The Polish Dance Theatre - Poznań Ballet was established in 1973 on the initiative of the city authorities and local artistic circles. The job of managing it was given to Conrad Drzewiecki, an outstanding dancer and choreographer.
Drzewiecki's 15 years at the helm were characterised by pioneer accomplishments which placed the Poznań Ballet among Europe's leading dance ensembles and opened the door to international ballet festivals.
In 1988 Ewa Wycichowska took over as the manager and artistic director of the Polish Dance Theatre. Wycichowska, for many years the prima ballerina of the Wielki Theatre in Łódź, choreographer and teacher, had cooperated with numerous American, Italian and German ensembles and sat on the jury of many Polish and international ballet competitions.
Treating modern and contemporary dance as the basic movement material, Ewa Wycichowska developed an original concept of performance and choreography that aims at a synthesis of arts in which the choreographic, dramatic, musical and visual layers meet and intermingle. She also made her own contribution to the idea of individualistic theatre and invited the cooperation of many distinguished artists from all over the world.
For some years now the Polish Dance Theatre has been perceived as a unique choreography forum, which has seen original choreographies by such artists as Birgit Cullberg, Mats Ek, Örjan Andersson, Jens Ostberg, Marie Brolin-Tani, Virpi Pahkinen (Sweden), "Les Carnetes Bogouet" (France), David Earle (Canada), Toru Shimazaki (Japan), Yossi Berg (Israel) and Jacek Przybyłowicz (Poland).
The Polish Dance Theatre's attractive repertoire, original dance language and contemporary theatre form have attracted universal praise from audiences all over the world.
For over 30 years The Polish Dance Theatre, though based in Poznań, has remained faithful to its statutory obligation to promote the art of dancing and disseminate ballet culture throughout the country. And adding an educational perspective to its wide spectrum of interests, the theatre started organising the Contemporary Dance Workshops and the Contemporary Dance Biennale in 1994 and the International Festival of Dance Theatres in 2004.
Selected international festivals:
Bregener Festspiele, Bregenz (Germany) - 1976
15th International Ballet Festival, Paris (France) - 1977
Intercontri Musicali Romani, Rome (Italy) - 1978
Berliner Festtage, Berlin (Germany) - 1979
Interbalet, Budapest (Hungary) - 1979,1982
Dance and Music Festival, Kuopio (Finland) - 1980
Musica Sacra, Milan (Italy) - 1980
International Ballet Festival, Chateauvallon (France) - 1981
Pećsi Nyari Szinhaz, Pećs (Hungary) - 1981
Baletto Oggi, Bari (Italy) - 1982
Music Festival, Sofia (Bulgaria) - 1984
International Ballet Festival, Istanbul (Turkey) - 1985
Karmiel Dance Festival (Israel) - 1990
International Art Festival, Edinburgh (Great Britain) - 1992
International Music Festival, Ankara (Turkey) - 1993
Dresden Music Festival, Dresden (Germany) - 1993
Chopin Festival, Hamamatsu (Japan) - 1995
Vicenza Danza, Vicenza (Italy) - 1996
Lübeck Festival, Lübeck (Germany) - 1998
St. Gallen Festival, St. Gallen (Switzerland) - 1998
Bodensee Festival, Friedrichshafen (Germany) - 1998
Chopin and his Friends, New York (USA) - 1999
Polish Days, Moscow (Russia) - 2001
Polish Spring in the Balearic Islands, Majorca (Spain) - 2003
Noorderzon Festival, Groningen (Netherlands) - 2003
European Culture Week, Delhi (India) - 2003
Iberoamerican Capitol of Culture, Quito (Ecuador) - 2004
7th Festival Cultural de Mayo, Guadalajara (Mexico) - 2004
Polish Cultural Season, Firminy (France) - 2004
Biennale de la Danse, Lyon (France) - 2004
Virpi Pahkinen Festival, Stockholm (Sweden) - 2004
4th Rencontres Chorégraphiques de Carthage, Tunis (Tunisia) - 2005
Bolzano Danza Festival, Bolzano (Italy) - 2005
14th Kleist Festival, Frankfurt (Germany) - 2005
Internationales Tanzfestival Kassel (Germany) - 2006
International Contemporary Dance Festival "FOOTLIGHT MOSCOW" (Russia) - 2006 | | "The Polish Dance Theatre - magical moments. The theatre which Demarco announced his private discovery and lavished affection on it. Enthusiastic reviews, critical acclaim, interviews for Scottish television, and promising negotiations of new contracts - all that created a special aura around the Poznań ballet. It must have been the acting element that manifested itself in the austere, Gothic interiors of the Main Theatre Gallery and invited comparison of The Polish Dance Theatre to Pina Bauch's company, which was also present in Edinburgh. Modestly speaking, the Poznań ballet stood comparison. Many spectators returned the next day to relive the emotions and show their admiration to the theatre and give it a standing ovation."
Małgorzata Szum, "Teatr", 12/1992.
Wycichowska never stops seeking new formal, philosophical and aesthetical solutions. She attaches utmost importance to the versatile development of the company that gave top quality performances during the festival. A dozen or so dancers display amazing ease while tackling their choreographic tasks: the way they move is organically connected to the body and formed by emotions but never accidental. Only dancers who are technically impeccable are capable of such ease of expression. And the artists from the Polish Dance Theatre are such dancers; for them, classical or modern dance technique is only a means and never an end. It is undoubtedly the best dance company in Poland."
Michał Lenarciński, "Wiadomości Dnia" 121/1999.
"Ewa Wycichowska's performances are meticulously prepared and care is given to every detail. Each of her projects is a quest for new forms of expression for important subjects derived from a broadly defined concept of culture, and at the same time it is a reflection upon the condition of man and his existence in the world. The movements and rhythm of the body express the spirit of our times […] but, what the most important, in Wycichowska's theatre dance is never an empty form, but it is always subject to a certain thought, an incessant process of discovering new spaces, breaking the limits, transgressing stereotypes, habits and standards. Her work is theatre in the full sense of the word and her dancers are also actors."
Bartosz Frąckowiak, "Teatr", No. 7-8, July - August 2002.
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Selected awards:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Diploma for promoting Polish culture abroad (1978)
City of Poznań Award for outstanding achievements in culture and art (1989)
The Fringe First Award, Edinburgh (1992)
Audience Award - Buława Hetmańska, Theatre Summer in Zamość (1991, 2000, 2002)
Highest Award of the 3rd Festival of Contemporary Drama in Zielona Góra (2001)
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