Art stations fundation - by Grażyna Kulczyk


20.10.2009
19:00
Studio Słodownia +3
Anna Steller / Good Girl Killer Delia performance

concept 
Anna Steller

choreography and creation 
Jacek Krawczyk, Anna Steller

music 
Rafał Dętkoś, Grzegorz Welizarowicz

costumes 
Julia Porańska

lights 
Michał Kołodziej

production 
Good Girl Killer

premiere 
23.08.2009

The performance is financed from the Cultural Scholarhips of Gdansk City Hall and Marshall of Pomorskie voivodeship

So what about Polish dance? is a cyclical project that presents recent work of Polish dance artists. Through the project we would like to provide the Poznań audience with a state-of-the-art picture of the Polish contemporary dance scene – an updated “road map” of Polish dance, at the same time defining the problems that the Polish dance community is facing nowadays and raising inevitable questions about the present condition and the future of contemporary dance in Poland.

Delia is a performace based on movement, space and time. We come back to basic movements, in order to reveal a multiplicity of meanings. We abandon narration and we don't intend to seduce audience. We remember performances of artists of 1950's and 1960's: Merce Cunningham, John Cage, BBC Radiophonic Workshops, who revolutionize thinking about art and it's borders. We do it so to create collage of accidental sounds, precise movements, pieces of space and time. Delia don't want to imitate reality, it is reality.

Inspired by the work of such avantgarde artists of the 1950s and 60s, as dancer and choregrapher Merce Cunnigham and by the music of the BBC Radiophonic Workshops, which pioneering electronic musician Delia Derbyshire was a member of, Anna Steller and Jacek Krawczyk created a frugal show which deliberately lacks narration, and is based on technical movement alone. If they told us a story it was the one that appeared in the minds of the viewers. If they made us angry they made it on purpose playing with space by dividing it into geometrical shapes with precision movements. Simple and contrasting costumes designed by Julia Poranska served the show well and resembled the fashion of the 1920s. Music composed by Rafał Dętkoś and Grzegorz Welizarowicz provided an excellent accompaniament, sometimes serving as a loose background music for dance at other times forcing a mathematical precision upon the performers.

Magdalena Hajdysz, 28.08.2009, Gazeta Wyborcza

Jacek Krawczyk and Anna Steller shaped "Delia" with cold, precise movement. The restriction of form and deliberate use of „influences/inspiration” didn't prevent them from a thorough reinterpretation of their meanings. To a great success.

At first glance this collaboration between Good Girl Killer and Jacek Krawczyk of the Occassion Dance Theater looks like dance theater without dance. There are no smooth, or prettty movements, there is no dependence upon music. The show doesn't provide viewers with easy or not disturbing elements which could lead the viewer to being impressed by the skills of he dancers. The dancers resign from this choosing a rigorous form and coldness of a precise, codified movement at times full of painful tension.

Similarly to Cunningham, „Delia" doesn't tell a story. The dance is rather a collage of movements and gestures, aimed at evoking certain sensations or emotions. Inspired by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop the electronic music by Rafał Dętkoś and Grzegorz Welizarowicz supports this end strongly.

"Delia" is a continuous confrontation. It confronts the viewers not accustomed to this kind of mechanical movement. It confronts the icons of dance and music who inspired the show. Risk is inscribed in the show. Krawczyk and Steller balance on the edge of veiwers' perception abilities and by drawing so much from their inspirations they could easily fall into a trap of banality.

The dancers, however do not cross the thin line. Balancing over the abyss they come out fine. Because of its brave and successful attempt at creating an individual dance language „Delia” is one of the most interesting dance premieres of the season.

Łukasz Rudziński, 25.08.2009, trojmiasto.pl

Anna Steller (1979) - dancer and choreographer. Since 1993 she has been actress and dancer in Dada von Bzdülöw Theatre. (www.dadateatr.pl) Since 2004 she has been performing with “Read My Lips” theatre. In 2005 she established Good Girl Killer company (www.myspace.com/goodgirlkiller). From 1997 to 2004 - guest actor and dancer in Gombrowicz Town Theatre in Gdynia. A recipient of the Dance Web Scholarship for the 2003 ImPulsTanz dance workshops and festival in Vienna. In 2003 co-founded the Gravity Dance Studio.

She participated in several international projects: „Osez” Quebec, Canada (2009); Art Stations Foundation Happy (2009) (www.happyproject.pl); co-operation (Gdansk, Geneve 2006) with Swiss company 7273 and Alban Richars and Emanuelle Vo-Dinh;H.O.N.D (Hamburg 2006) performance directed by Mariola Brillowska.

As an independent dancer she has created solo and group performances: “Good Girl Killer”(2005), “Juicy Flesh” (2005), “O!” (2003), “La luta continua” (2001), “Apartment 001”(2000) and collaborated with other artists: Leszek Bzdyl’s “SEAS”(2004), Marek Brand’s “Dni pozorne”(2001).

Since 1995 she has been performing in various festival among others: Four Days (2007 Prague), Dance Corporation, Gdańsk, Odeon Space Theatre in Wien (2003) Solo Festival ANEX Warsaw (2002), Dance Festival Explosive Bremen, Baltic University of dance, Gdansk, 1997 U Passages, Nancy France (1996) European theatre meeting Wansee Berlin (1997) Modern Dance Festival Kaunas.

Jacek Krawczyk graduate of Academy of Physical Education in Gdańsk, diploma of professional dancer granted by Polish Actors Association. Dancer, choreographer and teacher; in 1998 started artisitic co – operation with Joanna Czajkowska and it was beginning of Teatr Okazjonalny / Occasion Dance Theatre existence; in 2004 and 2006 holder of a grant for professional artists from the Board of Pomeranian Province. In the years 1987–97 instructor in dynamics and pantomime arts, actor – dancer in Expression Theatre; co-operated with many dance theatre and cultural organisation, among others Die Audio Gruppe (Germany), Cappella Gedanensis, FETA Theatre and Artonik Theatre (France); also co-operated with W. Gombrowicz Miejski Teatr in Gdynia, Teatr Muzyczny in Gdynia, Teatr Rozrywki in Chorzów. Has performed on many theatre stages in Poland and abroad including Italy, Turkey, Russia, The Czech Republic, Lithuania, Portugal, Bielarus, Germany, Romania, Moldova, Bulgary, Estonia, Sweden, Finland, Indonesia, Argentina, Spain. As a dance teacher co-operated with The School of Culture Animators and The School of Alternative Theatre “Żak” in Gdańsk and Sopocka Scena Off de BICZ; in February 2006 gained the nominee in the plebiscite of Gazeta Wyborcza Tricity “Artist of the Year 2005” in the theatre category; in March 2006 won the Theatre Award 2005 established by the Board of the Pomeranian Province for choreography, Helikopter Tanz Streichquartett and Quad Version 6; in semester 2006/2007 guest teacher with series lectures “Dance in Culture” at University of Gdańsk; in 2006 created a main male role – Don Jose in contemporary dance version of ballet “Carmen” choreographed by J. Staniek for Festival Sacrum – Profanum (Krakow, Poland); in April 2007 Minister of Culture and National Heritage awarded J. Krawczyk a medal “meritorious for Polish Culture”.

Realised with the funds of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage

Screenshot 14