A NEW FOR DIDO MARZENA KRZEMINSKA questions on ‘queer’. What is ‘queer’ GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO nowadays? THE PROJECT Queer culture and gay culture flirts with kitsch, a form despised by dominant A New Opera for Dido by Marzena Krzeminska aesthetics. However, kitsch has taken an is a ‘pop’ version of Henry Purcell’s opera Dido important place among the general public, and Aeneas for 4 eccentric characters. Would not it be interesting to look for a new side of queer? Originally meaning ‘strange’ The creative process will integrate a precise or ‘peculiar’, queer is a term to be used to study of the original Baroque composition of describe everybody and everything that is out the opera: dramatic declamations, short arias, of norms and escapes easy categorization. I polyphonic songs, traditional English songs would love performers of New Opera for Dido and comic elements. Those forms will be to be queer, looking magically strange and reinterpreted: the dramatic declamations will peculiar. take a form of «slam», the traditional song might be coming not only from England but With this in mind, we will begin with the also from Eastern , short arias might collection of resources: Dido’s last tune, be performed as pop songs. We will try to Sylvia Plath’s poem Crossing the water and keep comic elements. other texts dealing with the theme of nature, disappearance and sex. I began by taking up Marzena Krzeminska: the challenge of classifying identity through the «biological genre» or the «cultural genre». I am interested in many different styles of However, a simple verbalization of thoughts singing. I have already worked on aria ‘When I is not enough, it should still be passed am laid’ from the opera of Henry Purcell, when through the body. We will therefore work with I created a solo called «5-7-5 Haiku» in 2012. «biological femininity» and with different I have learnt some of traditional polish and women, examining their attitude towards their ukrainian songs, I sang in a gospel choir and own body. We will examine the attributes of recently I was initiated to katajjaq, a practice femininity interpreted by a man, in the spirit of inuit throat singing. I am interested in a of play with the femininity of Drag Queens. spiritual aspect of the act of singing together. However, this will not prevent us from asking I am also interested in the transformation of more universal questions about the essence the bodily sensations, the change of one’s of humanity, nature and disappearance. I state and a way of perceiving the self with am convinced that we should not determine different ways of breathing and singing. I everything by the lens of sex and gender, would like to counterpose those different whether it is «biological» or «cultural». This styles of singing, to understand what image creation is an opportunity to take an interest they bring, what kind of association. Gospel in the sensual potential and the richness of songs, traditional songs, pop songs, punk the expression of a sensual body. The study of songs – each of those styles has a cultural sexuality, sensuality and sensitivity is part of background, a way of positioning oneself the body experience that can be expressed in towards the World. different ways through dance, and this is not just about dances from pop culture. In this project I want to focus more on

} Marzena Krzeminska LIST OF 3 ISSUES THAT I WISH TO AVOID IN MY WORK

Superficial process I would like to avoid the promotion of the superficiality of contemporary culture by involving myself in the process that pretends to talk about something without taking responsability to genuinely question the reality we are living in.

Easy to consume product I would like to avoid preparation of ‘easy to consume’ performance based on one idea, sort of ‘jumping piece’ or ‘shaking piece’, that would be extremely simple in the form and very explicit in the description. I think that we live in a very complex world or maybe better, that our experience of life might be very complex and it should be expressed in the complex form. The ambition to create such a form includes taking risk of entering False democracy or a collective work, practices’ among the partiicipants. I was a choreographer) is put in the position of into the chaos and finding the way back out where nobody wants to take the observing how easily people were giving up ‘knowing everything’ and the dancers are of it, enriched by this journey. responsability on the initial agreement (which was a work put in the position of ‘the puppets in her Writting a smart text with a quotation I have participated recently in the collective with a famous artist) and adapting to the hands’. It is important for me that each of famous philosopher and creating a project. It was not initially a collective situation of ‘sharing practices’, that except participant of the project keeps his ‘identity’ movement-image illustration to it, as many project, but a workshop given by the artist the word ‘practice’ and a duration time, and any dancer is not treated as a ‘carte choreographers do, doesn’t interest me. I in collaboration with an art theoricien and a didn’t consist of research question, clear blanche’, that choreographer can project have been taking my time to understand curator. During the week a workshop became intention or embodied practice! We were on, whatever idea she wants. Creation and to learn what are the processes, that somehow a collective project because the all getting bored, following the rules, that is a process of negotiation between the one has to pass through in order to create original leaders where smoothly passing we have created for ouerselves, fearing to choreographer and the dancers, between a performance where we can find new the work to their assistants (that didn’t have break the atmosphere of a social politeness. all the participants of the project. The energies, learn from our bodies, let the the same qualifications as original leaders, I definitely don’t want people to be rude. But aim is to find new agreements, new ways emotions speak...Well, I keep learning. neither the desire to fully take responsabilty the artistic process is usually a collective of organizing within the group, to find for the group and the work) and there was process with shared responsability. I would new theatre, new rituals and new ways to some openess towards ‘sharing their like to avoid a situation where one (usually acheive katharsis.

