Performances & Projects

 

2011

/ EMPTY HOME /

Director / Concept: Agnieszka Kamińska

Choreography / Dance: Agnieszka Kamińska, Katarzyna Pastuszak

Music: Jacek Stromski, Agnieszka Kamińska

Consultation: Katarzyna Pastuszak, Aleksandra Śliwińska

Texts: Katarzyna Pastuszak

Costumes / Scenography / Lights: Amareya Theatre, Józef Leoniuk

 

World premiere - 27 November 2011, Gdansk, Poland, Gdansk Dance Festival 2011

Duration: 40 min.

The performance “Empty home” is an attempt at taming the landscape after a loss. It's a story about the disappearing points of reference and the flame of life burning out slowly. Home is not only a place, but it is also an inner feeling of safety, a feeling of dignity, being settled in the world, a contact with oneself, one's body and its history. The moment of loss, when our home stops existing, is a turning point. At that point, we begin to search for sense and try to fill the void. The body, defenceless and vulnerable, somewhere between fear and the need for love, drifts, looking for itself in a meeting with another body.

 

The performance was realized thanks to the financial help of the Marshal of Pomeranian Voivodeship and the Gdansk City Council. Coproduced by Winda Club. The performance was realised in cooperation with Club Zak for the Gdansk Dance Festival.

 

2010

 

/ Nocturnes /

 

Director/ Concept: Katarzyna Pastuszak

Choreography | Dance: Katarzyna Pastuszak, Agnieszka Kamińska, Aleksandra Sliwińska

Music: Krzysztof Topolski aka Arszyn

Costumes: Julia Porańska

Premiere: 28^th December 2010, New Synagogue in Gdansk

Duration: 45 min.

 

 

„Nocturnes” is a performance that combines dance and live music, where the nocturne was treated as a metaphor of a structure, composed of precisely chosen tones and contrasts. In the monochromatic performance space, dancers’ bodies seek for their individual colour and shade and explore their materiality in order to find their absolute beginning in movement. The performance poses a question about the existence of an invisible inner order, the clear and safe space that we all carry inside.

The performance was realized thanks to the financial help of the Marshal of Pomeranian Voivodeship and the Gdansk City Council. Coproduced by Winda Club directed by Mrs Katarzyna Burakowska. The performance was realised in cooperation with the New Synagogue in Gdansk, which is headed by the Jewish Commune in Gdansk.

 

2010

 

/ Rescued. On the edge of heaven. /

Solo performance - Agnieszka Kamińska

Premiere - 23 June 2010, Klub ŻAK, Gdańsk

Concept/ choreography/ dance - Agnieszka Kamińska
Light design – Grzegorz Ruta / Agnieszka Kamińska
Music/Texts - Agnieszka Kamińska, mix: Adrian Wracławek

Assistance – Aleksandra Śliwińska, Katarzyna Pastuszak

Costumes – Julia Porańska

 

In her solo performance entitled Rescued. On the edge of heaven Agnieszka Kamińska poses a question – to what extent can a Human Being influence his Fate, and to what extent it is the Fate that rules our lives. The inspiration for the performance came from the novel The Iron Orchid written by Marek Jankowski. The main character of the novel grows up in Gdansk but his childhood is torn by the Second World War. Kamińska explores the loneliness and abandonment experienced by a child who hides his identity to survive the hardships of war. The performance is a study of the human beings’ striving to save their own life and their inner universe.

The performance was created with the financial support of the Gdansk City Council and the Office of the Marshall of Pomorskie Voivodeship

 

‘Rescued. On the edge of heaven” by  Agnieszka Kamińska of Amareya Theatre is one of the most interesting and consistent performances of this season’ Magdalena Hajdysz

 

‘Agnieszka Kamińska has this incredible ability to infect the viewer with emotions. We experience the story with her from start to finish. Her dance is elaborate in every single detail. The confidence in her moves makes us sure that apart from the fact that she dances sensationally she also has something to say. Each part of the dancer’s body has a particular role onstage. All is very precise till the very end and the dancer’s movement is masterly.

