Residency in Poland – Culture Moves Europe

We were in residency at Rozbark Theater (Bytom, Poland) with the support of Culture Moves Europe program. For 13 days we’ve done rehearsals with the students of the Academy of Theater Arts from Krakow (dance theater department in Bytom), and local musicians, singers and dancers from the community of Rozbark Theater.

Check out the trailer of the outcome of the residency, body music and movement theater work in progress Bytom and Novi Sad: Mirror with sound. Traditional songs of Silesia and Vojvodina meet dance and movement, telling stories of life, war, love, happiness and support. We’ve created something new with a wonderful group of artists. And hope we will continue the work! For sure on May 28, when we perform Mirror with sound in Rozbark Theater once more.
_{Disclaimer: This work was produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union. The program is supported by Culture Moves Europe program for mobility of artists.}

Mirror with sound

Traditional songs of Silesia and Vojvodina meet dance and movement, telling stories of life, war, love, happiness and support. The magical atmosphere and body music performance draw the audience into the stories told by the songs. This exploration mirrors two cultures and nations, finding similarities and differences in an intuitive and inventive way. Movement produces sound by body percussion and echoes visual and acoustic rhythm.

The work was produced during the residency of Ana Vrbaški and Marko Dinjaški (Serbia) in Rozbark Theater (Poland). The residency has been funded by the Culture Moves Europe program. The participants of the project are students of the Academy of Theater Arts from Krakow (dance theater department in Bytom), and local musicians, singers and dancers from the community of Rozbark Theater. The crew of the project is unique community, spanning from 20 to 70 years old, multinational (Poland, Serbia, Egypt, Germany), but breathing on stage in the same rhythm.

In the end of the performance, the audience is drawn in, to participate in a workshop learning original Silesian body music, traditional song called Owczareczek nasz. Finishing with a jam session together with musicians, they travel a long journey, exploring cultures, traditions, music, theater, movement, as well as themselves.

^{Dancers: Karolina Rudolf, Dżo Dłużniewska, Annuszka Grodzicka, Natalia Koper, Julia Grzenia
Singers, dancers, movement and choreography: Sabina Letner, Julia Lewandowska, Ana Vrbaški, Marko Dinjaški
Musicians: Matthias Schlette, Amr El Zanaty, Łukasz Malok
Sound: Jakub Ritter
Light: Dastin Greczyło
Production, coordination, organization, video: Mateusz Kowalski}

---

We also had an opportunity to teach workshops for kids at the Frédéric Chopin General Secondary Music School in Bytom. This is an extraordinary school for talents, where children get the full education with the emphasis on music.

We led body music workshops at the Rozbark Theater for high-school youth from Katowice. This way we also presented Vojvodina, north region of Serbia, as well as the Balkans. Speaking about Fruška gora, Novi Sad, similarities and differences of Silesia and Vojvodina, we touched upon some of the research for the residency. It was an ideal moment to perform some of the songs from our concert. TVP3 from Katowice filmed a short excerpt, which can be found in their video show Let’s go to the theater.