About us

Katarzyna Julia Pastuszak

dancer, director, choreographer, theatre researcher, animator of culture, artistic director of Amareya Theatre. Received her Master’s degree at the Department of Scandinavian Studies at the Gdańsk University and at the Department of Theatre Studies at the Theatre Academy in Warsaw. Was awarded the stipend prize of the Minister of Polish Culture for her achievements (2005), participated in many international dance and theatre workshops in Poland and abroad (Gdańsk, Bytom, Poznań, Göteborg and others). She attended workshops of contemporary dance, improvisation, contact improvisation, expressive dance, butō dance, Afro dance, and others. In 1997 she had theatre practice with the Znak Theatre in Gdańsk, in the years 1999-2000 – in Teatr Ekspresji of Wojciech Misiuro, in 2000-2001 in the Gdańsk Cynada Theatre of Bożena Eltermann. She also participated in workshops with Peter Schumann from the Bread and Puppet Theatre (2001), however the creative breakthrough came with the meeting with butō dance (2001), which fascinated her by its organicity and deep philosophy of its technique. Her MA Thesis at the Theatre Academy was entitled An Introduction to Butō and was an indepth theoretical introduction into the phenomenon of butō.

An important event was for her the meeting with the Odin Teatret of Eugenio Barba in 2003 during a seminar entitled „Odin Week” organized by the Odin Teatret in  Holstebro (Denmark). This meeting inspired intensified creative work and a Master’s thesis entitled Tracing the Essence of Odin Teatret. The dissertation was devoted to the performer’s training as seen from the perspective of Theatre Anthropology.

 

Since 2003 Kasia Pastuszak is the Curator of the Theatre Stage of the Cultural Centre Klub Żak where she coordinates various events such as: Butō Dance Festival (which she initieated in 2003), “Beyond the Borders” project, “Dream Regime” project, Gdańsk Corporation of Dance Festival and others. Since her main field of study and fascination is butō, she very strongly promotes various Japanese artists and groups by inviting them to present their work in the Cultural Centre Klub Żak and to participate in collaborative projects such as “Dream Regime”, which will be described below.

In 2007 Kasia Pastuszak initiated together with Klub Żak, Amareya Theatre, Gekidan Kaitaisha from Tokio, MONAR Drug Addicts Aid Association in Gdańsk, artists from Gdańsk and with support of the Polish Ministry of Culture, a “Dream Regime, Gdańsk” project that was composed workshops, creative processes and rehearsals directed by Mr Shimizu Shinjin. These workshops and creative processes with participation of young ex-drug addicts from MONAR Drug Addicts Aid Association led towards development of performance, which was presented at the Theatre Stage of Klub ŻAK on the 20-21.12.2007. In 2008 the “Dream Regime” project was continued in Klub Żak, and the performances were presented in a number of Polish cities.

Since 2007 Pastuszak has been a lecturer at the Department of Cultural Studies of the Gdańsk University where she lectures on the subject of Culture Animation.

 

Pastuszak also publishes articles on dance and theatre and in 2007 she initiated the “Scena OFF-arta Theatre Magazine” published by Klub Żak of which she is the main editor. Her main fields of interest are: performer’s training and creative process, corporeal politics, problematics of representation. She is also an interpreter of English.

 

 

 

Agnieszka Kamińska

dancer, singer, voice instructor, teacher, student of great teachers of voice work, movement and dance. She has had many years experience in  butō dance, contemporary dance, improvisation, contact improvisation, expressive dance,  Afro dance, Body Mind Centering, many vocal techniques.

Her teachers were, among othere: Wojciech Mochniej, Melissa Monteros, Zygmunt Molik, Olga Szwajgier, Ang Gey Pin, Antonie Svobodova, Hiroyo Kitao, Guillermo Horta, Natalka Polovynka, Siergiej Kovalevych, Nigar Hasib, Shamal Amin, and butoh dancers: Atsushi Takenouchi, Yuri Nagaoka, Daisuke Yoshimoto, Joan Laage, Itto Morita, Mika Takeuchi, Minako Seki, Yumiko Yoshioka, and many others.

In the last two years, she has created two solo performances: "Tribute to J.S." and "Rescued. On the edge of heaven".

She also gives voice and movement workshops, composes music for theatre performances and music projects.

 

 

 

 

Aleksandra Śliwińska

dancer, in her school years she danced in a school dance group, and one year later later joined the Teenage Dance Group FIGIEL (Młodzieżowy Zespół Tańca) led by Małgorzata Lorenc. There, her passion for dance and the stage started and has lasted till today. She learned many forms of dance and danced in numerous dance-theatre performances directed by Lorenc, which received prizes at regional festivals. She learned contemporary dance at workshops with Milena Jurczyk, Bogumiła Ćwięka, Witold Jurewicz, Leszek Bzdyl, Marek Lachowicz, Beata Owczarek. She also took part in a course for Dance Instructors Koszalin ’96-’97. She also attended workshops of contemporary dance, improvisation, contact improvisation, expressive dance, butō dance, Afro dance, Body Mind Centering and others. The greatest influence on her dance and body work has been exerted by the masters of the Japanese butō dance. 

 

She created her first choreography in 1997 in Połczyn Zdrój and the title was ‘Skazani’ (‘The Sentenced Ones’). Later, in Gdańsk, in 2001 she created with  Agnieszka Kamińska the choreography ‘Angel in the Kingdom’, and in 2002, with Alicja Kurek, the choreography entitled ‘The Hues of Velvet’.

She studied Environment Protection at the Gdańsk University, now she works at the Gdańsk Medical Academy.