Since the first year it was organized, this festival has focused on asking questions about the contemporary world and sought to interest viewers in the issues raised, turning this critical attitude into something that it promotes as well.
The previous four festival editions featured presentations by 48 choreographers and 25 ensembles from Austria, the United States, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Spain, Venezuela, Slovenia, France, Russia, Romania, Canada, Japan, Germany and Poland. Each edition included workshops, open rehearsals, meetings with artists, master classes, film screenings, and Internet projects. This fifth edition of the festival will build on the "Body_Mind" concept, presenting dance as a reflective art that integrates matter (body) and thought (mind).
This year's edition will take place between the 5th of June and the 3rd of July, combining numerous performances by Polish artists with less abundant appearances by stars of world contemporary dance from countries like France, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Brazil and Italy. Special guests will include Gilles Jobin (recipient of the French "Young Artist's Award" in the year 2000 whose works have been presented at, among others, the prestigious Theatre de la Ville in Paris), Maria Clara Villa-Lobos and Thomas Hauert, known to Warsaw audiences from his appearance at last year's edition of the festival.
During its first weekend (June 5th to the 8th), this year's BODY_MIND Festival will consist of the first-ever edition of the POLSKA PLATFORMA TANCA "TANIEC.PL" / "DANCE.PL" POLISH DANCE PLATFORM, a series of feature presentations of the most interesting independent contemporary dance productions from throughout Poland. The "DANCE.PL" FIRST POLISH DANCE PLATFORM will last four intensive days, each of which will consist of presentations by the most interesting independent Polish choreographers combined with seminars, workshops, public meetings, and meetings with international dance promoters. The aim behind the PLATFORM is to diagnose the situation of contemporary dance in Poland, to open the field to young artists, and to establish pan-European contacts with others interested in the art of dance. Another important objective of the PLATFORM is to gain the attention of Warsaw city authorities and highlight the need for a center of professional education in, and development and promotion of, contemporary dance in the city.
The fundamental idea of the BODY_MIND Festival is to seek out the newest and most important currents in world dance art and to promote Polish dance artists on the international arena. Festival presentations reflect the variety of stances present in contemporary dance and highlight the close links between dance and other art forms. The framework of the festival has come to encompass other forms of art precisely because of the reigning diversity of artistic stances and styles that draw on everything from the visual arts and performance art to architecture and music.
Festival participants this year will include young yet significant ensembles from Poland and other countries, some of which are considered to be the most interesting troupes of their generation. In the program for this year's festival, a number of productions that have received recognition from the likes of Ballet International Magazine, Aerowaves, and Dance Forum in Cannes, or in the form of the Jerwood Choreography Award.
Educational projects aimed at stimulating creative action and encouraging participation therein are another important element of the festival, as are open rehearsals, meetings with artists, workshops and film screenings. This year's BODY_MIND will include a series of workshops lead by Thomas Hauert, lecturer at the P.A.R.T.S. school in Brussels.
The BODY_MIND Festival promotes Polish artists abroad and generates conditions conducive to their development. The festival is a partner of three international networks and its productions have represented Poland at numerous international festivals, including Dance Zone, Springdance, Confrontations, and the Tanzfest im August. Festival productions have also been presented at other prestigious events, which recently included the December 2002 ceremonies held in Copenhagen to commemorate the completion of Poland's accession negotiations with the European Union.
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