PERFORMING REVOLUTION

IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

a 5-month long festival

marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of Communism in Europe

and featuring a wide range of performances,

exhibitions, film screenings, and symposia

throughout New York City

NOVEMBER 5, 2009 – MARCH 31, 2010

presented by The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

in partnership with key New York City cultural and academic institutions,

including the Polish Cultural Institute in New York,

Marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of Communism in Central and Eastern Europe, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, in association with key New York City cultural organizations and academic institutions, is organizing Performing Revolution in Central and Eastern Europe. The 5-month festival will focus on the performing arts as a powerful contributing force in the fall of Communism in Europe. Spearheaded by The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, which will present a major exhibition on the themes of the festival, it features over 20 events throughout New York City, with a specific focus on performing arts in the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic, and Slovenia.

Performing Revolution in Central and Eastern Europe explores the revolutionary mindset of performing artists through theater, music, and dance performances, exhibitions, film screenings, readings, and symposia. While certain festival events illustrate how artistic resistance in the 1980s contributed to the profound political changes in 1989, others comment on the different contexts that continue to characterize revolution in performance today.

Among the events featured is a rare revival of the Polish Theatre of the Eighth Day’s landmark 1985 production of Wormwood, performed by the original cast; the U.S. premiere of Petruska by the Gyor National Ballet from Hungary; Rebel Waltz, a weekend of music featuring underground bands that performed behind the Iron Curtain in the 1980s (including Dezerter from Poland); and Dancing with the Berlin Wall – a three-part project by choreographer Nejla Yatkin culminating in a site-specific performance. Additionally, The Harriman Institute at Columbia University will present a public symposium, After Communism: Achievement and Disillusionment since 1989, that will assess the meaning of the 1989 revolutions and their aftermaths.

Festival website: www.performingrevolution.org

Performing Revolution in Central and Eastern Europe is presented by The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in partnership with the Czech Center New York; Goethe-Institut New York; Hungarian Cultural Center; Polish Cultural Institute in New York; Romanian Cultural Institute New York; Consulate General of the Slovak Republic; Consulate General of Slovenia; Abrons Arts Center; Agentura dell’Arte; Dance New Amsterdam; Erste Bank Group; GOH Productions; The Harriman Institute at Columbia University; HERE Arts Center; The Joyce Theater; La MaMa, E.T.C.; (le) Poisson Rouge; Martin E. Segal Theatre Center; The Tank; Theatre Department at Barnard College, Columbia University; Untitled Theater Company #61; WaxFactory; and the 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Festival.

Performing Revolution in Central and Eastern Europe is supported by the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation and the Trust for Mutual Understanding. The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts gratefully acknowledges the leadership support of Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman. Additional support for exhibitions has been provided by Judy R. and Alfred A. Rosenberg and the Miriam and Harold Steinberg Foundation.