Programme Archive

The Cases of Dr. Touret

Anna Polívková

VerTeDance

Can you show what´s inside you? Did you used to be able to fly but forgot how to? Do you want to be free but don´t know how? Would you like to dance but are diffident? Mr. Fallen, Miss Vltavská and other cases are here to help you sort all these issues out. Surprise yourselves! Let yourselves be surprised...

A comedy bordering between dance and drama is full of unusual characters – patients, colleagues, and friends of a certain doctor Touret. You will see ingenious twins living in the world of prime numbers, a Ballet dancer’s Foot eager to stand on her feet once again, Mr. Fallen who wants to take off and fly, Mrs. Moldau, The One-who-is-not-there, and many others. All these lonesome characters will eventually come together by means dance. Together with them we will search for what dance really is: a way breaking freed, a means of relaxing, of reaching catharsis, or one of the many possible ways of escaping reality? Perhaps even the only freedom there is...? The performance is inspired by the book of the neurologist Oliver Sacks “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat“. The dancer Tereza Ondrová received the Dancer of the Year prize for her performance in this piece. 

“The cases of Doctor Touret offer playfulness and a quite unstressing atmosphere to the spectators…they extend the range of possibilities of presentation in the world of dance and motion and bring a light and humorous insight which is very pleasant not only from the view of spectators…Finally, there is a production that let the spectators continue their evening feeling relaxed, happy and joyful.” (Lucie Břinková, Taneční aktuality, 11.

"The structure of the production of The Cases of Doctor Touret shows the signs of the creative manuscript VerTeDance along with Anna Polivkova, the style of whom is recognized as a very original dynamic handwriting and selfdirected ironic humour. The key to the stage direction of Anna Polivkova is a playful, subtle, but rather ironic hyperbole as well." (Julie Kočí / Tanec jako imaginace podivínů, Taneční zóna - zima, ročník 14)

“In The Cases of Doctor Touret the spectators will find themselves placed in the world in which odd fellows are reconciled with their fates and live their lives to the full. Each of them possess their own passions which allow them to rise above everydayness and which bring them joy and freedom. The production is accompanied with pleasant live music of Jakub Xavier Bar and due to its conception it makes an unstressing and positive impression, which however does not mean at all that it lacks profundity.” (ArteTerapie VerTe, Lenka Eidlpesová, Taneční zóna, 17. 11. 2009).

"The actors manage to create an involving, cheerful atmosphere, breaking the barriers between them and the audience and also blurring the borders of different narrative levels and genres." (Antonio, Baroni, Provokator.org, March, 2010)

Choreography, directed by: Anna Polívková
Performing: Anna Polívková, Tereza Ondrová, Veronika Kotlíková-Knytlová, Tomáš Měcháček /Jiří Zeman
Music: Jakub Xavier Baro
Light design: Pavel Kotlík
Production: Markéta Faustová
Fundraising: Anna Dynková
Photo: Vojtěch Brtnický / Kateřina Průžková

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