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Steps ahead

Tanec Praha stays on its toes with new contemporary dance

By Brooke Edge
For The Prague Post
May 30th, 2007 issue

COURTESY PHOTO
Canada's Compagnie Marie Chouinard, directly above, headlines an international cast of performers that includes, from top, Russia's Chelyabinsk Company; Cuba's Aline Sanchez Rodriguez; Marta Trpišovská and Jana Hudečková's Czech troupe
Twenty years ago, Czech dancer Yvona Kreuzmannová saw something definitely, but not irreparably, broken in Prague. She had traveled abroad to Switzerland to study modern dance. She knew the art form had enjoyed a heyday in her native city early in the 20th century, but was nearly stamped out, along with so many other art forms, by World War II and the ensuing decades of communist rule.
At a festival sponsored by the now-defunct Prague Cultural Centre in the summer of 1989, Kreuzmannová pushed to have a handful of contemporary dance pieces included on the program. Following the revolution mere months later, she saw an opportunity to revive contemporary dance in Prague. Tanec Praha, the thriving realization of her dream, is now in its 19th year.
“That was the real aim of the festival — to open everyone’s minds to contemporary dance,” says Tanec Praha Director Marta Lajnerová. “The beginning was hard, but it slowly developed.”
Using contacts she had made abroad, Kreuzmannová began inviting big-name dancers and troupes to headline the event. As both the festival and the city’s reputation grew through the 1990s, world-renowned artists began to flock to Prague. In recent years, the festival has featured performances from such major companies and artists as the Martha Graham Dance Company, the Batsheva Dance Company, the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Twyla Tharp and Savion Glover.
This year’s headlining troupe is Compagnie Marie Chouinard. The Montreal-based company will stage two performances in Prague, a mammoth Rite of Spring with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra at Sazka Arena June 14, and a more intimate night of solos at Hudební divadlo Karlín June 6.
Lajnerová blushes slightly when discussing the company, noting that its reputation for employing nudity in its work is a bit of a departure for Tanec Praha. In The Rite of Spring, the company’s nearly nude dancers, accessorized by long, branchlike appendages extending from their fingers, interpret Igor Stravinsky’s famous score as a series of solos about modern life and human energy.
Tanec Praha also fosters young artists as part of its continuing effort to bring the full spectrum of contemporary dance to Prague. A series of mini-showcases, the European Dance Laboratories (EDL), offers short modern dance creations from foreign choreographers in one sitting. And Kreuzmannová always keeps one eye on the Czech Republic, scouting for the best local talent. This year, five out of the 20 performing groups at Tanec Praha are native. And, as always, the Sazka Award for New Dance Talent of the Year will be awarded to the victor from Czech Dance Platform, a springtime offshoot of Tanec Praha that focuses on domestic talent.
Other highlights of this year’s festival include:
European Dance Laboratory #3 (June 21–23), in which Spanish choreographer Guillermo Weickert Molina will present his short piece Descenso (Capricho), a one-man work created from childhood memories and phobias, particularly of dark, confining spaces. This is followed by Soli 2 from the French group Revolution, which has fascinated dance fans for 20 years with its fusions of hip-hop and modern dance. In Soli 2, the group puts its signature moves, including impressive acrobatics, to work in a female solo exploring the differences between dancing with heels versus bare feet. The night is closed by the award-wining solo Which club? choreographed by Croatian Jasna Vinovrški for the Filipino dancer Unita Gay Galiluyo.
The busy touring group NANOHÁCH will perform Portrait (June 15) by choreographer Ioana Mona Popovici, who has been selected as a “young choreographer to watch” by Ballet-Tanz magazine, and heralded by critics in Germany, Poland, Spain, Pakistan and the United States for her innovative use of children’s games and replications of societal rituals in her dance. One member of NANOHÁCH, Lea Capková, was awarded the Prize for Interpretation at the 2006 Czech Dance Platform.
Tanec Praha

When: June 4–28
Where: Divadlo Ponec, Divadlo Archa, Hudební divadlo Karlín, Sazka Arena
Tickets: 190–290 Kč for most performances, available through Ticketpro, Ticketstream and at the venues
For daily events, see the Calendar listings in Night & Day; for a complete schedule, check www.tanecpraha.cz

Danish choreographer Palle Granhoj created the work AlineAlone (June 7 and 8) for Cuban dancer Aline Sanchéz Rodriguez, whom he met while visiting Cuba in 2003. Fueled by her passion for Cuban music and dance, he composed this love letter to her culture, her inner fire and his appreciation for the dancer herself.
As Prague’s contemporary arts scene continues to expand, the challenge for Tanec Praha is to remain fresh and relevant. Lajnerová feels the festival continues to play a pivotal role because of its focus.
“We try to keep the quality of the dance technique important,” she says, noting that dance pieces these days tend “more and more toward theater.” The works featured in Tanec Praha may look more traditional, but this festival has always been committed to preserving the roots of modern dance.
And, driven by the spirit of Prague’s golden age, and the early contemporary works that flourished here, Tanec Praha will continue to grow and thrive.

Brooke Edge can be reached at tempo@praguepost.com


Other articles in Tempo (30/05/2007):

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