Marzena Krzeminska photography : Francesca Woodman, Providence, Rhode Island, 1975-78 BIOGRAPHIES Simon Tanguy Performer Marzena Krzeminska Choreographer and dancer, based in Artistic director Rennes. Since the age of 18 he has been Choreographer and performer, graduated creating his own shows within a youth from SNDO (School for New Dance circus company that performs in the street Development) in and Theatre and traditional circuses. In 2005, after Academy in Warsaw. ten years of practising judo, he obtained a She lives in Brittany () for few years philosophy degree in Rennes. Having taken now. up contemporary dance, he enrolled at the She teaches in the Musée de la Danse Samovar School in Paris, training in physical and participates in their different projects, theatre and clowning, where he developed like Fous de Danse or Permanence, where his ideas around burlesque, buffoonery she performed in Kiss, a performance and grotesque performance. In 2011, he choreographed by Tino Sehgal. graduated from the School for New Dance Her solo work „Too Beautiful” was presented Development in Amsterdam. He explores in march 2017 in the frame of Festival 360 motion intensity, extreme emotional states degrés in Saint-Brieuc, France. and the shifting musicality of an alert body. She is currently working on a new project He also adds to contemporary dance an „Nature & Queer, a new opera for Dido” energetic background that derives from which is an extension of the research of her theatre and he transposes into the former first solo «5-7-5 Haiku» created in the 2012 the wildness and openness of clowning. in the frame of the solo project program in He has worked both as a dancer and Poznan. performer for international choreographers: Marzena worked as a performer with such Boris Charmatz, Maud Le Pladec, Deborah choreographers as: Deborah Hay, Benoit Hay, Ame Henderson. His solo “Japan” Lachambre, Rob List, and as assistant to the received the ITS choreography award 2011. choreographer with Maria Hassabi in New The trio «Gerro, Minos and Him», made in York and Jeanine Durning in Amsterdam. collaboration with Aloun Marchal and Roger She collaborates with choreographer Simon Sala Reyner, received 2nd prize Danse Tanguy and Compagnie Propagande C. She Elargie in 2010 at the Théâtre de la Ville- danced in a piece choreographed by Simon Paris and the theaterhaus prize Stuttgart in Tanguy People in a Field. She also worked 2013. as dramaturge for the piece Championnat In 2013, the company Propagande C was that he created with circus artists, the duet created in Saint-Brieuc. Three pieces got Digging with the British collective NORA produced since then : « People in a Field » and his last piece I Wish I Could Speak in (2014), « Inging » (2016), « I Wish I Could Technicolor. Speak in Technicolor » (2017). In Brittany, In 2017, Simon Tanguy and Marzena Simon Tanguy collaborates frequently Krzeminska have co-signed „Cabaret with the Musée de la Danse, with the précaire”. choreographers Marzena Krzeminska, Élisa

