Vivadança is one of the most important dance events in Brazil. Held in Salvador de Bahia in April on International Dance Day, the festival aims to promote the diverse forms of expressive dance.
This year’s edition will feature a strong Polish accent in the form of the multi-stage Yanka Rudzka Project, a continuation of the initiative started in 2015. Its mission is to research the work of Yanka Rudzka, a Polish dancer who came to Salvador (Bahia, Brazil) in 1956 and created the pioneering Dance School at the Federal University of Bahia. Though virtually unknown in her home country, in Salvador the artist is considered the mother of modern dance – she was the first choreographer to combine modern dance with elements of Afro-Brazilian culture.
Another goal of the Polish presence at the festival is to promote the interesting new achievements of Polish choreography. By showing the diversity and the uncompromising character of Polish artists, the project can subvert the stereotypical perception of Polish dance as an art centred only around the tradition of Tanztheater.
The festival will see the premiere of The Yanka Rudzka Project LEAVENING, an original production by Janusz Orlik and Joanna Leśnierowska, a choreographic duo honoured by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage (Best Choreography, Polish Dance Platform in Lublin, November 2014). By engaging Polish and Brazilian dancers, the project facilitates a closer connection between the two dance communities. The production will be preceded by an artistic residence which will research a significant and unexplored link between Polish and Brazilian dance – Yanka Rudzka. Thus, it will ask questions on potential ‘common areas’ and inspiring differences between the two dance worlds. The play will premiere on 29th April 2016.
Besides the original production by Janusz Orlik and Joanna Leśnierowska, Vivadança will feature other Polish shows. Between 25th and 30th April a group of Polish artists will present their work, including:
- Sławomir Krawczyński: Nijinski. The Rite of Dreams (Ministry of Culture and National heritage award for the best production during the Polish Dance Platform 2014),
- Maciej Kuźmiński: Difference and Repetition (his earlier production Room 40 received the Audience Award at the Polish Dance Platform 2014),
- Agata Siniarska: Death 24 Frames per Seond or Do It to Me Like in a Real Movie,
- Agata Maszkiewicz: Polska.
Presentations will be accompanied by workshops and master classes by Polish choreographers – a valuable occasion to exchange experiences and create long-term collaboration between Polish and Brazilian art communities.
An important element of the Yanka Rudzka Project is also the research conducted in Salvador since June 2015 by Polish theatre scholar Maciej Różalski. Its goal is to study Yanka Rudzka and trace the history of her departure from Poland, arrival in Brazil, and education projects in Salvador as well as her fascination with the local culture and Afro-Brazilian cults in Bahia.
The project will culminate in a two-day seminar, which is an integral part of the Vivadança Festival (28th and 29th April). Among the invited guests are outstanding choreographer and Yanka Rudzka’s student and assistant, Lia Robatto; Dulce Aquino, professor and director of the Dance Faculty at the Federal University of Bahia and also a student of Rudzka, as well as Anna Królica, a dance critic from Poland.
The seminar will be a chance to commemorate Yanka Rudzka’s legacy, and at the same time, through outlining the history of the development of dance in Poland, it will constitute a fitting complement to other projects by Polish choreographers and dancers at Vivadança. The seminar will be accompanied by the publication of an e-catalogue featuring materials about Yanka Rudzka as well as articles on the Polish dance scene.
The event is organized by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Vivadança Festival and Art. Stations Foundation.
About Vivadança Festival (festivalvivadanca.com.br):
Vivadança is a place to celebrate dance: here, various rhythms and styles show the audience the diversity of Dance, from Brazil and from all over the world, and create a dialogue between dance and other artistic manifestations.
Created in 2007, in Salvador/Bahia, under the name "Mês da Dança no Vila", VIVADANÇA has begun as a program to celebrate the month of Dance, and all of its shows took place at Teatro Vila Velha. Within almost a decade of existence, its size and format has been greatly altered: it has taken international proportions and has added several milestones to its path, such as the creation of the "Casa Aberta" Showcase, the "Hip Hop em Movimento" Showcase and the VIVADANÇA Prize.
About Art Stations Foundation (artstationsfoundation5050.com):
The Art Stations Foundation by Grażyna Kulczyk was established in 2004, as the Kulczyk Foundation. The goal of the Founder, Grażyna Kulczyk, was to support the development of culture and art. The mission of popularising culture and art, in addition to facilitating and increasing their availability to the public, was consistently accomplished through the Foundation’s various exhibition projects and grants. In 2008, in connection with plans to build a museum, the Foundation changed its name to the Art Stations Foundation. From the beginning of its existence, it has been continuously operating to implement its artistic and social mission.
PERFORMANCES:
27/04 - 7pm - Nijinsky Slawek Krawczynski) - Teatro Gregório de Matos
28/04 - 7pm - Polska (Agata Maszkiewicz) | Death 24 frames per second or do it to me like in a real movie - Delayed choreography in chapters (Agata Siniarska) - Teatro ICBA
29-30/04 - 8pm – Projeto Yanka Rudzka: Semente - Teatro Vila Velha
30/04 - 7pm - Repetition (Maciej Kuzminski) - Espaço Cultural Barroquinha
SEMINARIUM : 28 and 29/04, from 9am to 12pm, at Teatro do Movimento | Escola de Dança da UFBA (Szkoła Tańca Uniwersytetu Federalnego w Salvadorze)
Author: KM, compiled by PW, translated by OK, 9 Feb 2016
For more about Polish culture in Brazil, click HERE