slice of information documenting the incongruousness and turbulent history of this geopolitical space. The play, interpreted by three actors, depicts three stages of one man – the zealous communist (1950s), ambitious politician (1968) and cynical president of the normalized country (1970s and 1980s). Not only does it speak of dilemmas and the ups and downs of powerful men; it also speaks about the absurdity of life in communist Czechoslovakia.
Director Martin Èièvák (1975) is a graduate of the Janáèek Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno, the Czech Republic, and is one of the most successful young directors in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. He was awarded the Alfréd Radok Prize for Talent of the Year 2000 and the Dosky Award for season 2003/2004 for his direction of Roland Schimmelpfennig´s Arabian Night. His works are characteristically playful and imaginative, and their purity of symbolism and visual conception follow the modern European theatre approaches.
Near...
CobosMika Company, Slovakia – Spain
Contemporary dance (No text)
Venue: Heineken Tower Stage
Saturday, April 25th, 20:00 – 21:00
Choreography and Direction: Olga Cobos, Peter Mika; Technical Assistance and Sound : Jordi Fuentes; Stage and Light Design: Peter Mika; Costumes: Olga Cobos; Music: Duet: Robert Ashley, Thomas De Hartmann, Trio: Erikk McKenzie, D. Lang, Nine Inch Nails; Co-production: Koreografisk Center Archuz (Denmark);
Performed by: Duet: Iker Arrue, Laura Vilar; Trio: Iker Arrue, Vicky Söntgen, Laura Vilar
TOUCH THE SOUL THROUGH MOVEMENT
The dance group CobosMika from Spain was founded by Olga Cobos and Slovak dancer and choreographer Peter Mika. Together they also developed Near... which is made up of two parts – a duet and a trio. This pure and concentrated dance work attracts interest with its precision and emphasis on the dancer. In the empty space, the dancers are the basic elements and create an almost metaphysical structure out of a psychological maze of emotions. Olga Cobos and Peter Mika focus mainly on attributes such as continuity, dynamics and tension.
In Near…, they search for their own original dance language based on statue perfection and classical and contemporary dance by working together and with other dancers. The main motif is "to be imprisoned" and “try to get free” by following the inner voice which wants to be acknowledged. The CobosMika Company are representatives of expressive dance in which emotion expressed by dance is equally important as the form.
Peter Mika (1972) graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava and from the mid-1990s he worked and co-operated with various dance groups and renowned choreographers (Bruno Genty Company, S.O.A.P. Dance Theater Frankfurt, Rui Horta Company, Russell Maliphant). From 2000, he and Olga Cobos (1968) have led their own dance group called CobosMika in Palamose, Spain. The CobosMika Company has received several awards in Germany and France.
America According to Kafka
Theatre (Subtitled in English)
Venue: Mala Scena
Saturday, April 25th, 21:30 – 22:30
Dramatisation: Philip Boehm, Anna Grusková; Direction: Philip Boehm (USA); Dramaturgy: Anna Grusková; Art Therapy, Concept and Visual Art Works Leading: Stephan Böhm (Austria); Visual Part Co-operation: Ivana Pisonová; Choreography: Peter Vrt'o and Peter Tabacek; Music Composed and Presented by: Andrej Krajcovic;
Performed by: Ján Kinceš, Marek Majeský, L'ubica Berthová, Ivan Blaško, Peter Gregor, Peter Hudec, Miriam Kujanová, Marek Mojžiš, Eva Ogurcáková, Mojmír Podlipný, Dana Snopková, L'ubica Tureková, Peter Vaculciak, Peter Vrt'o
www.divadlozpasaze.sk
COMMUNITY THEATRE OF PEOPLE WITH LEARNING DIFFICULTIES
It was no coincidence that Kafka´s story of Karol Rossmann inspired the creators of this production. Rossmann is banished from his natural environment because his family is convinced that he broke the set rules. Full of expectation, he arrives in America to find a new haven which he immediately loses. He is still naive and gullible like a child, unable to find his place in the new world and create new relationships.
The creative confrontation of Kafka´s world with the world of people with learning difficulties in today´s society is immensely inspiring. The production of the Theatre from the Passage - the only theatre in Slovakia working with people with learning difficulties- asks several basic human questions: What are we like? What are they like? Is there a “we” and a “they”? Are we open-minded enough to make people with learning difficulties become a part of our every-day life? This production is also a peculiar artistic work full of beautiful scenes and thoughts. The stage design is created by original pictures of the actors of the Theatre from the Passage, painted during the rehearsals, led by Austrian art therapist and visual artist Stephan Böhm.
