For three days the German city of Düsseldorf will become the dance capital of the world! From 28 to 31 August 2024, the International Contemporary Dance Fair Tanzmesse 2024 will be held there, featuring as many as three performances by dancers from Poland. The booth of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and the National Institute of Music and Dance will also offer a unique VR experience.
Polanddances.pl at the International Contemporary Dance Fair
Internationale Tanzmesse NRW in Düsseldorf is one of the largest professional events dedicated to contemporary dance. Tanzmesse is a meeting place for international artists, programmers, curators as well as theatre and festival directors, bringing together more than 2,000 participants from around the world. Choreographers and dancers from 29 countries will present 64 productions and projects in such formats as Performance, Open Studio and Insight.
Dance is not only a space for emotions and experiments, but also a dynamic art form that reflects contemporary cultural trends. The Adam Mickiewicz Institute is proud to support Polish choreographers and dancers who enrich this inspiring field of culture, underlines Olga Wysocka, director of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
The National Institute of Music and Dance and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute will present a joint project during the event – a website PolandDances.pl. It is an ever-expanding database of Polish artists, institutions, producers, informal groups and NGOs active in the sphere of dance art. Their photos, trailers and information are gathered in one place and provide a showcase for Polish dance abroad, making it easier for foreign audiences, critics, curators and producers to learn about the current repertoire and artistic proposals and to find contact data.
Polish dance in Düsseldorf – performances, meetings and VR
Internationale Tanzmesse NRW 2024 is not only an opportunity to promote a compendium of knowledge about dance in Poland, but it is also a continuation of networking activities and building mutual international relations. There will be 85 booths with exhibitors from more than 45 countries at the agora (formerly the Central Library) for professional participants from 29 to 31 August 2024, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. At the PolandDances booth the story of Polish dance in a variety of forms will be told. The National Institute of Music and Dance will present programmes to support international cooperation in the field of dance. The fair booth will also feature a special film and VR lasting several minutes. Viewers will have the opportunity to see previews of Polish dance performances in the VR.
In Düsseldorf, three performances by Polish artists will be presented in different formats during the fair:
- "Symphony No. 3" choreographed and performed by Janusz Orlik – Insight format. In Symphony No. 3, the choreographer explores the relationship between composer Henryk Mikołaj Górecki’s music and dance. In previous works, Janusz Orlik has explored the interplay of dance with Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and Krzysztof Komeda’s music in Coda (tribute). Henryk Mikołaj Górecki’s composition was written in 1976 and has become one of the composer’s most recognisable works. The symphony consists of three parts and, as intended by the composer, the work will be presented in its entirety. The presentation will take place on 30 August 2024 at 2:30 pm at Zentralbibliothek, Herzkammer.
- "My tail and I" choreographed and performed by the Holobiont collective (Hanna Bylka-Kanecka, Aleksandra Bożek-Muszyńska). The performance in the main On Stage format will take place on 29 August 2024 at 10:00 am and 3:00 pm at Tanzhaus NRW, Studio 6. An interactive dance performance for families with children aged 3 and up explores – in a humorous atmosphere – an inconspicuous remnant of our evolution – the tailbone. Built on a somatic approach to the body and movement, "My Tail and I" invites families to actively participate in the process of becoming creatures walking on two legs. The performance is an artistic response to one of the scourges of modern civilisation: sitting motionless for long, which is often the cause of back pain, especially in the tailbone area. One of the main goals of the show is to enhance awareness of the body and encourage the audience to dance together as a family.
- "Silenzio!" choreographed by Ramona Nagabczyńska and performed by Katarzyna Szugajew, Karolina Kraczkowska, Barbara Kinga Majewska and Ramona Nagabczyńska. The presentation of the performance in the Open Studio format will take place on 30 August 2024 at 2:30 pm and 4:30 pm at Tanzhaus NRW, Studio 3. The choreographer delves into the opera genre to tell the story of femininity limited by conventions along with the elements that have accompanied it for centuries – the power of voice, tragicomedy and splendour symbolically reflected in the Baroque costumes of female artists. "Silenzio!" asks questions about the legitimacy of women’s social roles. The performers build a story based on contrasts: when the audience expects them to start dancing, they freeze; when the audience hopes for a moving libretto, they get a patchwork of abstract Italian phrases. The piece is full of humour and plays with expectations of what is actually right.
On 31 August 2024 at 10:45 a.m., the space at Bertha-von-Suttner-Platz will also host "Dancing & Parenting". The meeting aims at discussing parenting issues in the field of dance and choreography. It will address the topics of working conditions for parent-artists and parent-producers. What are the limitations and opportunities? What initiatives and changes are being made toward a more parent-friendly dance environment? What does it look like in European countries? The meeting will consist of two parts: an introductory presentation with guests, led by Renata Piotrowska-Auffret, and discussions in three working groups. Finally, the results of the discussion will be summarised.
The Adam Mickiewicz Institute is pleased to invite you to the event!