Warsaw Dance Theatre

Warsaw Dance Theatre was founded in January 2008 by the artistic director Aleksandra Dziurosz – choreographer, dancer, contemporary dance teacher and academic lecturer. The group’s inaugural performance of Chopin – ex-saturo, with the music by Fryderyk Chopin, took place in July 2008 at Chopiniana – the Fryderyk Chopin Days in the Łazienki Park, Warsaw. In December 2008, Trwa-nie, the group’s second production, premiered at the Warsaw Dance Night. The Group’s third performance was Ex-it (premiere in November 2009 at Com’in Festival in Warsaw). Since the end of 2011 the Warsaw Dance Theatre has performed on stages in Poland and abroad, including Japan (Iwata, Tokyo), the Czech Republic (Olomouc) as well as Poznań, Ciechanów and Zabrze.

While the director of the theatre is responsible for the general shape of performances, members of the company also have their impact. The Company consists of six professional contemporary and classical ballet dancers. The dancers of the Polish National Ballet (Robert Bondara, Joanna Drabik, Anna Lorenc and Bartosz Zyśk) and two contemporary dancers with ballet background (Anna Maria Karabela and Anna Majder) as well as an American artist Laura Murphy regularly collaborate with the group. However, the Warsaw Dance Theatre’s open formula enables them to invite other artists (professional dancers) to take part in performances. The group’s founder works regularly with young composers – Aleksandra Blińska, Aldona Nawrocka and Marek Kacprzak, stage designer Magda Grabowska and image director – Tomasz Tarnawski.

The main goal of the Warsaw Dance Theatre is to promote the art of dance as a form of expression and to build a space for dialogue with the audience. The group aims to create contemporary dance theatre performances, based upon an interdisciplinary approach to art work, which creates a new, unique dance form, different from classical ballet. The Warsaw Dance Theatre performances use dance theatre convention, have a fragmentary storyline, consisting of dance episodes, developing selected motifs. The group has an interdisciplinary character and combines dance, movement, theatre, music and visual arts. Contemporary dance remains the leading technique, but due to Dziurosz’s background the performances include a demi-classical elements, best seen in Chopin – ex-saturo. Dziurosz’ theatre produces performances beyond traditional theatre stages – in places where this type of art is rarely or never seen.

The premiere of the group’s latest performance – Contrasts – took place on 17 June 2011 in Powszechny Theatre in Warsaw, and later on 30 June 2011 in the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera.

Currently the group is based at Warsaw’s Masovia Centre of Culture and Arts. Dziurosz’s Contemporary Dance Studio (in short: Dziurosz Dance Studio) is also based here. The studio is a place where people with a passion for dance have the opportunity to develop their skills in three groups. The classes are held by Aleksandra Dziurosz, Liwia Bargieł and Anna Majder.