American director and translator (German and Polish) Philip Boehm (1964) worked with the Theatre from the Passage for the first time. Under his sensitive leadership, the actors of the theatre express themselves with significant personal participation and presence on stage as well as by working in a team. He worked on the adaptation of Kafka´s novel America with the well-known dramaturge and theatre researcher Anna Grusková (1962). This international project is produced by the founder of the theatre, director and expert on art therapy and community theatre, Viera Dubaèová (1962).
Deeply Affected Epidermis
Contdance, Contemporary Dance Association,
Bratislava Dance + theatre (Subtitled in English)
Venue: Studio 12
Saturday, April 25th, 21:30 – 22:20
Choreography, Concept, Dance : Petra Fornayová; Music : Peter Machajdík; Musical Co-operation: Peter Groll; Light Design : Slavo Šmalík and Peter Groll;
www.sucasnytanec.sk
A CONFESSION OF A WOMAN ABOUT THE CULT OF THE BODY
In Deeply Affected Epidermis, Petra Fornayová develops the idea she created for the OFF programme at the Divadelná Nitra International Festival 2006. The topic is the body: this young Slovak performer and choreographer deals with the body as the object of beauty, vanity, extremes and success. Without a perfect body you are out of the picture, the green light shines only for those whose body is perfect, healthy and beautiful. Petra Fornayová developed this concept into a one-hour long performance in which she shows her qualities as a dancer, choreographer, performer and author of the text. The author uses minimalist means, focusing on physical and verbal expression as a basis for her statement, which is both full of humour and also frosty in its urgent truth. Those who do not fulfil the criteria of the modern cult of the body, which is based on the media’s ideas of success and popularity, are excluded. It is also a statement that the more one is focused on his/her physical excellence (and therefore on a stable place in the social structure), the more he/she becomes a narcissist who not only excludes those who are ‘imperfect’ but eventually also excludes him/herself.
Petra Fornayová (1972) studied law at Comenius University and dance at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava. She has co-operated with many choreographers and directors (Anka Sedlaèková, Peter Groll, Mary Fulkerson, Alyson Green, Frits Vogels, Marold Langer-Philippsen), and received several scholarships (EDDC Düsseldorf in Germany, MAPA in the Netherlands). She has developed choreographies The Midnight Bear, Little Stories, Kirin, Angel and participated in several projects at home and abroad. She is the president of the Contemporary Dance Association since 2001.
Sui generis
Artyci Dance Company, Bratislava
Contemporary dance (No text)
Paisyn
Jaro Vinarský & comp., Bratislava
Contemporary dance (No text)
Venue: SND- Studio
Sunday, April 26th, 15:00 – 16:50
Sui generis
Choreography: Zuna Kozánková, Róbert Tirpák, Milan Kozánek; Stage Design and Costumes: Eva Rácová; Musical Co-operation: Jozef Vlk; Video: Lukáš Kodon;
Performed by: Zuna Kozánková, Róbert Tirpák
INTIMATE RESEARCH RITUAL ABOUT THE BODY
Sui generis is a dance duet which speaks of the possibilities of physical and metaphysical communication between people. The examination of the body is here exposed to extreme positions showing the perfect capability of both dancers. The body is a part of communication, but problematic is its exploitation and the misinterpretation of its language. Both dancers in Sui generis set out on a journey in order to search for their own as well as their "other” body by rummaging through the memories of a time when the body was a part of rituals and had a closer connection to the mental and spiritual part of man. Sui generis is an original choreography which presents dance movement as something capable of creating a statement without needing to add any dominant or expressive staging; it also works subtly with light design.
The Artyci Dance Company was founded in 1996 by dancers, teachers and choreographers Zuna (1973) Milan (1970) and Kozánek. They graduated from the Department of Dance at the Academy of Performing Arts and as choreographers have co-operated with various Slovak and international theatres. They received scholarships from important international choreographers (Frey Faust, David Zambrano, Andrew de L. Harwood) and also work as dance teachers.
The choreographer Robert Tirpák (1976) studied medicine and dancing. As a dancer, he worked with Chris Haring, Daniel Conrand, Jan Kodet etc. He has been choreographing since 2002 and also works as an anaesthesiologist.
