Joanna

I know it's a bit old topic, but if you still has some questions about ballet in Poland, I could help a little, since I live here. The Teatr Wielki is the biggest ballet company in Poland, but also in other cities we have ballet and opera theatres.

Unfortunately, there is a very few amount of Polish sites, books, etc. about ballet.

In my opinion:

Alina Cojocaru

Tamara Rojo

Diana Vishneva

Maria Alexandrova

Egle Špokaite

Paloma Herrera

I did non see her live or on video. I just saw some photos - and I can say they are beatiful, I don't know how she dance, but I think she has very strong stage character, she seems to be charismatic.

Well, the movie didn't suprise me, but there were a lot of beautiful pictures. And I liked it.

But when I saw the first part of the trilogy, I said "It was awful, Tolkien wouldn't do it in that way!" - my own, imagined by reading, "Tokien-world" was completly different from the world depicted in the movie.

That's why I didn't go to the cinema to see the second part.

Now I have a distance to that movie, I don't take it so emotionally, so I can say, that I liked "The Return of the King".

Joanna, thanks for that. I was especially taken (aback ) by your comment that "there is no functionality (especially in architecture)". This is my instinctive reaction when I see a 'postmodern' building, but I didn't know it was a principled discision.

How is this justified - as architecture is the most functional of arts?

Well, it's not a principle, rather the feature of posmodernism. Also in postmodernism there were a lof of manifestations of mistrust in the main meaning of art; there were a lot of styles in art, which came into being beacuse of mistrust in a work of art as something different than commonness. (good example is conceptualism, which reduced to art to only concept, idea, that you can write down and post or put in a gallery).

Basic features of postmodernism are:

- pluralism

- ambivalence

- antifundamentalism in philosophy (protest against classic rules; fundamentalism is the main feature of Cartesius’ philosophy)

The most visible feature of postmodernism is – I think – a pluralism: there are a lot of different thoughts, trends, ideas, that are existing together, even if there are discrepant. Pluralism also means that many different styles can be mixed, making a new thing.

In post-modern art there is no cult of everything what’s new, like it was in the Avant-garde (trend in art from years about 20” and 30’), there is no functionality (especially in architecture).

That art was the most popular in years about 70’ and 80’, then appeared such ideas and conceptions like neoclassicism, neoromanticism, neobaroque, trans avant-garde, etc.

Generally, in postmodernism developed a lot of different trends in arts, the most important are: pop art (A. Warhol, R. Lichtenstein), assemblage (Jean Dubuffet), conceptualism, happening (A. Kaprow), body art, fluxus, minimal art, land art, hiperrealism, video art, and many, many more.

I don’t know, how is it exactly in dance, but you may compare it to the “spirit of the epoque” ;)

(Well, I hope the post is quite clear)

Hi, I am of Polish origin and have visited a few times during summer - Unfortunately I have noticed in the past that a lot of national companies like operas and theatres close for the summer season which is silly but oh well. There are a LOT of cultural festivals and music festivals and such - there is usually one Jewish one in Krakow worth seeing but you'll probably have to wait until you get there and look it up at an information ofiice.

Good luck and enjoy.

Magda

Yes, in Poland summer season is often called a 'dead season'. Almost all theatres are closed. But summer is - as you said - also a time for festivals. As far as dance is concerned, in August there are organised Contemporary Dance Workshops by Polish Dance Thatre - Poznań Ballet in Poznań.

Cześć. 

Cześć

The Silesian Dance Festival sounds amazing.  Do you have to register and buy tickets in advance, or is it okay to just head down?

About Silesian Dance Theatrer - as I know thery organise worhshops every month, and they cost 120 zł/person, if you are in a group of 5 people, you pay 80 zł/person. I don't know the prices for workshop during the summer festival.

Hi Joanna--

THat's very clear-- no problem.

I just wrote a long reply but my computer crashed just as I was about to post it, and it's GONE....

SO I'll just ask, was the festival interesting? What did you like about it?

I met  Conrad Drewiecki in Bytom, but I have never seen any of his dances. Have you? What are they like? I gathered he had to leave Poland and work in Paris but was allowed to work under the Soviets when he came back, though under many restrictions, and that all the young people looked up to him -- a little like the way the young dancers here all look up to Anna Halprin. (Have you heard of Ms Halprin?) She is in her 80's, a great figure in free expression here in the SF Bay Area, indeed in the whole USA,  the "mother" of post-modern dance.

Were there classes as well as performances? WHat kind? What did you like? Why?

My experience of festivals is that there's so much going on, you can't see everything, and you don't even have time to "revcover" from one performance or class before another comes along.

Hav you seen any of Ms Strzemiecka's work? (ARe you her student? -- then you mustn't say anything, otherwise, what do you think?)

Oh well, I'm sorry, if I'm too pushy.... I just loved being in Poland and want t ore-connect.

By the  way, did you notice the other thread on hte board about Ballet in Warsaw?

I haven't seen any dance of Conrad Drzewiecki. He was an artistic director of Polish Dance Theatre - Poznań Ballet until 1987, since 1988 the director is Ewa Wycichowska.

I found the festival very interesting, there very many good companies from Europe (Kekalainen & Company, Jo Stromgren Kompani, Feher Ferenc, Galerija Theatre). The performance I liked the most was of Feher Ferenc. He is a freestyle dancer, and on workshops we did things like freestyle with him, but on a stage he presented not just street dance, but a professional theatre, with strong body awareness.

The classes I had with dancers of Stanisław Wiśniewski Compaigne (France), Victoria Baltser (Byelorussia), Feher Ferenc (Hungary). V. Baltser comes form classical, so her contemporary is so clear and perfect. With the dancers of S. Wiśniewski we did some things from their performance choreography.

But the most I liked the classes with Feher, what he did was very dynamic and energetic.

You know, that festival is not so big, that you can't see all performances. Befere midday you are on workshops, and in the evening you go to see the performances.

I've seen some performances of H. Strzemiecka, also with choreography by Ryszard Kalinowski. I am not her student, but I know some people form the company, I'm doing contemporary techniques with them (I'm just learning dance, but for a quite long time I'm doing a pantomime, and I thought that dance would help me in that). Well, it's hard to say what I think of H. Strzemiecka work, because I'm not objective (is this a right word?).

I've just noticed a board about Ballet in Warsaw, I haven't read it already.

I was looking for something about spelling the names of steps in ballet, and I found that site by chance.

Poland here.

Joanna, Nie mowie dobje populsku, but your English is not bad at all.

I'd like to add a welcome to BAllet ALert, Joanna, and to say I hope you WILL post news from Poland, even if you don't feel you've expressed yourself at your best, we would still be so grateful for news from Poland. I have been to the Silesian Dance Festival a few times in June, and found it a fascinating experience. The situation in Poland is very exciting, as free expression becomes again a possibility -- what wonderful challenges you face. And there is a LOT of talent that we would like to hear about. I myself would love to hear about Jacek Luminski's company in Bytom, and also about dance in Lublin, Wroclaw, and Warsaw -- and perhaps othe places that you will know about.

Well, I hope it won't be so difficult to understand me B)

On 8-11 November here, in Lublin, was Dance Theatres Festival, and also workshops. Also there was a performance of Silesian Dance Theatre, and Jacek Łumiński was one of the teachers on the workshops (but unfortunately I didn't have any lessons with him).

The special guest of the festival was... Conrad Drzewiecki.

Hmm, dance in Lublin? You mean Contemporary Dance Group of Lublin University of Technology, with choreographer Hanna Strzemiecka?

About contemporary - I like the site of ImPulsTanz (http://www.impulstanz.com/english/index.html). There are some interesing videos.