Warsaw: Premiere of Creations 6 the 6th choreographic workshop of the Polish National Ballet

On Saturday, 5 April (7 pm) Teatr Wielki ? Polish National Opera (Sala Kameralna ? Chamber Hall) will host the premiere of Creations 6, the 6th choreographic workshop of the Polish National Ballet.  

This year the showcase will feature new choreographic miniatures from as many as ten PBN artists:

Eduard Bablidze, Viktor Banka, Robert Bondara, Michał Chróścielewski, Joanna Drabik, Tomasz Fabiański, Anna Hop, Paulina Jurkowska, Lachlan Phillips and Kurusz Wojeński. Other members of the company will take on new roles as well: Anna Lorenc will co-manage the project with Lachlan Phillips, Marta Fiedler will coordinate costume design, while Aneta Złoch will act as the technical coordinator.

The young choreographers told a press conference that this year?s workshop had been a new experience to all of them, even if some had participated in the project before. Anna Hop in Arctic uses a short fragment of  Meredith Monk?s work (1 minute, repeated twice), yet the greater part of the choreography is set to sounds of winter which the choreographer edited herself. This way she has meant to conjure up a suggestive atmosphere on stage, as well as leave behind the traditional perception of dance as being always set to music. Joanna Drabik in Szpile [Pins] uses a different set of inspirations than before, drawing on everyday life and behaviours, which are, nevertheless, given in a strictly theatrical form. In her choreography she uses props such as chairs and shoes. Lachlan Phillips was inspired by his meeting with the Opera?s violinist and a piece composed by Krzysztof Penderecki. Interestingly, the young choreographer admitted that he had taken a liking to the work in the process of developing the choreography knowing nothing of the composer or his links to Poland. The Australian choreographer?s piece will be performed to live music.

After the premiere, Creations 6 will be shown on Sunday, 6 April (6 pm) and Tuesday, 8 April (7 pm).

PBN director, Krzysztof Pastor, about Creations:

?Choreographic workshops should be an intrinsic element in the life of a ballet company which has the ambition of developing its own artistic image. Without a search for new paths, means of expression, and even a new language, ballet would be a rather uninteresting art, offering audiences neither surprises nor challenges, maybe even a dead art. A leading ballet company, apart from presenting great and familiar repertoire, should also be creative, they should seek their own unique artistic solutions, propose ballets by new choreographers, preferably from among the company itself. For choreographic talent to stand a chance of revealing itself and developing, however, certain conditions have to be in place. That?s why one of my first initiatives after taking over as director of the Polish National Ballet was to establish annual choreography workshops.

?This is a project important not only to our audience and to the company?s development, but also to those dancers who are thinking maturely and responsibly about their future once they end their career as ballet dancers – so that they can see what it?s like to be a choreographer, work organizer, production manager, stage manager, advertising campaign initiator, author of texts, program editor, costume designer, technical crew member, etc.?

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Cast of Creations 6: Viktor Banka, Sergey Basalaev, Zbigniew Czapski-Kłoda, Kenneth Dwigans, Yuka Ebihara, Tomasz Fabiański, Marta Fiedler, Robin Kent, Vadzim Kezik, Ana Kipshidze, Yurika Kitano, Paweł Koncewoj, Roseanna Leney, Aleksandra Liashenko, Anna Lorenc, Daria Majewska, Shunsuke Mizui, Izabela Milewska, Adam Myśliński, Sergio Castro Navarro, Ewa Nowak, Carlos Martin Perez, Raphael Rautureau, Palina Rusetskaya, Karolina Sapun, Margarita Simonova, Svetlana Siplatova, Remigiusz Smoliński, Emilia Stachurska, Lynsey Sutherland, Kristóf Szabó, Łukasz Tużnik, Michał Tużnik, Emi Uehara, Alexandra Vadon, Eliza Walaszczyk, Patryk Walczak, Maksim Woitiul, Vladimir Yaroshenko, Simon Yoshida, Aneta Zbrzeźniak, Alicja Złoch, Bartosz Zyśk