Paisyn
Choreography and dance : Jaro Vinarský with dancers: João Costa (Portugal), Matej Matejka, Andrej Petrovic; Dramaturgy: Ján Zat'ko; Light Design: Pavel Kotlík (Czech Republic); Costumes: Marta Uhlárová; Music: Jan Burian and Mikoláš Rùžicka (Czech Republic); Production: Ponec Theatre and Tanec Praha o.z.; Co-production: ALT@RT o.s., Grotowski Institute
MALE DANCE, MALE WORLD
Four men find themselves in a common place and time. Their presence is based on concentration and precision and the relations between them are cumulatively developed and intensified as time passes by. Their movements are playful and sensitively examine the space of the other persons. Paisyn looks at closeness, physicality and contact and is not afraid to examine the borders of male aggression. The expressive means of the choreographer expose the broad scale of possibilities for male dancing. Paisyn is a story of tireless searching for the true definition of the male world. Led by the creator, the audience has the opportunity to peep into the world of men and try to find answers to questions such as What is the male world like towards men? How does a man love and how do men make love? What does a man mean for women and what do men mean for men themselves? Jaro Viòarský has again proved his choreographic talent and ability to express himself in a straightforward way which enables him to communicate directly with the audience.
Jaro Viòarský (1978) is a Slovak choreographer and dancer. In 2001, he moved to Prague and together with Tomáš Krivošík founded a chamber dance company – duWadance. As a dancer and interpreter, he worked with several contemporary dance choreographers (Julyen Hamilton, Simone Sandroni, Claude Brumachon, Pierre Nadaud, Serge Ambert, Ioana Mona Popovici). In his choreographies, he focuses principally on the authenticity of his statements and tries to attract his audience with stories and themes he has personal experience with, whether by perceiving or contemplation.
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OFF Programme
(The OFF programme is proposed by the venues themselves, independently from the curators' selection)
PLEASE NOTE:Performances in the OFF programme must be booked in person at the ticketing desk, which will be open at the same time as the registration desk, and until one hour before the performances start.
Orpheus and Euridice
Christoph Willibald Gluck
Venue: SND - Opera & Ballet Hall
Thusrday, April 23rd, 19:00 - 21:45
Musical Arrangement: Jaroslav Kyzlink; Conducted by: Jaroslav Kyzlink, Marián Lejava; Direction: Mariusz Treliñski; Stage Design: Boris Kudlièka; Costumes: Magdalena Musial; Choirmaster: Pavol Procházka; Choreography: Tomasz Wygoda;
Performed by: Pavol Remenár / Wojtek Gierlach, Helena Szabóová / Malgorzata Olejniczak, Lenka Máciková / Miriam Garajová
One of the major works of operatic literature, staged at the Slovak National Theatre by renowned European director Mariusz Treliñski, with impressive stage design by internationally distinguished Slovak stage designer Boris Kudlièka.
KY-TIME / Homage to Jirí Kylián
Slovak National Theatre - Ballet
Venue: SND - Opera & Ballet Hall
Saturday, April 25th, 19:00 - 21:35
Choreography and Direction: Mário Radacovský, Jiøí Kylián, Lukáš Timulák;
Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Sebastian Bach, Maurice Ravel, Gustavo Santaolalla, Loituma, Peter Hajdin; Costumes: Jiøí Kylián, Anik Bissonnette, Lukáš Timulák, Martin Kotúcek, Joke Visser; Stage Design: Mário Radacovský, Jiøí Kylián; Light Design: Joop Caboort; Arrangements: Urtzi Aranburu, Roslyn Anderson; Ballet Masters: Nora Galloviová, Igor Holováè,c Juraj Vasilenko
Performed by: soloists and choir of the Slovak National Theatre´s Ballet Ensemble
This collage of choreographies is an homage to the famous Czech dancer and choreographer Jiøí Kylián. His Six Dances and Un Ballo are interwoven with choreographies of his students, Mário Radaèovský and Lukáš Timulák.
Coma
Martin Burlas
Opera
Venue: SND - Studio
Saturday, April 25th, 19:00 - 20:10
Conducted by: Marián Lejava; Direction: Rastislav Ballek; Stage and Costume Design: Tom Ciller; Movement Arrangements: Monika Horná;
Performed by: Pavol Remenár, Denisa Hamarová, Stanislav Benacka, Eva Šeniglová, Marián Pavlovic, Petra Fornayová, Milan Chalmovský, Pavol Krištofek
The original chamber opera by the Slovak composer Martin Burlas is a unique opportunity to get to know contemporary operatic work.