It is not possible to be indifferent to the splendid light design done by Grzegorz Ruta and Agnieszka Kamińska. What’s more, in Kamińska’s performance, we can hear her marvelous voice. The texts, whispers and songs complete the whole and the audience contemplates the performance with highest attention. All this brings this performance to the highest international standards.  Justyna Mazurkiewicz

 

 

 

 

/ Inscriptions /

 

premiere: 8 January 2010, Gdańsk City Gallery

Concept - Katarzyna Pastuszak

Dance / scenography - Amareya Theatre

 

"The newest performance "Inscriptions" by Amareya Theatre was created especially for the ehxibition "Epilogue" of the Gdansk artist Katarzyna Józefowicz. The dancers showed in a symbolic way how the information society in which we live influences our bodies.

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2009

 

/ Faceless /

 

solo performance - Katarzyna Pastuszak

 

Premiere: 7 March 2009

Concept, choreography and dance: Katarzyna Pastuszak

Consultations: Agnieszka Kamińska

Music: collage

Costumes: Grażyna Tomaszewska, K. Pastuszak

 

 

‘The human face
is an empty power,

a field of death ...
... after countless thousands of years
that the human face has spoken
and breathed
one still has the impression
that it hasn't even begun to
say what it is and what it knows.’ [Antonin Artaud] 

 

‘Faceless’ by Katarzyna Pastuszak poses a question about our ability to mould our identity and discover it through the body, movement, breath, voice, rhythm – in these elements, one can find one’s embodied individuality.

 

 

‘Our face is usually considered as the marker of our personality and individuality. However Pastuszak proves in her performance that what distinguishes us from others (...) is our inside – composed of our experiences and linked to our everydayness. (…) In the performance, movement and dramaturgy of actions cooperate closely (…) The dance expressed the character’s hesitation in the attempt to become someone else. A duel between two personalities. The wonderfully composed music collage, completed the highly intellectual whole of the performance (…) The performance provokes deep reflection, and together with the solo performance of Agnieszka Kamińska, constitutes a new chapter in the history of Amareya Theatre (….)”.  [M. Hajdysz, Gazeta Wyborcza Trójmiasto]

 

 

 

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2008

 

/ Tribute to J.S. /

 

solo performance- Agnieszka Kamińska

 

Premiere: 12 December 2008

Choreography and dance: Agnieszka Kamińska

Lights and consultations: Katarzyna Pastuszak

 

 

The performance is a confrontation with the family history dating back to the times of II World War, as well as a reflection on our ancestors' heritage passed onto us. It's a journey through various emotional states, a story about the passing of time and the struggle against time.

 

 

 

‘The premiere of the newest solo performance of Agnieszka Kaminska places Amareya theatre in the forefront of Tricity independent theatres. ‘Tribute to J.S.', touching upon the subject of confrontation with the family history dating back to the times of II World War, was enthusiastically received by the audience and was a reflection of Kaminska's sensitivity and artistic maturity. It was unquestionably one of the best performances performed in Tricity this year. (...) Her genuine and touching confession electrified the whole audience. By her dance, gesture and look she showed the feeling of opression, fear, loss, but also the desire to live and be free, the need to get back the individuality. If someone claims that the generation of grandchildren of those who experienced war cannot understand anything, they must see this performance.'

Magdalena Hajdysz, 15.12.2008 Gazeta Wyborcza Trójmiasto

 

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‘Exit - Transgressive Feminine Tryptodram’

Premiere: 10 February 2008, X Spotkania Trójmiejskich Teatrów Niezależnych  (Independent Theatres Festival) at the „WINDA” Club – Gdańsk

Choreography and dance: Agnieszka Kamińska, Katarzyna Julia Pastuszak, Aleksandra Śliwińska
Music: Matmos, Lizz Wright, Guesch Patti
Costumes: Amareya Theatre
Duration: 35 min.

Exit is a performance that was inspired by the myth of Japanese theatre avantgarde of the 1960’s and the activities of Leszek Mądzik. Both sources of inspiration pose questions about form, through  which people are trying to express the essence of their existence. Amareya performers reinterpret these questions in the context of corporeality and sexuality. Exit is a play of intense actions and a multitude of emotions that are hidden in the dance of three characters.

