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Artistic resume of Ewa Wycichowska
The Polish Dance Theatre celebrates its 30th anniversary, and its director Ewa Wycichowska the 35th anniversary of her work. 15 years have passed since she became the director, which followed twenty years spent at the stage of the Great Theatre in Łódź. Wycichowska has become a cult person in the Polish ballet. The latest show of the Polish Dance Theatre – “... and I’m dancing” which opened the 2003 Malta Theatre Festival, confirms that.
"... and I’m dancing” is a show that can shock those who already got accustomed to the traditional aesthetics of the already classical “modern” (the time flies so fast...) or the “ordinary” contemporary technique. This show is very courageous, and it reaches deep into the sensitivity of its author and the dancers taking part in it. Additionally mixing high and low culture.
The latest performance by Wycichowska is a journey through earlier performances, transformed parts of which add up to create a very personal statement on the dance theatre and its art. One may find here plenty of hermetic situations, taken from scenic and private life, many unexpected turns, satire, humour but also philosophical thought.
Most of all, however, above the structure of the show there is the enchanting choreography and excellent performance. Wycichowska’s proposals are dazzlingly beautiful. The choreographer charms with a rich imagination as a stage setter (most of the show is performed on sand, can one imagine a more difficult ground for dancers), causing to speak not only tasteful movements but also the whole space of the scene, along with the wings, proscenium, balconies and the orchestrion. “... and I’m dancing” is a kind of total theatre, including all the accessible materials in the process of creation: apart from dance, music, light, scenography, all of those being obvious, there is also word here, actors’ play and film as well as acrobat show and Eastern martial arts.
Apart from dancers the hero of the night is music by Jacek Wierzchowski (played from a tape recorder) and live improvisations by Leszek Możdżer, an outstanding pianist and composer, played along with the taped music. Wycichowska’s tribute to dance and her dancing company paid by means of “... and I’m dancing” may seem to be a creative resume of the artist. However, the richness of form and invention makes us sure that the will be a continuation. And it will undoubtedly be great.
Michał Lenarciński, “Dziennik Łódzki” No. 150, June 30, 2003. |