The Firebird
Igor Stravinski
Slovak Dance Theatre
Venue: Heineken Tower Stage
Thursday, April 23rd, 19:00 – 20:00 and Friday, April 24th, 18:30 – 19:30
Libretto, Choreography and Direction: Ján Durovcík; Music: Igor Stravinski; Stage Design: Vlado Katona; Costume Production: Veronika Kovácová; Choreography Assistant: Mariana Paulíková; Technical support/sound and light: Pavol Pogány; Set and transport: Melvin s.r.o.;
Performed by: Marianna Paulíková, Silvia Beláková, Petra Cernová, Sona Hroncoková, Lucia Mankovecká, Ján Špoták, Ivan Martiš, Lukáš Onufer a Ladislav Cmorej
One of the most successful dance works by Ján Ïurovèík, a popular Slovak choreographer, connecting elements of drama and dance theatre.
Mrázik
Nikolaj Erdman
Nová scéna Theatre
Sunday, April 26th, 10:00 – 12:00
Translation, Adaptation and Direction : Svetozár Sprušanský; Lyrics: Ján Štrasser; Stage Design and costumes: Alexandra Grusková; Choreography : Tomáš Krivošík; Music arrangement :
¼ubomír Dolný; Music recording: Július Selèan
Performed by: Karin Olasová, Róbert Halák, Ivan Letko, Eva Sakálová, Andrea Kirá¾ová, Jana Valocká, Marcel Ochránek, Erik Peovský, Gabriel Tóth, Pavol Plevèík, Lucia Vráblicová, Pøemysl Boublík, Eva Rysová
Dancers: Renata Bubniaková, Magdaléna Èaprdová, Mia Majeríková, Lucia Mankovecká, Zuzana Náprstková, Adriána Pinková, Michal Barniak, Jozef Golian, Martin Kleberc, Peter Mihálik, Lukáš Onufer, Daniel Pomíchal
The Nová scéna Theatre, one of the IETM Bratislava 2009 meeting venues, offers to the fans of theatre for children a production of the popular Russian fairy tale Mrázik, made by well-known Slovak theatre producers.
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Documentary Films
Phenomena – Slovak contemporary documentary film
Unique presentation of Slovak documentaries for the participants of IETM Bratislava 2009
Thursday, April 23rd and Saturday, April 26th, 2009
Detailed programme will be announced on the spot.
Obrazy starého svety / Pictures of the Old World
CS, 1972 / 1989
Director: Dušan Hanák
Running time: 70 min.
© SFU, Grösslingová 32, 811 09 Bratislava, Slovak Republic, www.sfu.sk
Suggestive and vivid portraits of old people from the regions of Liptov and Orava, who live in inner freedom despite the surrounding civilization’s chaos and insecurity. With genuine sensitivity, the film-maker Dusan Hanak, inspired by photographs of Martin Martincek, succeeded in capturing the uniqueness of the portrayed characters, their original attitudes to life and the admirable chastity of their ears. This is a key film for Slovakia as well as for documentary cinematography.
Slepé lásky / Blind Loves
SK, 2009
Director: Juraj Lehotský
Running time: 77 min
© Artileria, Drobného 23, 841 01, Bratislava, Slovak Republic, www.artileria.sk
This film is based on four unique stories about love among the blind and the various forms it can take.
Iné svety/ Other Worlds
SK, CZ, 2006
Director: Marko Škop
Running time: 78 min
© Artileria, Drobného 23, 841 01, Bratislava, Slovak Republic, www.artileria.sk
People from the Šariš region are often called the “crazy Easterners“. Other Worlds visits six of them at one of the ends of the world, at an end of the globalized world. They are products “made in Šariš“.
Malá domov / Back Passing
SK, 2008
Director: Jaro Vojtek
Running time: 29 min
© Artileria, Drobného 23, 841 01, Bratislava, Slovak Republic, www.artileria.sk
This film tells the story of the Roma boy David, who wants to take a part in the international football tournament in Serbia.
Ako sa varia dejiny / Cooking History
SK, AT, CZ, 2009
Director: Peter Kerekes
Running time: 89 min
© Peter Kerekes, Vištuk 277, 900 85, Slovak Republic, www.cookinghistory.net
A documentary about army cooks, or about how the daily needs of thousands of armed stomachs influenced the victories and defeats of leading statesmen.
