Studio Matejka, Awkward Happiness. Photo: Karol Jarek.
Sunday, 21 April will see two shows presented as part of Stage for Dance 2013, a programme of the Institute of Music and Dance. At 5 pm in Krakow’s Teatr Ludowy the Cracovia Danza Court Ballet will evoking the interwar era performing W starym kinie [At the Old Cinema] in choreography by Romana Agnel and Dariusz Brojek. At 7 pm in Gdansk’s Klub ZAK Studio Matejka from Wroclaw will showcase their Awkward Happinessor Everything I don’t remember about meeting you as part of the series Trójmiejski Punkt Taneczny [Tricity Dance Point].
About W starym kinie:Who is not familiar with the old-time melodies and celebrated stars of vintage cinema? Let us revisit the enchanting era of the 1920s and 1930s. Let us breathe in the atmosphere of the interwar period’s cabarets and cafes. On stage we shall see real gentlemen and chic ladies in intriguing foxtrots, wild charlestons and passionate tangos. Recommended not only for enthusiasts of pre-war tunes.
AboutAwkward Happiness or Everything I don’t remember about meeting you:The project sprang from Studio Matejka’s research into human body in the contemporary practice of performance. During their 18-month stay at the Grotowski Institute, members of the Studio explored training and physical activity based on images that inspired them. On stage we witness two couples setting out on a difficult life journey in search for happiness. Four viewpoints on what happiness is and how to achieve it clash. The show reflects on the futility of the quest for happiness drawing inspiration from Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being and Pascal Bruckner’s L’Euphorie perpétuelle.
Studio Matejka is a laboratory of physical theatre directed by Matej Matejka, two-time winner of the Total Theatre Award at the Edinburgh festival for Sclaviby Farma v jeskyni and Cesarskie cięcie[Caesarean section] by Teatr ZAR. A group of international artists investigates different techniques of body expression. The artists focus mainly on training techniques, operating between individual expression and group resonance. In their performances, the actors try to “express themselves” by physical means, using different thoughts and images. Their objective in not to cut themselves off the existing performance practices or training systems: they treat those as a starting point for their own explorations. Studio Matejka cooperates with prominent specialists in physical and vocal training; in the course of preparing Awkward Happinessthey sought the expertise of Ditte Berkeley of Teatr ZAR.
Find out more at Stage for Dance 2013 website:http://www.scenadlatanca.pl