 

 

 

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2007

 

DREAM REGIME - THEATRE FOR COMMUNITY, (2007 – 2008)

 

PROJECT OF ŻAK CULTURE CENTRE, Gekidan Kaitaisha Theatre and Gdańsk MONAR Centre.

 

From 4 to 21.12.2007 the artists of Amareya Theatre took part in an international project ‘Dream Regime – Theatre for Community’, which was realised in cooperation of ŻAK Culture Centre, Japanese theatre Gekidan Kaitaisha, the Gdansk MONAR centre and artists from the Tricity.

The project encompassed theatre workshops for MONAR members (teenagers with drug problems), work on and presentation of the performance ‘Dream regime – Gdańsk 2007’ in the direction of Shimizu Shinjin. The members of MONAR, artists from the Tricity, Gekidan Kaitaisha Theatre took part in the performance. The project was realized with the financial help of the Minister of Culture.

 

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 2006

 

‘Anatomical Theatre Project - Viewer as Voyer – The Body Beyond’

premiere - 13 May 2006, Uppsala, Sweden

 

ANATOMICAL THEATRE -  The Mystery of Life and Death (continuation of the project)

premiere – 6 August 2006, St. John’s Church, Gdańsk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Multimedia performance in cooperation with: Joan Laage (USA) and Tomek Chołoniewski (Kraków)

Choreography and dance: Agnieszka Kamińska, Joan Laage, Katarzyna Julia Pastuszak, Aleksandra Śliwińska
Music: Tomek Chołoniewski
Costumes: Amareya Theatre, Joan Laage
Duration: 60 min.

Anatomical Theatre is a project joining dance, music and film. The performance is the effect of cooperation of Amareya Theatre, Joan Laage - American butō dancer and Tomek Chołoniewski – an independent musician from Kraków. The premiere of this performance took place on the 13^th of May 2006 in Upsala, Sweden, in the authentic anatomical theatre which is now a part of the Gustavianum Museum and dates back to the XVII century.

The phenomenon of anatomical theatre, which originated in Europe in XVI century, had fundamental significance for the anatomical science as well as for the culture of European Renaissance and the latter ages, determining the ways of perceiving and interpreting the body in the Western culture. Going back to the tradition of the XVI/XVII-century anatomical theatre and joining it with the problems of contemporary medical practice and ethics, the artists have created a performance which uncovers and comments on the procedures of dissection, surgical operation and the world of the anatomical theatre. The performance is also a deep reflection on the status of the body in contemporary culture. Uncovering the sacrum and profanum of the body, the performance questions the traditional ways of presenting the body and provoked questions about the functionality of the alive and the dead body. The body asks the question about its own nature, about the limits of our knowledge about it and about the mystery of death.

‘(...) the dance parts of Pastuszak, Agnieszka Kamińska, Aleksandra Śliwińska are incredible, the sensuality and naturalness of the dancers become clear signs of what is physical in a human being (...).

Agata Kirol, Gazeta Wyborcza Trójmiasto, 22 October 2007

 

‘(...) The closest to ‘everything' was probably Amareya Theatre with their breathtaking ‘Mistery of Life and Death', performed for the third time since the premiere in Uppsala (Sweden) in 2006. It's a pity it's only the third time, as the performance is worth being shown. Despite rather drastic scenes of disection or surgical operations, in the end the show leaves a kind of hope, or even assurance that we haven't desecrated and dishonoured our bodies totally (...)'

 

Tadeusz Skutnik, Dziennik Bałtycki, 23 October 2007

 

‘ (...) ‘Mistery of Life and Death', performance about man, body and animal: the body which cannot be forsaken when it stops moving, when it falls asleep, it's also about not allowing profanity and sanctity of what is unique and individual, as well as about the need to protect that from social practices and institutions. The performance shows a game of life and death which are born in the same place and are equally helpless. (...)

(...) the performance (...) convinces the spectator about its authenticity. He feels the discomfort of participating in what happens onstage; the dissections, surgical operations, funeral. The spectator surrenders to the atmosphere of awaiting what is going to happen and what is in the air.'