Posledná maringotka / Last Caravan
SK, CZ, 2008
Director: Peter Benovský
Running time: 64 min
© Furia Film, Feriencíkova 1, 811 09 Bratislava, Slovak Republic, www.furiafilm.com
A film about the very last authentic comedians in Central Europe – Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Germany placed in wider social, cultural, and national contexts.
My zdes / Here We Are
SK, 2005
Director: Jaro Vojtek
Running time: 76 min
© Leon Productions, Jadranská 41, 841 01 Bratislava, Slovak Republic, www.leonproductions.sk
A feature-length documentary in which we follow the destiny of D.Kiossyu's family, which in 2000, left home in the Kazakh steppe and headed towards the country of their ancestors - Slovakia.
Môj otec Gulag / My Father Gulag
SK, 2008
Director: František Palonder
Running time: 63 min
© Trigon Production, Sibírska 39, 831 02, Bratisalva, Slovak Republic, www.trigon-production.sk
This documentary is a story of Jan Antal who was born 57 years ago in a Russian gulag to a deported Slovak mother.
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City Trips
1. A Taste of Classical Bratislava, a Miniature Metropolis
Thursday, April 23rd, 14:30 - 17:00 and Friday, April 24th, 14:30 pm – 17:00
NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS: 20
This excursion is designed for those who have never been to the city before. Lying on the banks of the Danube River and bordering three countries, Bratislava has a rich socio-political history as the capital of a monarchy, an occupied territory and as a city which continuously develops its multicultural character. Walking through the streets, we will follow the footsteps of important European trade routes and see where Queen Maria Teresa was crowned, where Franz List gave his concertos, and where the tram from Vienna used to run. We will also walk on the hill to visit the castle and enjoy a good coffee and a cake in the Parlamentka restaurant, overlooking the city. This is the same view that our MPs see regularly from their workplace. On this City trip, we believe you will get a sense of the pleasing atmosphere of Bratislava, this tiny metropolis.
2. A Dizzying Encounter with Art
Thursday, April 23rd, 14:30 – 17:00, Friday, April 24th, 14:30 – 17:00 and Saturday, 25 April 25th, 12:00 – 14:30
NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS: 20
Have a walk in the centre of the city, discover interesting places, mysterious passages and galleries of modern art and design. Bratislava will present itself as a pleasant city to live in as well as for the presentation of art. Feeling dizzy from all this art?
3. From UFO to UFO – Bratislava landmarks
Thursday. April 23rd, 14:30 – 17:00, and Friday, April 24th, 14:30 – 17:00
NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS: 15
This trip is an exploration of the life of an “ordinary Bratislava citizen“ where an everyday commute to work is turned into an adventurous journey. The route passes Bratislava landmarks, or pseudo-landmarks, like the UFO, Aupark, the Castle, Main Station, the National Bank and the Slovak Radio Building etc. We will talk about urban legends and the possible routes of the nonexistant Bratislava underground lines.
Journey on Bratislava’s public transport: 2x bus ticket - 1,40 EUR
4. Lost / Developed Bratislava
Friday, April 24th, 14:30 – 17:00 and Saturday, April 25th, 12:00 – 14:30
NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS: 20
A journey to places which represent the end of the old period and the beginning of the new Slovakia, and particularly its capital Bratislava, which has recently been experiencing tremendous building and social booms. The buildings testify to the effects of the quick economic growth of the country due to radical economic reforms, which are highly appraised around the world. At the same time, Slovakian citizens are confronted with the flip side of this economic success – with the arrogance of developers and corrupt public bodies who have already torn down several historical parks and monuments.
5. City Interventions – A Virtual City Trip
Friday, April 24th, 14:30 – 16:00 (at the main meeting venue)
‘City Interventions’ is a project which can have various forms. The main idea was to try to find certain points, places and situations in Bratislava which do not seem to function properly or do not deliver what they should to citizens. Through the project “City Interventions”, artists did not only want to identify these places, but also to suggest real solutions for them. This project is the platform where different points of interest can meet: city officials and citizens, architects and artists, knowledgeable locals and top professionals.
35 architecture studios were approached and asked to present their “city intervention”. The result was 49 interventions, which were published in the book of the same title, presented at two exhibitions and which will also be introduced to you.
