On Saturday 27 April Stanisław Moniuszko Grand Theatre is presenting the premiere night of the two-part ballet evening with the music of Igor Stravinsky, including The Rite of Spring and Oedipus Rex. The music director of Oedipus Rex will be maestro Gabriel Chmura. The choreagraphic oratorio of Oedipus Rex performed by dancers, soloists and the choir of Poznań Opera House will be prepared under the management of Mr. Jacek Przybylowicz, ballet director Opera House. The Rite of Spring by Stravinsky will be presented at the centennial anniversary of the premiere showing of Paris Opera House. The orchestra of Poznań Opera House will be conductedby George Wierus. Audienceswill have the opportunity to see ballet choreographed by Paul Julius. Mark Heinz will design the lighting for the wholeevening. The event,realized alongside the Nuova Foundation will inaugurate the 8-th edition of The Festival of Spring.
The next showing will take place on 28 and 29 April.
Paul Julius – choreographer, was born in 1971 in Nuremberg. He received his dance training at the School for Contemporary Dance Iwanson in Munich and also at the Académie Classique Solange Golovine in Paris. From 2006 until 2008 he was a soloist dancer at the Mecklenburgischen State Theatre Schwerin. Previously he was engaged for five years at the Oldenburg State Theatre where he created his first choreographic work, further pieces and choreographies for plays and musicals then followed. In 2005 Paul Julius was invited by the New York Choreographic Institute and created the piece Scratching the surface for the New York City Ballet. In 2006 he was invited to present his work Which one would you like at the International Almada Dance Festival in Portugal. In 2007 he received a further invitation from the International Dance Festival in Belgrade to perform his piece Look at me, which was rehearsed on the Serbian National Ballet. Within the same year he choreographed After Rain and Dreams for the Stuttgart Ballet. In November 2008 Paul Julius was invited once again to the Almada Dance Festival in Portugal where his work A cast-off skin was performed. In 2009 he choreographed Watching the sky from the same window on the first soloists of the Stuttgart Ballet – Jason Reilly and Alicia Amatriain. This work premiered at the Stadsschouwburg in Arnhem.
In Schwerin, he created six new works including his adaptation of the Shakespeare’s classic, Much Ado About Nothing with music by Peteris Vasks in 2008. In March 2010 his choreography of Giselle premiered. In 2011 he worked together with soloists from the Mecklenburg State Theatre Schwerin, creating the piece „In the rain again“. This was then performed at the opening gala of the 20th Dance Week in Dresden, at the Dance Art Festival in Giessen, as well as at the Stadsschouwburg in Arnhem. Following this he choreographed So Cold for the Ballet of the Mecklenburg State Theatre Schwerin and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the interdisciplinary project.
He has worked at the International Ballet workshop in Nara in Japan and also for the Y-Dance Ballet Studio in Tokyo as a guest instructor for contemporary dance.
Jacek Przybyłowicz – choreographer, ballet director of Poznań Opera House. He graduated from the State Ballet School and the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw – in pedagogy. In 1987–1991 he was a dancer in the Polish National Ballet in Warsaw. At that time he made his debut as a choreographer, creating Negotiations set to music by Alessandro Marcello. The piece was awarded the first prize for choreography and the prize for interpretation at the 2nd National Chorography Competition in Łódź. Negotiations were also presented in the Teatr Wielki in Warsaw and at the 6th Warsaw Ballet Days. In 1991 he left Poland. At that time he collaborated with groups from Germany and Israel. For many years he worked with one of the best contemporary dance groups, KibbutzContemporary Dance Company (Israel). Choreographers including Mats Ek,Ohad Naharin, Jiři Kyliàn, Emanuel Gat and Rami Beer created choreographies for the group. In 1994–2001 he danced with KCDC at the most prestigious contemporary dance festivals, visiting over 50 countries all over the world, including the USA, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Singapore, Taiwan and Japan. Many times he danced in Europe (including Poland, invited by the Łódź International Ballet Festival).
In 1997 he performed with Batscheva Dance Company in the performance Kyr (choreography by Ohad Naharin) at Yair Shapiro Dance Price. Over the years abroad, he developed his choreographic skills, creating: Verlorenheit and Orient Express presented at Dance Extensions 2002 in Limassol, Cyprus. At the same time he collaborated with Lambros LambrouDance Company, taking part in a choreographic project of the group in Europe. In 2002 he went back to Poland to produce The Dove’s Necklage (2003) at the Polish Dance Theatre directed by Ewa Wycichowska. One year later, invited by Biennale de la Dance in Lyon, he presented Barocco (2004). He also created Autumn – Nuembir (2008) for the Polish Dance Theatre.
In the recent years he created three ballets for the Polish National Opera in Warsaw: A few short sequences (Men’s dance) with a video presentation created by Katarzyna Kozyra,Alpha Kryonie Xe (2010) and 3rd Symphony Pieśń o nocy (the evening Szymanowski i taniec at the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera in Warsaw, 2006). In 2010 he created Sono nero for the dance gala organized by UNESCO in Rome. In 2012 he will create Six wings of angels at the Polish National Ballet directed by Krzysztof Pastor.
Together with the Polish Dance Theatre and the National Opera Ballet, he presented his choreographies at numerous dance festivals, including Bolzanodanza in Italy, Rencontres Choreographique de Cartage in Tunisia, Moscow Dance Festival in Russia, Drugije Tancy in Ukraine, European Dance Festival in Cyprus, Kassel Tanz Festival in Germany. Since 2008 he has produced performances with the groups from the Czech Republic and Spain.
The co-author of a promoting and educational cycle Teren Tańca – Reinterpretacje organized together with the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. Since 2010 he has been the curator of the Poznań Ballet Spring taking place in the Grand Theatre.
He received three scholarships from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
Stravinsky Evening
OEDIPUS REX
choreographic oratorio in two acts
credits
conductor Gabriel Chmura
director &choreography Jacek Przybyłowicz
lighting design Mark Heinz
set designs Petra Korink
costume designs Paweł Grabarczyk
chorus master Mariusz Otto
cast
Oedipus Michał Marzec / Jacek Laszczkowski
Jocasta Agnieszka Zwierko / Sylwia Złotkowska
Creon Jerzy Mechliński
Tiresias Abdrzej Ogórkiewicz
Shepherd Karol Bochański lub Piotr Friebe
Messenger Jaromir Trafankowski
Narrator Aleksander Machalica
man’s chorus 32 persons
ballet 4 female dancers and 4 male dancers
children 1 girl and 1 boy
orchestra 74 musicians
THE RITE OF SPRING
ballet in two movements
credits
conductor Grzegorz Wierus
choreography Paul Julius
lighting design Mark Heinz
set designs Petra Korink
costume designs Paweł Grabarczyk
ballet 16 female dancers and 4 male dancers
orchestra 74 musicians
about 20 persons of additional staff