Czech dance platform – the best from the Czech Dance
16th edition of the Czech contemporary dance and movement theatre
16.–20. 4. 2010
Ponec, Archa Theatre, Roxy/NoD, Studio ALT@, Synagogue in Palmovce
The 16th edition of the Czech Dance Platform festival offered within 5 April days 17 works, which represented the best from the area of contemporary dance and movement theatre. The programme which was prepared by the expert jury was held from 16th to 20th April in the Prague´s theatres Ponec and Archa, Roxy/NoD, Studio ALT@ and Synagogue in Palmovka. „It is heartwarming that there are still enough productions to choose from on the Czech scene. The jury consists of 4 members who endeavoured to consider properly the total number of those interested and attendance in the platform. The discussions on the new Czech works were very interesting and a bit controversial at times, which is part of art,“ described the course of selection of the most successful works for the festival´s programme the manager of organizing civic association Tanec Praha Yvona Kreuzmannová.
This year´s festival reflected upon the efforts of artists to join various dance-theatre genres. There was presented the production The Cases of Dr. Touret for instance, in which the actress and mime Anna Polívková combinesd successfully acting, improvisation, dnace, movement, but also mime show. Further, site specific project Echoes by dance group ME-SA, which revived the spirit of the Synagogue´s site in Palmovka, is worth mentioning. The festival´s spectators could also see the production 100 Wounded Tears, which was awarded the prestigious prize of critics in the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh 2009. This year, the festival was also dedicated to families with children – on Sunday afternoon Bára Látalová provided entertainment and involved them into the interaction on the stage using the work inspired by physical laws. The spectators could also look forvard to the theatre-motion semi-opera Crime and Punishment by Jan Komárek, which was played on the industrial premises of the ALT@ Studio. Last but not least, there also was presented the visual-dance work Fish by Lenka Bartůňková, the winner of the SAZKA Prize for „the discovery in dance“ 2008.
The Czech dance platform gave the general public the unique opportunity to see a wide selection of dance performances in a short period of time. „The festival dragged a spectator into the intensive whirl of dance, in which artists, experts, but also spectators met one another in the open atmosphere; this year´s motto was: Get Swept Away!, said the festival´s manager Kateřina Višinská. For the performing companies, performers and choreographers the festival provides the space for meetings and discussions with foreign and native professionals: „…this year wanted highlight the platform even more as an open space for international meetings of artists and producers which will serve for establishing the contacts among the creators and operators of foreign and regional theatres and festivals, particularly by means of debates and planned exchange of projects,“ added Kateřina Višinská.
The spectators too could express their impressions of the performance they had seen. During the whole festival voting for the Audience Award was taking place. The winner with the best average assessment 1.48 was the dance group ME-SA, which captivated the foreign guests and spectators with its site-specific project Echoes staged in the Synagogue in Palmovka. The organizing civil association Tanec Praha decided to award the Audience Award together with the Dancer of the Year Prize in one of the ceremonial evenings of the TANEC PRAHA 2010 Festival. The winner of the Dancer of the Year Prize became Tereza Ondrová for her performance in the piece The Cases of Dr. Touret.
The Best Light Design Prize, which was awarded already for the second time by the Institute of Light Design in cooperation with the organizers of the platform, was carried off by Jan Komárek for his three works staged within the festival - Gaia (chor.: Dagmar Chaloupková), Crime and Punishment (NANOHACH/chor. Jan Komárek) a Tore (chor.: Dora Hoštová). The jury consisting of the light designers Jan Beneš and Pavel Dautovský evaluated Komárek´s unique approach to each of his works and diversity of the elements of light design (light geometry with mirrors, light properties, purity and timing). „Within the platform we had an opportunity to see the productions which originated in different technical conditions and spaces, but despite this fact we can claim that light design held our interest in every performance,“ add J. Beneš and P. Dautovský.
The closing discussion with the foreign guests brought some fundamental insights into the quality of Czech contemporary dance. All the people present agreed on a big variety and diversity of genres that had been staged during the platform – from dance, motion and physical theatre to pure theatrical approach, play with objects. They also appreciated energy and courage of the authors that were produced during their work. Within the discussion there was even a rebuke that Czech dance is developing more in the direction of dance theatre genre and is diverting its attention from deeper exploration of motion itself. Keeping dance/motion, spatial point of view, music and light design in balance is a difficult task on which it is necessary to work further. The guests were taken by surprise when it was found out that contemporary dance in the Czech Republic is lacking in professional institutional background. None of 62 performers and even none of 20 choreographers have permanent contract which would guarantee them regular permanent income; all productions are created on the project basis.
On the occasion of the festival, a celebration of the Tanec Praha, 20 let...1989–2009 publication release took place, in which John Ashford, the manager of Aerowaves – the European platform for the support and presentation of contemporary dance, participated in a virtual way (by means of skype) as a „godfather“. This publication, which records 20 years of the history of the International Festival of Contemporary Dance and of the movement theatre TANEC PRAHA.
The Czech Dance Platform nominees and winners:
The Audience Award: Echoes, Me-SA
The Dancer of the Year nominees: Tereza Lenerová (Variable), Honza Malík (Crime and Punishment), Tomáš Nepšinský (100 Wounded Tears), Tereza Ondrová (The Cases of Dr. Touret)
The Dancer of the Year Award: Tereza Ondrová
The festival Czech Dance platform was supported by:
The capital city Prague, the Ministry of Culture of the CR, Tschechienonline, A2, sms.cz, Pressweb, Radio Wave, ČRO 3 Vltava, Taneční aktuality, Metropolis, Taneční zóna, Top report, Právo, Grand Princ, Pragueout, Sanquis, Listy hl. Města Prahy, Kino Aero and Světozor Cinemas
Partnership institutions:
Archa Theatre, Roxy/NoD, Studio Alt@, Synagogue in Palmovka / Serpens o.s., Institute of Light Design
Programme of the festival:
Fr / 16. 4. / 4 pm / Archa
VerTeDance: Emigrantes
Fr / 16. 4. / 8 pm / Ponec
Lenka Bartůňková: Fish
Sa / 17. 4. / 2 pm / Ponec
Bára Látalová and Co.: Fg = G. [(m1. m1) / r2]
Sa / 17. 4. / 5 pm /Alt@
Dagmar Chaloupková: Gaia
Tereza Lenerová / Einat Ganz (ISR): Variable
im.pu.re. dance theater / Sara Puchowska: 4:4
Sa / 17. 4. / 8 pm / Archa
420PEOPLE – Václav Kuneš: A Small hour ago
Sa/ 17. 4. / 8 pm + 9.30 pm / Synagoga na Palmovce
ME-SA: Echoes
Su / 18. 4. / 5 pm / Alt@
Mirka Eliášová: Until I Find It
Ioana Mona Popovici (RO): The Amnesic Days of the Polar Nights
Su / 18. 4. / 8 pm / Ponec
Anna Polívková / VerTeDance: The Cases of Dr. Touret
Mo / 19. 4. / 6 pm / Roxy/ NoD
Věra Ondrašíková and col.: Loa > 15 Steps
Jan Vrána / Kyklos Galaktikos: Magnet
Mo / 19. 4. / 8 pm / Ponec
Jozef Fruček (SK) / Linda Kapetanea (GRE) / DOT504: 100 Wounded Tears
Tu / 20. 4. / 6 pm / Alt@
Jan Komárek & NANOHACH: Crime and Punishment
Tu / 20. 4. / 8 pm / Ponec
Dora Hoštová: Tore
Ji Eun Lee / ME-SA: Blame me
Photogallery here