Jo Strømgren, Fot. Knut Bry.
On 26-28 April Wroclaw will host the 9th interdisciplinary Mandala Performance Festival. The idea behind the 9th Mandala Performance Festival is to open public space up for a discussion on the canons of the body’s presentation and the body’s aesthetics in contemporary dance and performance art. Choreographers of today try not to idealise the body, seeking to show it the way it is. They focus on the social, philosophical and cultural meanings of corporeity and “being a body”. They are interested in presenting realistic corporeity – one that is remote from the ideal – up to the point of showing naturalistic reactions to tiredness, the body’s weakness. They are not afraid to give the stage to bodily ugliness or disability. Authentic expression of the body becomes equally important as the technique. A dancing body is perceived as a direct exponent of human nature, a singular, autonomous being. The body becomes both the subject and the object of expression – it is telling its story.
The repertoire of this year’s festival is very versatile: Brazilian artist Fernando Belfiore finds the starting point for his show in ritual, and Simon Tanguy explores the body as an information carrier, communicating thousands of messages every moment. The international ensemble Pink Mama Theatre of Bern analyzes the issue of identity and alienation. Their shows present the body as a space where patterns of behaviour and specific social roles are recorded. Magdalena Tuka inCold Feetcombines movement and dance with visual arts and text, while Anita Wach becomes more of a DJ than a dancer.
(Excerpts from an introduction to the programme from Adam Kamiński, the festival’s curator)
Venues:
Biuro Festiwalowe IMPART 2016 / IMPART Festival Office 2016, ul. Mazowiecka 17 (26 and 27 April)
and Centrum Inicjatyw Artystycznych / Centre of Artistic Initiatives, ul. Tęczowa 79/81 (28 April)
Tickets: 25, 20 PLN
Box Office opens at noon, tel.: (+48 71) 341 94 32
Bookings possible before noon, tel.: (+48 71) 344 39 45
Links:
