LUBLIN DANCE THEATER AND THE SPECTACLES

The Lublin Dance Theatre was established in 2001 by Hanna Strzemiecka, the Theatre’s choreographer and artistic director. However, LDT originates from the Contemporary Dance Group of Lublin University of Technology (started in 1993), which was one of the first independent contemporary dance theatres in Poland. Within the several years since the start of its operation, the Group had developed its own original style and started to be recognized in Poland and abroad. Thanks to a consistent implementation of its artistic mission, a professional dance theatre was established at the Culture Centre in Lublin.

The artistic and organizational activity of Lublin Dance Theatre focuses, in the first place, on the creation of a space for lively dialogue with the spectator about the condition of today’s human being, and, secondly, on the promotion of contemporary dance art as a means of expression that is rich in intellectual and emotional potential.

Lublin Dance Theatre has participated in numerous festivals and presentations in Poland: Bytom, Kraków, Warszawa, Gdańsk, Poznań, and worldwide: Switzerland, France, Hungary, Germany, Russia, Lithuania, Belarus, the Netherlands, Finland, and Austria.

Lublin Dance Theatre, both individually and in cooperation with the Contemporary Dance Group of Lublin University of Technology, also initiates and organizes cultural and educational projects, such as the annual International Lublin Dance Theatres Festival, since 1997; the Contemporary Dance Forum for Polish Dance Theatres, since 2003; the Chagall Festival in Lublin in 2003; and the Polish Contemporary Dance Festival in Helsinki in 2004.

„...The dancers build the mood with gestures. You can see them becoming an orchestra, and their bodies – sources of sound.” - Wiesława Turżańska, Kurier Lubelski (Poland)

„ ... Hanna Strzemiecka belongs to the most talented dance creators in Poland...” - Adrienne Sichel, The Star (RPA)

„ Hanna Strzemiecka really knows her job ... she’s got marvellous dancers.” - Giora Manor, Israel Dance Quarterly (Israel)

„...Dynamic and full of expressive scenes […] The variety of movement and high technical quality were amazing. The total engagement, the talent for dance, and the tremendous potential of the dancers made for an evening of exciting dance.” - R.S Thurgauer Zeitung (Switzerland)

NYC PROGRAM

Lublin Dance Theatre & Contemporary Dance Group of Lublin University of Technology
Acrobats, Flowers, and the Moon
premiere: XII International Chagall’s Days in Vitebsk, July 2002
choreography: Hanna Strzemiecka
music: Dave Douglas, Louis Scalvis, Anne Eisensee, Mathias Hudelmayer, Stephan Mohr
sound effects: Marek Zarzycki
set: Leszek Strzemiecki
dancers: Sylwia Tuchanowska-Wolszczak, Łucja Wosik, Anna Żak, Ryszard Kalinowski, Wojciech Kaproń
duration: 45 min.

Marc Chagall’s work was an inspiration for the performance but this is not an imitation of his masterpieces. The choreographer wanted to create the mood of the paintings on the stage. Chagall’s idea of the world of the circus, which passes away with childhood, was the key to creating a non-linear dramaturgy for the performance. Through the motifs of lovers, animals, and acrobats, the dancers create specific pictures in which the fantasy exists together with nostalgia and loneliness.

“One of the most mature performances of the festival was “Acrobats, flowers and the moon” - Jacek Marczyński, Rzeczpospolita (Poland)

“Hanna Strzemiecka showed again how well she can feel and create the form of a performance. When one creates a performance based on Marc Chagall’s work, the basic problem is whether it will include that much of the poetic mood as the paintings have. In “Acrobats, flowers and the moon” each single part and scene are filled with it. We can find here some moments from “The birthday” (1915), “Three acrobats” (1926), “Lovers in the bunch of flowers” (1930), and from the later Chagall’s works: “Comedians”, “The great circus” and “Great parade”. During the whole journey through Chagall’s world we are accompanied by his wife, Bella (“Bella in the white collar”). The moon is shining and the dancers are flying… Real magic” - Andrzej Molik, Kurier Lubelski (Poland)

Interval – 20 minutes

Optical tract
premiere: V International Lublin Dance Theatres Festival, November 2001
choreography: Hanna Strzemiecka
music: J.S. Bach, sound effects “Ice symphony”
set: Leszek Strzemiecki
dancers: Anna Żak, Ryszard Kalinowski, Wojciech Kaproń
duration: 25 min

The choreography is a variation based on a search for dissonance in clear, harmonious structures. It is also an argument against a trivial perception of the world around us.