The Art Stations Foundation in Poznań and the Centre for Contemporary Art ? Ujazdowski Castle in Warsaw are pleased to invited everyone to two presentations of Peter Pleyer?s project moving the mirror, produced as part of the curator?s programme of artistic residencies A-I-R Laboratory, hosted by the Centre for Contemporary Art. The presentations will take place at the Centre for Contemporary Art (Laboratory Building) on Thursday, 24 November and on Saturday, 26 November. The project covers the theme of Polish-German artistic scene since the political transformation of 1989, focusing on the current and historical exchange between the two countries in the field of experimental choreography.
What is the source of the energy behind Polish and German choreographers show initiate utopian and politically charged projects that redefine the existing structures? From the German perspective, the dynamic of the Warsaw performative scene resembles the optimism accompanying the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunion of Germany, an optimism which seems to be waning in Germany.
moving the mirror examines the transformations in contemporary dance, in particular with reference to the ongoing processes of democratization in Poland and the intensifying relations between the two countries since the 1990s.
Since the mid-1990s, Peter Pleyer has actively contributed to the development of contemporary dance in Poland, working as dancer and pedagogue. Throughout these years, he has witnessed the changes on the Polish dance scene, from the authoritarian choreographic structures and traditional dance techniques through the more egalitarian and democratic working methodologies in which materials, composition, and the questions of social and cultural gender, as well as the attendant critique of institutions confer a new dimension on choreography. In his artistic practice, Pleyer combines an interest in the history of dance with an examination of political and economic changes in Poland and Germany, attempting to manifest their mutual influences and prove that choreography can act as a mirror of democratic transformations in Warsaw and Berlin after 1989.
Artistic director, choreographer: Peter Pleyer
dance: Aleksanda Borys, Anna Nowicka, Paweł Sakowicz, Marysia Stokłosa, Oliver Connew, Ivan Ekemark, Caroline Alexander
artistic director: Michiel Keuper
curators: Joanna Leśnierowska (ASF), Agnieszka Sosnowska (CSW)
coordination: Joanna Manecka
coproduciton: Art Stations Foundation/Old Brewery New Dance, Poznań and Centre for Contemporary Art, Warsaw