East European Performing Arts Platform (EEPAP) supports the
development of contemporary performing arts (dance and theatre)
in 18 countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

XX. Divadelní Flora Theatre Festival and Visegrad Dance Platform? Conference (Olomouc, Czech Republic)

MP

Visegrad Dance Platform? Conference (13-15 May)

Do we need more collaboration within the dance field on the Visegrad axes? What can we learn from existing V4 performing arts projects in terms of strengths and pitfalls? And a Visegrad Dance Platform? What good would it do (and to whom)? Is is mobility and collaboration that artists from the Czech Republic, Slovaki,a Poland and Hungary strive for the most? What do inspiring models from abroad teach us? Is Visegrad merely a financing channel or could it become a marketing label selling V4 dance across the world? To what extent is our field influenced by the current negative connotation of Visegrad in international relations? Does the artistic Visegrad with all its open-mindedness have the potential to redefine the negativism around the political Visegrad?

These are just a few of the questions that will be addressed within a conference entitled Visegrad Dance Platform? by 50 artists, arts managers, critics and dance theorists from V4 countries. The conference is held within the XXth edition of the Flora Theatre Festival.

More details, including conference programme, here.

XX. Divadelní Flora Theatre Festival

From the organisers:

This year's festival features 50 productions on 10 stages; Olomouc will host artists of 16 nationalities.

Among the record number of foreign productions, the section “Regie: Dušan D. Pařízek, Wien” holds the key position. It will introduce three top drama productions of Austrian provenance in the Moravian Theatre including the Best German-Speaking Production of the Year 2015 – The Ridiculous Darkness by Burgtheater, Vienna. The face and personality of the XX. Flora Theatre Festival is Stefanie Reinsperger (title Actress of the Year awarded by the prestigious “Theater heute” magazine) who will introduce herself during two festival evenings in three different productions. The presentation of the Viennese productions by a renowned Czech director will be followed by the presentation of the newest works of Pařízek's colleagues from the former director's trio of the legendary Pražské komorní divadlo (Prague Chamber Theatre) – Kamila Polívková and David Jařab. (The theatre ensemble had its wild and extensive retrospection at the Flora Festival four years ago.)

Lately, some of the most regular guests/theatre makers of the festival have been the director Jan Mikulášek, the dramaturge Dora Viceníková, and the stage designer Marek Cpin, who will together, with the innovative ensemble of the Divadlo Na zábradlí, introduce two original projects which premiered this season – in the case of the production called Obsession, it was actually less than four weeks before the festival!

An extensive performative part of the festival programme will introduce – apart from the traditional section called “Visegrad Performing Arts” – also a new platform named “Dance and Music“. The 20th annual festival is celebrated by the presence and oeuvre of the star of the Scandinavian dance scene, Ingun Bjørnsgaard, whose choreography ceremonially opened the monumental building of the Oslo Opera House, her Norwegian colleague Mia Habib, Dutch choreographer Pauline Roelants, and her directing partner Maarten van der Put, Christine Gaigg from Austria, renowned dance ensemble Hodworks from Budapest, Polish choreographer Piotr Stanek, and many more celebrated creators and dancers.

Another very important part of the festival is also the international conference “Visegrad Dance Platform?” which takes place during the first festival weekend – attended by around 50 Czech and foreign theatre experts (artists, managers, reviewers) on the premises of the co-organizing Na Cucky Theatre (Divadlo na cucky).

More info on the festival here.

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