Polish National Ballet: Izadora Weisss Darkness to premiere next week.

Izadora Weiss founded the Baltic Dance Theatre, which she then directed for eight years. She is currently the director of the White Dance Theatre, where she creates pieces inspired by the literary canon, set to the musical works of great composers, from Mozart to Penderecki. In her projects, Weiss consciously defies the neoclassical dance tradition in which she was educated, demonstrating her own, original choreographic language. In her artistic research ,Weiss foregrounds humanistic values, the ambiguity of human nature stretched between passions and morality, and a range of attendant emotions.

The choreographer frequently brings up the issue of violence against women, presenting it as a timeless, urgent social issue. Izadora Weiss?s Darkness, realised in collaboration with the Polish National Ballet, was inspired by Joseph Conrad?s novella Heart of Darkness. It is a story exploring the limits of cruelty, which shift when one person has power over another and can practise violence with impunity. In this production, violence is manifested in the relationship between a man and a woman. The choreographer is fascinated with the change that takes place in their relations when the woman stops being unanimous with her partner and starts rebelling. How is it that the wonderful promise of paradise from a man desiring fulfilment can turn into aggression, violence and humiliation? How is it that the suffering of a helpless victim can give someone intense pleasure, or help relieve their own fears and complexes? The unending domination of men over women, despite the progress of civilization and human rights, in many countries is a concealed form of slavery, when a woman is owned by a man. It has its brutal version in the world of sex. Darkness does not fall suddenly. It surrounds our bright spaces, waiting to gradually take over our lives forever.

The premiere will be presented at the Teatr Wielki ? Polish National Opera (Młynarski Hall) on 14 June (7 pm), followed by repeat performances on 16 June (7 pm) and 18 June (7 pm).

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Premiere cast:

Ewa Nowak ? Lilli

Yurika Kitano ? Geisha

Adam Kozal ? Father

Adam Myśliński ? Boy

Lorenzo Alberti ? Bridegroom

Yurika Kitano ? Jasmin

Ewa Nowak ? Angel

Rachael Vrbancic ? Mother

Dan Ozeri ? Man

Natalia Pasiut ? Girl 1

Agnieszka Jankowska ? Girl 2