Sara Bleasdale. Photo: Paweł Wyszomirski
Since 2009, the Residency/Premiere programme, organised by Klub Żak, has been held as part of the Gdańsk Dance Festival. This year?s edition of the competition attracted a total of 32 applications, including 10 entries from abroad and 2 late entries. Of the 32 submitted pieces, two were delivered past the deadline and nine failed to meet the formal requirements, resulting in their exclusion from the proceedings. Upon due discussion, the committee composed of: Magdalena Renk-Grabowska ? Klub Żak Director, Agnieszka Fortenbach ? theatre curator, Paulina Cichosz ? theatre curator, and Maria Miotk ? theatre curator, has decided to qualify two projects for the residence. The first piece will premiere on 23 February 2019, while the first presentation of the second piece has been scheduled for 13 April 2019. The third and final project selected for the residency (6-19 May) will be announced on 10 January 2019.
The selection criteria adopted by the committee included the skills of dancers participating in a given project, their artistic achievements, participation in the performances of contemporary dance theatres, description of the submitted project and the course of the performance (transparency, clarity, conciseness, division into scenes). The scope of the current financial support as part of residential projects of the Klub Żak has also been taken into account.
The committee has selected the following projects for the residency:
Innermen by Sarah Bleasdale, Nadine Freisleben and Angela Fegers
Residency: 11-23 February 2019
Coach: Eva Duda
Premiere: 23 February2019
Kolibeńka by Aleksandra Nowakowska, Bartłomiej Mieszczak, Nicol Wesołowska, Daniel Leżoń
Residency: 1-13 April 2019
Coach: Jean Gaudin
Premiere: 13 April 2019
The selection for the 6-19 May 2019 residency will be announced on 10 January 2019.
Klub Żak also wishes to reminded Tri-City-based artists that they can develop their premieres within the frame of the Tri-City Dance Point project.
Information about the selected projects:
Innermen is a contemporary dance theatre piece portraying 3 females who journey to discover their own ‘inner men.’.This piece poses the following question: what are the stereotypes of ‘hypermasculinity ‘ we see represented in our society today? Is there an ‘inner man’ within every woman? If so, what does he have to say? Using the techniques of morphing, looping, reverse and retrograde the dancers will thoroughly investigate the stereotypes of hypermasculinity from a female perspective.
Sarah Bleasdale is a Berlin-based dancer and choreographer, originally from New Zealand. In 2016, Sarah won the 3rd prize at the International Solo Dance Competition at Gdansk Dance Festival for her performance and choreography of SMIRK. Sarah currently dances for the GAU Company, works as a choreographer with screen actors at dBs Film School in Berlin, and serves as the choreographer/director for Belgian UBIK Theatre Group. She also commercially performs as a drag king and comedic Burlesque entertainer under the persona Miss Phoenix Rising in London, Brussels, and Berlin.
Nadine Freisleben was born in Berlin in 1989. She danced in different Nigerian-based companies, which was where she got in touch with West African Contemporary Dance. She uses the approach and techniques developed while working in Nigeria in her own movement style. In 2013 she found the Dance-Theatre Ensemble GAU Company. Nadine graduated in Contemporary Dance studies in 2015 in Berlin, where she started working at the international level with choreographers such as Saskia Assohoto, Chaim Gebber, Christian Schwaan and Jennifer Mann. She regularly collaborates with the GAU Company.
Angela Fegers is an American dancer/choreographer currently based in Berlin. After completing her studies at New World School of the Arts in Miami, Florida, Angela relocated to New York City, where she performed professionally for Linda Fines and Erick Montes, before moving to Europe in August 2016. Currently she focuses most of her energy on creating her own work and teaching. Angela uses inspiration from every day instances, taking good care to observe movements from non dancers, and then incorporating these normal tendencies into inspiration for creative production.
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Kolibeńka (Cradle) is a performance inspired by the culture of commons using folk dances, traditional songs, contemporary dance and the Polish Contemporary Dance Technique. Folk dance – as the name suggests ? originated from commonalityas a lively expression of the bodies living in those times. Can it fulfil the same function today? The dancers will attempt to recreate the aura of folk, and find out how it resonates in the bodies and minds. Their inspiration comes from stories transmitted through oral tradition.
Aleksandra Nowakowska is a fifth-year student at the Academy of Theatre Arts in Krakow (faculty of Dance Theatre in Bytom). She performed in the plays of OPT Gardzienice (New Athens, Requiem), States of Concentration choreographed by Jacek Przybyłowicz and Where is Paweł? Means we want peace! directed by Jan Peszek, among others. Aleksandra is a co-creator of the Imagination Space Center, which focuses on social projects such as movement workshops for the elderly and young people. She loves folk singing and participates in master classes with Natalia Polowynka.
Bartłomiej Mieszczak is a fifth-year student at the Academy of Theatre Arts in Krakow (faculty of Dance Theatre in Bytom). He has been interested in dance and movement since early childhood, expanding his interests onto contemporary dance and acting. He started working as a choreographer in the song and dance ensemble Ziemia Beskidzka. As a student, he has created many independent dance projects, including the solo I ‘d ask myself a question did You? presented at the Alta dance festival in Prague. Bartłomiej is currently dancing in the improvised performance I am watching closely, choreographed by Ilona Trybuła, and in Romeo and Juliet, directed by Krzysztof Rekowski.
Nicol Wesołowska is a student at the Academy of Theatre Arts in Krakow (faculty of Dance Theatre in Bytom). She has played in music performances at the Ucker märkische Bühnen Schwedt Theater, participated in Festival Internacional de Teatro Alternativo and in the international artistic project Europe-identity under (trans) formation: GENDER * X in 2016, in Salzburg. In 2018, she performed in the opera The Angel of Fire, directed by Mariusz Treliński. Nicol has also collaborated with H. Kaalund and S. Majewski.
Daniel Leżoń is a graduate of the Academy of Theatre Arts in Krakow (faculty of Dance Theatre in Bytom). He also studied Theatre Arts with Dance & Movement at the University of Derby. He participated in the 3rd China-CEEC Summer Dance Camp in Chengdu and Dr. Jacek Łumiński?s research project on Oral History of Dance in China in the Sichuan province. Since 2011 he has been active as an actor, dancer, pedagogue and choreographer in many international theatre projects. He is currently performing at the Och-Teatr, starring in the play The Mannequin’s Ball, directed by Jerzy Stuhr, and at the dance and movement theatre ROZBARK in the play Rozkosz by Jakub Lewandowski. Daniel also coordinates creative projects at the Imagination Space Center.