6. Concrete Gardens, or “ shag cubbyholes” with central heating
Friday, April 24th, 14:30 – 17:30 and Saturday, April 25th, 12:00 – 15:00
NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS: 10
Petržalka, the biggest Central European housing estate, was built in the 1970s on the right bank of the River Danube. The concrete flats house 125 000 inhabitants and were built on top of what was the biggest village in former Czechoslovakia, known for its orchards, fishponds and cemeteries of WWI soldiers. Thanks to the new flats, the birth rate in the 1970s increased rapidly and this generation grew up and became known as “Husák´s children” (Husák was the name of the President at the time). Heiner Müller called these typical Eastern European houses “the shag cubbyholes with central heating” („Fickzellen mit zentraler Heizung“). Due to the limited but long-lasting life of the concrete panels, people of Bratislava can still enjoy the view of the concrete gardens. During our walk through Petržalka we will show you what the housing looked like in the 1970s, visit one of the inhabited flats, talk with inhabitants of Petržalka and taste some of the housing estate cuisine!
7. From new industry and business centre trough old market gap to contemporary dance and theatre
Saturday, April 25th, 12:00 – 15:00
NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS: 20
The trip is a sightseeing of parts of town district Ružinov as well as of the newest theatre buildings in the broader centre of Bratislava. It starts at the new building of Slovak National Theatre, continues along the theatre Meteorit (Meteorite) through industrial locality, which is a mixture of socialistic functionalism and modern contemporary architecture; along the theatre Heineken Tower Stage in quiet residential area, across Dula square and it ends at Miletièova market with its original „multicultural“ atmosphere. Bonus is a visit of a former slaughter house T&D, which is now residence of Dance School and Alternative Theatre ElleDanse. Participants will have the opportunity to see parts of two of their shows (Dance Come Back and Silent Snow) and get to know more about building of new cultural centre (on the slaughter house ground plan), which has ambition to create a unique space for dance and theatre platform in Middle Europe.
Special City Trip – Farewell Drink and Presentation of Future Meetings: On the Danube to the Danubiana - goodbye to Bratislava
Sunday April 26th, 11.00 am – 14.30 pm
NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS: on the boat - 120 places. Taxi – one way: 15 km (approx. 15 EUR)
Leaving Bratislava and heading in the direction of Budapest, we will visit a remarkable building, which was constructed in 2000 to house one of the newest modern art museums in Europe. The river gave the museum its name, but all the rest is the result of the initiative and zeal of curator Dr. Vincent Polakoviè, and of the financial support of the Dutch collector and artistic patron Gerard H. Meulensteen. The Danubiana is the meeting point for the borders of three states and also for contemporary art from Slovakia and other countries. Interesting and high quality exhibitions have raised the profile of this unique art space, which was born at a time when publicly-financed institutions fight for their existence. During the IETM Meeting works by contemporary Slovak and Hungarian artists will be exhibited there under the title, The Tolerance in Art – Joint Exhibition of Slovak and Hungarian Art. Let yourself be enchanted by the symbiosis of art, modern architecture and by nature on this river peninsula.
PROGRAMME TIME SCHEDULE:
11:00 - 11:30 boarding – Passenger Port, Ponton nr. 40 under the Old Bridge (5 min. on foot from the Main Meeting Venue – New building of SND)
11:30 (sharp) departure (refreshments)
Presentation of future IETM meetings, practical information
12:00 – arrival in Èunovo – Danubiana
12:00 – 12:45 visit of the gallery, walk, free programme
12:45 – 13:00 boarding
13:00 (sharp) – departure
Closing of the IETM Meeting in Bratislava, farewell drink
13:00 – 14:30 – way back, arrival at the Passenger Port Ponton nr. 40 under the Old Bridge (5 min. on foot from the Main Meeting Venue – New building of SND)
presentation of future IETM meetings, practical information
You can take your luggage aboard and we can organise a taxi for you (either from Danubiana or from the Passenger Port)
Note: the boat will be equipped with amplified sound and a stage; refreshments will be served
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Fancy Dress Closing Party!
Saturday, April 25th, 22:00 - 04:00
Café Loï - Boat, Tyršovo nábrežie
The closing party of IETM Spring Plenary Meeting will have a special flavour this time, since it will take place on a boat, but it will also be… a fancy dress closing party! Let’s prove the richness of IETM’s cultural diversity and put our creativity into practice! Come to the party dressed with a traditional costume from a country of your choice: your own country, a country you visited or, why not, an imaginary country?... Don’t forget to include your costume in your luggage if you want to participate in IETM “international” party!
