Beginnings
Born in 1975, he graduated from the Dance Theatre Department at the Bytom branch of the Kraków State Drama School. In 2010 he took part in diploma performances at school: Hamlet directed by Cezary Tomaszewski and Jan Peszek and Everything sleep’s awal by Joe Alter. He received a diploma in professional dance, granted by ZASP (The Polish Stage Artists’ Association) and officially recognized by The Minister of Culture and National Heritage. In an intervew with Culture.pl, Figurski revealed:
I was always drawn towards motion. That’s why I chose musicals and studies in Bytom
Before he became involved with the Zawirowania Dance Theatre, he danced in musical and entertainment theatres. When his career was starting, the genre of interdisciplinary dance, which makes use of singing, motion and voice, was only germinating. Figurski points out that:
There were few such places on the dance map of Poland. Only a few dynamic centres were active, Jacek Łumiński’s Silesian Dance Theatre in Bytom was one of them. Presently, dance is doing much better, also thanks to the newly founded Dance Institute.
Vampire, General Franco’s Son
He danced, amongst others, in Dancing, a recital by Krystyna Janda, which was based on texts by Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska. For the Musical Theatre ROMA, Figurski worked as a soloist. He also performed in various musicals directed by such artists as Janusz Józefowicz, Wojciech Kępczyński or Roman Polański (Taniec Wampirów - Dance of the Vampires with D. Callahan’s choreography).
The dancer has also acted for Monika Strzępka and Paweł Demirski - a theatrical duo that recently became celebrated. In the spectacle Położnice szpitala św. Zofii (The Midwives of St. Sophia’s Hospital) Figurski plays a disgruntled newborn, who is the son of General Franco. The play was inspired by true events and is put on by Rozrywki Theatre in Chorzów. On collaboration with the due Figurski commented:
I had just finished acting school, Paweł was writing up new scenes between rehearsals, he was constantly creating. A very inspiring, beneficial experience.
The play by Strzępka and Demirski, which was called the 'midwife revue' by the critics, was warmly received by viewers at many theatrical festivals. The jury of the 11th Pre-Premieres Festival in Bydgoszcz distinguished the play, amongst others, for the original use of the musical form, which enabled the conveying of important social messages.
As both an actor and a dancer, he has performed in such plays as: Pan Twardowski by Krzysztof Jasiński, Fame by Wojciech Kępczyński, The Threepenny Opera and Fever directed by Wojciech Kościelniak. From 1999 to 2007 he was a soloist at the Roma Musical Theatre in Warsaw. He performed in: Crazy for you and Peter Pan directed and choreographed by Janusz Józefowicz; Cats and Grease directed by Wojciech Kępczyński. In 2012 he danced in Medeamaterial opera by Pascal Dusapin which was directed by Barbara Wysocka and choreographed by Tomasz Wygoda. He was one of the choreographers working on a Polish dance TV series Tancerze.
Recently he has worked both as a dancer and choreographer at Pożar w burdelu Theatre in Warsaw.
Zawirowania and International Achievements
For the Zawirowania Dance Theatre Figurski co-creates choreographies for plays such as: Innocent When You Dream, Po godzinach (After Hours), Chopin Ambiente and Happy, which was directed and choreographed by Nigel Charnock. He danced in production Fuera de campo choreographed by Daniel Abreu and Out in the Line Up by Nadar Rosano. The dancer has collaborated with other choreographers, including Joe Alter, Nigel Charnock (DV8), Emil Wesołowski and Ryan Francois. Figurski participates in many contemporary dance festivals in Poland and abroad. He has performed, amongst others, in the United Kingdom, the USA, Japan, China, Spain, the Czech Republic and Russia.
See also the article on the Zawirowania Dance Theatre.
Bartosz Figurski leads contemporary dance classes and jazz dance classes at Maciej Pawłowski’s Authorial Musical School and at the Workshop Musical Academy in Warsaw.
Source: received materials, own materials, edited by: AL, January 2014.