Krystyna Ungeheuer-Mietelska was a dancer, choreographer and educator.
She was born on July 19, 1932 in Lviv. Her father was an engineer and scoutmaster. She took her first dance steps at the age of 6, under the tutelage of Tadeusz Burke, a dancer at the Lviv Opera House. From Lviv she first moved to Pleśna near Tarnów, and then to Cracow. It was there that she first took up studies at the Queen Wanda State Gymnasium, and then at the Józef Joteyko Gymnasium and High School, where she took her graduation exams in 1951. In 1945, she enrolled at the Wladyslaw Zeleński School of Music, where she studied piano and dance with Eleonora Karcz-Bocheńska. She then became a student at the Janina Strzembosz Choreographic Institute, where she got her degree after two years of studies (although the standard undergraduate program took four years to complete). At the Institute she studied classical dance, free dance (Janina Strzembosz was a student of Isadora Duncan), rhythmics and music appreciation. Ungeheuer-Mietelska also studied mathematics at the Jagiellonian University for five semesters. In 1959, she received an extramural diploma from the State Ballet School in Warsaw.
From 1955 to 1957, she worked at the Silesian Operetta in Gliwice, and in 1957 she joined the Municipal Music Theater in Cracow (now the Cracow Opera). In 1963, she obtained the title of ballet soloist. From 1964 to 1974, she worked with the avant-garde musical group MW2. She was the only dancer in the company to participate in all its concerts at home and abroad, also performing in festivals and television programs. Since 1984, she also worked as a teacher of the Ballet Studio at the Municipal Musical Theater in Cracow. She retired in 1989, but continued to work with many theaters as a choreographer until 1997.
Ungeheuer-Mietelska’s major roles inclued: Cupid (Theater Director dir. D. Baduszkowa), Juliet (Romeo and Juliet, chor. J. Kapliński), Francesca (Francesca da Rimini, chor. H. Tomaszewski), Donna Elvira (Don Juan, chor. H. de Quell), Bride (Harnasie, chor. E. Papliński).
The MW2 ensemble performed contemporary and avant-garde music. In MW2, movement played the role of a visual complement to the music. Krystyna Ungeheuer-Mietelskaya’s dance was intended as an interpretation of the music and was treated as an independent instrumental voice. The artist developed her own choreographies for the ensemble, including T’is MW2 (mus. B.Schäffer), Electronic Symphony (mus. B. Schäffer), Flower (mus. J. Cage), Theatre Piece (mus. J. Cage), Music for Tapes (mus. J. Cage), Amores (mus. J. Cage), Symphonie pour un homme seul (B. Shaeffer), Dance for Alone (D. Eddelman).
She also appeared in choreographies by Witold Gruca: Knight to King’s Bishop Four (music. W. Duckworth) and I’m Sitting in a Room (music. A. Lucier).
She also worked as a choreographer and creator of stage movement for such productions as: The Charming Wife of a Shoemaker (dir. A. Mianowska, A. Mickiewicz Theater, Częstochowa), Three White Arrows (dir. A. Uramowicz, A. Mickiewicz Theater, Częstochowa), Troas (dir. T. Aleksandrowicz, Aleksander Węgierko Dramatic Theater, Białystok), Heart of Ice (M. Billiżanka, Opera and Operetta, Krakow), Love Trap (dir. T. Aleksandrowicz, Aleksander Węgierko Dramatic Theater, Białystok), Mother (dir. W. Pasternak, Aleksander Węgierko Dramatic Theater, Białystok), The Merry Wives of Windsor (dir. T. Aleksandrowicz, Aleksander Węgierko Dramatic Theater, Białystok), The Servant of Two Masters(dir. M. H. Metwaly, Aleksander Węgierko Dramatic Theater, Białystok), Heart of Ice (dir. M. Lida, Musical Theater in Lublin).
She was awarded the Silver Cross of Merit (1983), the medal of the 40th anniversary of the People’s Republic of Poland in (1984) and the medal of the 200th anniversary of the Polish Ballet (1985).
Krystyna Ungeheuer-Mietelska passed away on February 1, 2024.
Photos:
Portrait photo of Krystyna Ungeheuer-Mietelska, 1961. Photo by the “Foto-Bielec” photographic studio in Cracow.
Pictured: Krystyna Ungeheuer-Mietelska. Source: Cracow Opera’s archive.
Bibliography:
- Krystyna Ungeheuer-Mietelska in: Encyklopedia teatru polskiego: Krystyna Ungeheuer-Mietelska ::: Osoby ::: Encyklopedia teatru polskiego, [accessed February 1, 2024].
- Irena Turska, Almanach Baletu Polskiego 1945–1974, PWM Kraków, 1983.
- Wywiad z Krystyną Ungeheuer-Mietelską, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: Collections Search – United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (ushmm.org) [accessed February 1, 2024].
- Krystyna Ungeheuer-Mietelska in: Wikipedia, free encyclopedia: Krystyna Ungeheuer-Mietelska – Wikipedia, free encyclopedia [accessed February 2, 2024].
