Fot. Aleksander Joachimiak.
On Wednesday, 7 October 2015, Teatr Wybrzeże in Gdańsk (Scena Malarnia, ul. Św. Ducha 2) will host the 47th premiere in the history of the Dada von Bzdülöw Theatre. Operating uninterruptedly in Gdańsk since 1992, the company has assumed a new alias, the National Theatre Dada von Bzdülöw, for the purposes of its new performance INTRO. The performance will be subsequently presented on October 6 (sneak preview) and October 8, 2015.
INTRO has been directed by Leszek Bzdyl and Katarzyna Chmielewska, the artistic leaders and founders of the Dada Theatre. The cast of four also includes Katarzyna Ustowska and Piotr Stanek, young dancers known from the performance ENCLAVE 4/7 choreographed by Roberto Olivan and presented by Teatr Wybrzeże. A graduate of the National Ballet School in Gdańsk, Katarzyna Ustowska currently studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Frankfurt. Piotr Stanek?s graduation from the Ludwik Solski State Theatre School in Cracow, Dance Theatre Department in Bytom, is due next year. Incidental music to INTRO has been provided by NAGROBKI [Gravestones] (Andrzej Salamon and Adam Witkowski, visual artists and lecturers at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk and the Szczecin Academy of Art). Costumes have been designed by Katarzyna Piątek, while lighting engineering will be provided by Michał Kołodziej who regularly collaborates with the Dada Theatre.
The mood of the performance may be best summarized by the words of its protagonists:
Zorana Vukmirović: I wish to say that Croatian nationalism has gone to the dogs
Nazira Ibtihadż: Foundation, fundaments, fundamentalists
Mordechaj Apert: Bow down to the land cowardly abandoned by your People
Kerim Isłambiek Adłan Baszyr Mamed Kacajew: I sincerely love Poland
and the Dadaist introduction to the show:
INTRO by the Dada von Bzdülöw Theatre, Anno Domini 2015, draws inspiration, recognition and nervous melancholy from the undying spirit of the Dada movement which, as its Apostles used to say, was, is and will be.
99 years after the emanation of Dada in Zurich (AD 1916), accompanied by the scent of blood from the trenches of Verdun, national exultation, and the revelations of Fatima, Azazel, or whatever he happens to be called by the Talmudists or the Islamists, debuted in Poland. Under the wings of Azazel, Poland has become a thesis, synthesis, and antithesis at the same time. Under the authority of Azazel, there?s a growing conviction in the Pole that ONE means more than MANY.
Inspired by the Spirit of Dada, the Dada Theatre, is going to rip the veil off and reveal the deadly face of the Angel of Death; it is going to laugh in the face of the Angel of Death. In the play INTRO, the Dada von Bzdülöw Theatre is shouting out both mockingly and desperately: Dada is Polska!!! The shouting and dancing of Dada von Bzdülöw Theatre is accompanied by the musical band Nagrobki (Gravestones).
Directed by: Leszek Bzdyl & Katarzyna Chmielewska
Choreography and dance: Katarzyna Chmielewska, Katarzyna Ustowska, Leszek Bzdyl, Piotr Stanek
Music, set design, videos: Nagrobki (Maciek Salamon, Adam Witkowski)
Costumes: Katarzyna Piątek
Light engineering: Michał Kołodziej
Produced by: Stowarzyszenie Teatr Dada von Bzdülöw, Teatr Wybrzeże, Gdańsk
Supported by the City of Gdańsk
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More on the Dada von Bzdülöw Theatre
NAGROBKI [Gravestones]
The musical band Nagrobki is a two piece act by Adam Witkowski and Maciej Salamon (Adam: drums and vocals, Maciek: guitars and vocals; both write the lyrics and music). The band was formed as a side-project of its mother ensemble, Gówno. On 1 January 2014, Nagrobki released its first CD titled Pańskie Wersety [The Lordly Verses], undoubtedly and objectively the first CD to come out in Poland in 2014, bought out entirely (17 copies!!!) within minutes from its release.
