Jacek Owczarek is a dancer, choreographer, and dance teacher. He graduated in pedagogy from the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań; ha was also a student of Witold Jurewicz. In 19942003 he collaborated with ALTER Dance Theatre in Kalisz; later he was an actor and dancer in Nowy (New) Theatre in Łódź. At that time he performed in Łukasz Bzdyl and Piotr Cieplaks joint performance Przed południem, przed zmieszchem (Before the noon, before the dusk).
Owczarek has collaborated with a range of dramatic theatre companies, designing stage movement and performing on stage. These collaborations include: Przedtem/potem (Before/After) in Stary Theatre in Kraków and Peer Gynt. Szkice z dramatu Henryka Ibsena (Peer Gynt. Sketches from the Henrik Ibsen drama) at the Dramatyczny Theatre in Warsaw (both in cooperation wit Paweł Miśkiewicz), or Trans Atlantyk, directed by Mikołaj Grabowski, at the Stary Theatre in Kraków. For the past few years, Owczarek has been cooperating with Konrad Dworakowski and the Pinokio Puppet and Actor Theatre in Łódź.
Since 1996 Owczarek has been working as a teacher of dance and contact improvisation running workshops and courses for instructors in Poland and abroad. He taught at the Performing Arts School (PPSAK) in Kalisz. Currently he is director of studies at the Faculty of Choreography and Dance Techniques of the Grażyna and Kiejstut Bacewicz Academy of Music in Łódź. In 2014 he received an award from the academy’s rector in recognition for his constribution.
He has been involved in a range of international projects, such as Skarbek (Berlin’s Volksbühne Theatre), Patenty ciała (Mau-Beige, France), Les ambiances polonaises (Cite Internationale des Arts, Paris), Kołysanki in collaboration with Anna Baumgart (Romaeuropa Festival, Rome), Museums Quartier (Vienna).
He collaborated with the Bretoncaffe Theatre in Warsaw on SLAM.out and Taniec śniącego ciała (Dance of a Sleeping Body), which were elements of Sławomir Krawczyński and Anna Godowska’s research project on Arnold Mindell method of process oriented work.
Owczarek danced in the film Czarno-biały (Black and White), produced by the Łódź Film School (2002) and shown in Cologne, New York, and Beijing, among other locations. He created choreography for Daria Kopiec’s film Zuzanna (2009).
Jacek Owczarek was involved in the production of award-winning dance performances, such as Trzcina (Reed) and Po drodze (On the Way). In February 2009 Owczarek founded Pracownia Fizyczna, based at the Academy of Music in Łódź. The company’s artistic endeavours correspond with its founder’s fields of interests: improvisation and contemporary dance techniques. Lately, Owczarek has developed his own method of approaching on-stage improvisation. His PhD thesis written at the Academy of Music in Łódź was devoted to improvisation as a tool of artistic expression in performance. He created the following works for Pracownia: Meandrująca rzeka (Meandering River), a3, Zdarzenia (Happenings), Re:akcje (Re:actions), Fajdros. He dances in Davida Zambrano’s Soul Project / PL, developed by Pracownia Fizyczna in collaboration with the Institute of Music and Dance in Warsaw as part of the Choreographic Commissions programme.
