Na zdjęciu: Katarzyna Chmielewska. Fot. Magdalena Morawska.
Sunday, 30 June saw the start of the 20th International Contemporary Dance Conference and Festival of Dance Art in Bytom, Poland. Lasting until 7 July, the event will feature a range of extraordinary dance projects, including the legendary Ultima Vez dance ensemble from Belgium.
8 days, more than a dozen of performances, tens of workshops, hundreds of young dancers and thousands of viewers – it is already for the 20th time that Bytom becomes Poland’s capital of contemporary dance. “Organising an international event such as our conference and festival is not an easy task but I am certain that we will meet the expectations of our guests – both those sitting in the audience and those performing on stage,” says Adrian Lipiński, director of the Silesian Dance Theatre.
The event brings together presentations on the main stage of the Silesian Dance Theatre, workshops with teachers from all around the world and special projects dedicated to Bytom’s community. “We are presenting dance in its many aspects. Together with big-time artists we will meet at workshops in movement therapy, we will hold the Little Conference of Dance for kids, and a special module of workshops for the eldest fans of dance,” cites Mr Lipiński.
A definite highlight of this year’s edition is the legendary performance of Ultima Vez What does body not remember, which once marked the launch of a great career of the ensemble’s founder – Wim Vandekeybus. In Bytom the ensemble will present a revival of the performance, first shown in 1987 in Haarlem, the Netherlands. The effects of the 2013 revamp will be judged by the Bytom audience on 6 July. Apart from Ultima Vez, the Silesian Dance Theatre will host such artists as Anna Piotrowska,Lublin Dance Theatre, Germany’s Folkwang Dance Studio and the extraordinary duo of Yossi Berg and Oded Graf of Israel.
The festival is a mash-up of different dance techniques and artistic temperaments, a wide array of workshops and numerous accompanying events.
Find out more at the website of the organiser – the Silesian Dance Theatre: http://www.stt.art.pl/en/
