Ula Zerek is a Tricity-based dancer, performer, choreographer, working at the junction of dance, theatre, and performance. She graduated in English Studies (University of Gdańsk, 2008) and culture animation (Interdepartmental Institute of Art Research, Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk, 2015).
Zerek is the author of original pieces in which dance intermingles with other artforms (Humuli Lupuli (2009), Memo (2011), Istota [Essence] (2012), in memoriam (2014), Więzi [Ties] (diploma piece, 2015) and Ekspozycja [Exposure] (2017). Since 2004, she has collaborated with the Dada von Bzdülöw Theatre, where she has contributed to such pieces as Odys-Seas (2004), Eden (2006), Barricade of Love (2008), Czerwona trawa [Red Grass] (2009), FRUU (2011), Celebration (2012), Enclave 4/7 (2013). She has also participated in international dance projects, among others in Desert Cube 13 flavours of doom based on Elfriede Jelineks Bambiland, developed in collaboration with Theaterkontor, Theater Carrouge in Bremen and the Super Same Foundation in Gdańsk; Pixel Fall 3D multimedia project featuring Gdańsk- and Bremen-based artists (2009), Camera Obscura, developed as part of the Crossing Places Project and featuring artists from Greece, France, Italy, and Poland (2007), or the most recent performance based on a text by Haruki Murakami, Schlaft, presented at the Miniaturen Festival in Bremen (2017).
Outside of her dance activity, she has also choreographed a number of pieces, including Tam i Tu [Here and There] (2013, Miniatura Municipal Theatre in Gdańsk), Święto Pamiątek. Dziady albo Radunica [The Feast of Keepsakes: Forefathers Eve or Radunica] (2013, St. Johns Centre in Gdańs, dir. Romuald Wicza-Pokojski) and Sześciu służących [Six Servants] (2018, Olsztyn Puppet Theatre, dir. Michał Derlatka. She has coordinated a number of dance projects and produced several performances at the Miniatura Theatre.
Since 2017, she has co-created the performative duo Safe&Sound (Zerek&Pflug). Outside of her roles in the pieces developed by the duo, she has also appeared in the film etude Kindler and the Virgin directed by Agnieszka Smoczyńska, featured in the international film production The Field Guide To Evil (2017).
Her most recent project is the international collaboration Heart Factory (2018), developed in collaboration with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, the European Solidarity Centre in Gdańsk, and Tabacka Kulturfabrik in Slovakia, as part of the celebrations of the centenary of Polish independence. Zerek is the dramaturge and Polish coordinator of the project.
Zerek is the recipient of scholarships from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage (2012), the City of Gdańsk (2012), the Marshal of the Pomorskie Province (2014 and 2009), and the Art Stations Foundation (2015). She is also the laureate of the Residency/Premiere 2009 programme at the Gdańsk-based Klub Żak, and the Storm of 2009 Prize awarded by the Tricity branch of the Gazeta Wyborcza daily in the film and multimedia category.
Since 2018, Ula Zerek has been the co-founder and president of the Polka.dot Foundation.
