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

Black O!Range Dance Theatre, Ukraine

Sylwia Śmigiel
Videos

contemporary dance performance "GAGARIN" of dance theatre "Black O!Range"

contemporary dance trio (from performance "SISTERS")

Description
Information about institution: 

Black O!Range Dance Theatre was established in 2005 by choreographer Anton Ovchinnikov.

Its unique character stem from the fact that there were no contemporary repertory dance theatres in Ukraine at that time. The theatre was being developed by trials and mistakes. The "Syndrome of Parallelism" performance, based on "Eyes of a blue dog" story by Marquez, became the theatre’s first performance and the preparations took a whole year.

All performances by Black O!Range originated from complicated emotional experiences and dead ends, and how the protagonists found solutions to their problems. A person and his interaction with the world always serves as a basis for the performances. Sometimes a dance lexis comes out of associations related to emotions. On the other hand the dance lexis may have a narrative character and develop a performance action.

The students and graduates of the National University of Culture and Arts became the core of the troupe. The search for new means of expression and, sometimes attempting to imitate European dance theater, took us further and further into the understanding of the expression of contemporary dance. If the original theater name was called "Jazz-ballet", they only simply retained "Dance theatre", realizing that they did not want to restrict themselves to any lexical dance language alone.

The theatre currently has nine performances on its repertoire. They were featured in all major cities of Ukraine and in many national and international festivals abroad. The lineup of the theater consists of a core of six professional dancers and freelancers who join the theater for the various projects. The basic principle of the Black O!Range dance theatre is that a stage action should be perceived in terms of its emotional impact, and it should force the audience to later reflect on what they experienced. These are the considerations which should lead the theatre-goer to comprehend the wealth of metaphors and make parallels to the world where we all exist.

The theater has its own rehearsal studio in Kiev and its constantly operating dance school, with the theater dancers as teachers. They constantly organize workshops and other educational projects for those who are interested in contemporary dance in its development. The head of the dance theatre Anton Ovchinnikov conducts dance workshops and lectures on a regular basis in Kiev National University of Culture and Arts and all over Ukraine.

In 2010 the first festival of contemporary dance theaters "ZELYONKA-FEST" was organized by the theater. It proved to be a success in both 2011 and 2012. Young choreographers and groups who seek to find themselves in the art scene movement are partaking in the festival. Despite the total lack of attention and funding by state and private funds, the festival still exist and thrives. It is developing and expanding its geography in the FSU (former Soviet Union).

The most important projects: 

Repertoire:
1. "Syndrome of Parallelism" (2008)
2. "SCO!TCH" (2009)
3. "Love you, Gagarin ..." (2009)
4. "The scentl of Men" (2009)
5. "S/H" (2010)
6. "Sisters" (2010)
7. "PROSTONEBA" (2011)
8. "Sameness" (2011)
9. "I LOVE ..." (2012)
10. "Нeavens follows Heavens"

Websites