Following its spectacular success, the band began to work on the new material which represents its auteur style of nekropolo. Nagrobki?s music is a clash of cold wave and noise, and its lyrics combine black metal and cartoons with Scoobie Doo as the lead protagonist.
Katarzyna Ustowska graduated from the Secondary Ballet School in Gdańsk (2008) and the northern School of Contemporary Dance (University of Kent/UK, 2012). Upon completion of her studies, she participated in a series of performances choreographed by Milan Kozánek, Lea Anderson and Akram Khan and staged by Verve?12 (UK). She has worked independently in Poland and abroad for several years. In 2013, she produced a solo titled Hydra as part of the Residence/premiere 2013 programme (Klub Żak, Gdańsk), supervised by Roberto Zappal? (Italy). Her dancing collaborations in the recent years include Roberto Oliván (ENCLAVE 4/7) and Ivgi & Greben (This is not a love song).
Since 2006, Ustowska has been working extensively with children and the youth, conducting classes in contemporary dance, improvisation, movement and choreography, and looking for new ways of learning and communication through movement. A laureate of the 1st prize in TVP Kultura?s Creative Valley Competition and the 2nd prize at the 3… 2… 1… DANCE! Competition(Kraków Dance Theatre), she is the recepient of the Scholarship of the Mayor of Sopot and the Prize of the Mayor of Sopot for Young Artists (Sopocka Muza). At present, she studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst (Master of Arts in Contemporary Dance Education) in Frankfurt. Ustowska has collaborated with the Dada von Bzdülöw Theatre since 2013, among others dancing in Roberto Oliván?s Enclave 4/7.
Piotr Stanek is a 5th year student at the Ludwik Solski State Theatre School in Cracow, Dance Education Department in Bytom. He has studied with Jacek Łumiński, Sylwia Hefczyńska-Lewandowska, Janusz Skubaczkowski, Ilona Trybuła, Louise Frank, Jerzy Stuhr, Błażej Peszek, Bolesław Brzozowski, Jerzy Święch, and Iwona Olszowska, among others. In 2014, he appeared in the title role in the Dance Theatre Department diploma adaptation of Alfred Jarry?s Ubu Roi directed by Jerzy Stuhr, and in Zrabowali mi składaka [They stole my folding bike] produced as part of the residence programme of the Gdańsk Dance Festival. He participated in the national stage of Eurovision for Young Dancers 2013, winning the Audience Award.
The Dada von Bzdülöw Theatre was established by choreographer and director Leszek Bzdyl and dancer and choreographer Katarzyna Chmielewska. Operating uninterruptedly since 1992, the Theatre has produced 46 premiere performances so far. The list of major performances no longer featured in its repertoire includes Nie było, nie będzie, czyli nie ma, Uff?! [There wasn?t, there won?t be, so there isn?t], Drop Dead Gorgeous (co-production with the Vincent Dance Theatre), Magnolia, Kilka błyskotliwych spostrzeżeń (a la Gombrowicz) [Magnolia, Several Witty Observations (a la Gombrowicz), Faktor T [Factor T].
The output of the Dada Theatre also includes international productions and artistic events in Germany, Belgium, Sweden, and the UK, among them Landscape X in Stockholm (performance The Rape of Europe directed by Piotr Cieplak / 1998) and SEAS (performance ODYS-seas directed by Leszek Bzdyl / 2004). In 2004-2006, the Theatre participated in the Trans Danse Europe project.
In 2000-2007, the Dada Theatre was affiliated with the Klub Żak theatre stage in Gdańsk, where it initiated a new festival of dance theatres and contemporary dance, Korporacja Tańca (2002). In the 2008/09 season, the Theatre collaborated with Teatr Nowy in Łódź.
Since 2008, the Dada Theatre has been linked to Teatr Wybrzeże in Gdańsk, which hosted the world premieres of Czerwona trawa [Red Grass], Le Sacre, Duety nieistniejące [Non-existent Duets], Zagraj to, czyli 17 tańców o czymś [Play it, so 17 Dances About Something], Enclave 4/7 and Transmigrazione di fermenti d’amore.
Performances outside of Poland (2002-2013): Belgium, China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Palestine, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, USA.