 

Ela i Ewa Okroy, Scena OFF-arta, Gazeta Teatralna, 21 October 2007

 

‘Ten ku Youran’ – ‘Cradle of Heaven’ (2006)

– project with Daisuke Yoshimoto, Shizuka Kato, Akiko Motizuki,  during the Butoh Dance Festival – ‘Vicinities of Butoh’. (Gdańsk) 

 

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 2005

 

‘Xenos’

 

premiere - 25 August 2005, Gdańska Korporacja Tańca Festival

Choreography and dance: Agnieszka Kamińska, Katarzyna Julia Pastuszak, Aleksandra Śliwińska
Music: Piotr Pawlak, mix: Ryjoi Ikeda, Laurie Andersen, Portoshead, Gustavo Santaolalla, Anthon Webern, Agnieszka Kamińska
Costumes: Sabina Czupryńska

Duration: 50 min.

 

Here and now – the ashes of the 20^th century, the time of stability of the globalized capitalism, consumerism’s euphoria and the new (dis)order of the contemporary world. Underneath the surface of the embellished mediatised reality, conflicts are simmering. Everydayness brings along with it new reports of hatred and violence eruptions; „The 25^th Day of Hatred - even infants were dressed up as terrorists” – read the newspaper headlines – like an echo of the first pages of Orwell’s „1984”. Torn and full of paradoxes, the contemporary world reaches us broken into pieces, incoherent, surreal and absurd. The body, bombarded by images of violence and its various forms present in the daily life, imperceptibly assimilates the mechanisms of aggression and auto-surveillance, and soaks in the ideology of consumerism and hatred towards the Other, this hatred  being one of the fundaments of the manipulated propaganda of fear. Wrapped up in the shell of ignorance, we become blind to human being, blindly hating the Other, too. Is it possible to regain and protect body’s sovereignty so that it no longer follows and reproduces the patterns of aggression the rules of which we learn and either consciously or unconsciously assimilate through patterns of behaviour, movement, thinking? Xenos is an attempt to answer those questions. The conflict between Xenos and the Guards who dwell in the Dead City becomes a metaphor of the struggle for liberating the body from the uniform of socialization and mechanisms of violence.

‘Haiku of three women‘

 Premiere: 31 December 2005, Klub Sfinks – Sopot

Choreography and dance: Agnieszka Kamińska, Katarzyna Julia Pastuszak, Aleksandra Śliwińska  

Music: Guesch Patti; a fragment of the music from the theatre version of „Sho o Suteyo, Machi e Deyō” (Subtitle: „A High-Teen Symphony”, dir. Terayama Shuji, 1970, Skystation – SWAX-62).

Constumes: Amareya Theatre

Duration: 30 min.

 

Haiku of three women  is a poetic dance performance inspired by Japanese calligraphy and the theatre of shadows. Using these elements of Japanese culture, Amareya performers take the spectator for a journey to a sensual space of the unspoken. The delicate gestures and movements make a dance haiku whose fragile and transitory nature intoxicates like the smell of cherry blossom. 

 

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PROJECTS 2005

 

‘Eros and Thanatos’ (2005)

- project with Daisuke Yoshimoto.

 

‘Mandala of Life and Death’ (2005)

- project with Atsushi Takenouchi at the Butoh Dance Festival Poland – Japan: Dialogue of Cultures. (Gdańsk)

 

‘Opening Doors III’  (2005)

- project of work exchange with the  Workcentre of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards organized at Theatre des Augenblicks in Vienna. Presentation of performances: ’Xenos’ and ‘Xenos – part II’  (Vienna, Austria), December

 

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2004

 

‘The Dream of Icarus’  

 Premiere - 27 February 2004

Choreography and dance: Agnieszka Kamińska, Katarzyna Julia Pastuszak, Aleksandra Śliwińska
Costumes: Amareya Theatre

Music: Piotr Pawlak & Stromski; Meredith monk ‘Gotham Luulaby’ / Pawlak mix.

Duration: 40 min.

The first performance of Amareya Theatre – The Dream of Icarus took one year to structure. It grew out of individual and collective active exploration of the myth of Icarus and themes related with it, as well as from the confrontation of the myth with the present reality, with attention paid to the perils that emerge in the modern world for ones like Icarus who strive for that which lies beyond the palpable. The performance attempted to be a meeting in which our dreams, speaking the language of Icarus, shall meet with the dreams of the spectators and thanks to our dedication, console the restless souls.