About the performance

Urgent dance – this is how the second part of the curated dance activism series Emergency Dances II, presented under the auspices of Tantehorse, could be loosely translated. The event took place on Monday, October 21, 2019, at 8:00 PM at Palác Akropolis.

The artistic ensemble Tantehorse once again appeared in the role of curator, initiating a meeting of diverse artists within a single thematically focused evening. The theme of the second edition of Emergency Dances II was Limits of Corporeality. The selected artists presented bodily experience from different and distinctly personal perspectives: the body as architecture, the body as a spiritual entity, and the body as a socio-political tool.

The series continued a critical dialogue between creators from dance theatre, performance, visual art, and the public, and through the subsequent discussion opened space for audiences to reflect on what they had seen, to express subjective opinions and feelings, and to share their experiences.

A triptych of original works was presented by:

• Bora Debnárová and Jindřiška Křivánková, focusing on bodily intimacy in prayer
• Martin Talaga and Denis Baštuga, exploring the limits of corporeality through a visual form working with a highly aestheticized image of the body
• Kristýna Kužvartová, Aida Mujačić, and a collective, processing corporeality through a multiplied media trace – in electronically processed sound, acoustic sound, performance, or an 8mm film poem

Bora Debnárová and Jindřiška Křivánková: Not To Take a Prayer

In the intimacy of the body

And how do you pray? Through a breathing technique called Alchemy of Breath, the performers explore the bodily state of prayer – an intimate physical and emotional expression of total presence. They refer to principles of prayer found in various religions, spiritual philosophies, and traditions, and search for a space of their own transcendent communication.

• Concept: Bora Debnárová
• Dramaturgy: Jindřiška Křivánková 
• Performers: Bora Debnárová, Jindřiška Křivánková
• Music, vocals: RRRR+A
• Lighting design: Karlos Šimek
• Costume design: Andrijana Trpković
• The rehearsal process of the dance performance was supported by public funds in the form of a scholarship from the Slovak Arts Council

Martin Talaga, Denis Baštuga: Homo Sensorium

All forms of life are destined either to die or to develop into something else. All of them. Including humans.

Choreographer Martin Talaga and visual artist Denis Baštuga meet in a process of exploring and connecting the human body with organic and inorganic material. The decomposition of the body into individual elements, as well as the fragmentation of various materials, creates a visually surprising bodily architecture. Themes of evolution and dehumanization are viewed through the prism of science and technology and are inspired by futuristic literature.

• Concept, choreography, performers: Martin Talaga, Denis Baštuga 
• Music: Filip Míšek

Kristýna Kužvartová, Aida Mujačić and collective: Druhá kůže

An experiment for two performers and a sewing machine

The performance explores corporeality, communication, socialization, and globalization through audiovisual means. The layer of metaphorically represented labor (the sewing machine) thematically intertwines with personal and family history. The performance is an interdisciplinary dialogue between a visual object, choreography, 8mm film, live processing, and live music, in which the sewing machine becomes the main musical instrument.

• Concept and script: Aida Mujačić, Kristýna Kužvartová
• Direction: Aida Mujačić
• Dramaturgy: Małgorzata Chodyna
• Performance: Ewa Zurakowska, Paula Dobosz
• Music: Aida Mujačić, Josef Láska, Michal Nachtigal
• Set design and costumes: Kristýna Kužvartová, Michal Nachtigal
• Film/video: Ilona Malá
• Lighting design: Michal Horáček
• Supported by: Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Prague City Hall, Život umělce Foundation, Fundacja Pałac Gorzanów, Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of Poland
• The project was financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland within the multiannual programme “Niepodległa” (2017–2022), as part of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute’s grant programme “Cultural Bridges” (“Kulturalne pomosty”).

The Emergency Dances project was created in co-production with Palác Akropolis and with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the City of Prague, the Czech State Fund of Culture, the Slovak Arts Council, and Citadela Studio.

Premiere: 21. 10. 2019 - Palác Akropolis

Part of project: Emergency Dances

Gallery