} Marzena Krzeminska Le Merrer and with others partners from the ... she received the public award of the she could dance first and think afterwards” creator and performer (2009), as well as department of Côtes d’Armor. 8th Solo International Dance Festival in (1991), “Olympia” (1993), “one mysterious through initiatives such as the retrospective His piece always features a flow (bodies, and the double performance Thing, said e.e.cummings*” (1996), “What organized by Culturgest in 2009, entitled qualities, words) to which the performer and choreography prize at the 11th can be said about Pierre” (2011), “The “Month of March, Month of Vera”, or the has to surrender. Passing through all this SoloDanceTheater International Film Caldeirão Highlanders, exercises in fictional Portuguese representation at the 26th São multiplicity of states, Simon Tanguy reflects Festival in Stuttgart. Holder of a grant from anthropology” (2012) and “Rich bread” Paulo Art Biennale (2004) with a work on the unpredictable velocity in which we the Dutch Ministry of Culture and Education (2017). Her group pieces include “Under” co-created with the sculptor Rui Chafes, are living. (Huygens Program), the Polish Minister of (1993), “For Boring and Profound Sadnesses” entitled “Eating your Heart Out”. The influent Culture and Education (Young ), and (1994), “Poetry and Savagery” (1998), “k(ɘ) Brazilian newspaper O Globo elected “The several times from the Mayor of Szczecin. su’pɔɾtɐ i s(ɘ)ˈpaɾɐ i kõˈtɐj uʃ dojʃ mu’duʃ Caldeirão Highlanders, exercises in fictional Karolina Kraczkowska In 2010, she was nominated for The Rolex i õ’dulɐ” (2002), “Until the moment when anthropology” as one of the best 10 dance Performer Mentor and Protected Arts Initiative (USA God is destroyed by the extreme exercise of pieces presented in 2014. Dancer and performer, she graduates of the / ), where she had the pleasure beauty” (2006) and “We are going to miss The city of Fundão dedicated a year to Linguistics Institute University of Warsaw of knowing and working with the American everything we don’t need” (2009). the artist (April 2015- April 2016) with the and of the Laban Center in . choreographer Trisha Brown. Holds a In 2013 and 2014 Mantero created the project “Passage #2”,which included the Member of the Polish Dance Theater from DanceWeb scholarship at the ImPulsTanz performance installations “Shadows on presentation of several performances, the 2004 to 2007. As a dancer, she participated Festival in . offer” and “More or Less, but Less than work with local school students and the in Jasmin Vardimon’s productions as well as She cooperated with, among others, La More”, this last piece presented in two recreation of “Eating your heart out” for Fin Walker, Michael Keegan-Dolan, Kirstine Fura dels Baus (ES) and Kud Ljud (SI) different versions: occupying the whole a treetop walkway in Fundão. This new Kyhl Andersen, Sally Marie, Christoph Maas Theater in Rotterdam, Rui Horta space of the auditorium – seating and version, entitled “Eating your heart out in Winkler, , Leila Mcmillan, (PT), Cecilia Moisio (FI / NL), Marta Ziółek proscenium - in 2013, and at urban vegetable the trees” was presented in 2016 at the Janina Rajakangas, Ben Riepe, Marten (PL), Marysia Stokłosa (PL) or improvisers gardens created for the final presentation Mermaid Garden in Coimbra, for which Rui Spangberg and Tino Sehgal. Andrew Morrish and Lisa Nelson (United of the project in 2014. “More or Less, but Chafes created a new sculpture. Currently associated with the community of States). In 2016, as part of a Solo Project Less than More” was created in partnership Since 2014, Vera Mantero integrates, Warsaw experimental choreographers residency program in Poznań, she created a with Culturgest and Maria Matos Municipal together with Jorge Andrade and Pedro of the younger generation, she participated Per-sone solo, which also initiated in-depth Theatre under the scope of the Create to Penim, the cast of the Portuguese version in the productions and research of research into the relationship between Connect project financed by the European of “Quizoola!” by Tim Etchells/Forced Magdalena Fowler, Alex Baczyński-Jenkins, body and voice movement in contemporary Commission. These projects, as well as the Entertainment. Renata Piotrowska, Ramona Nagabczyński choreography. artist’s new creation “The Clean and The Vera Mantero was invited by Boris Charmatz and Marysia Stokłosa. She holds a Dirty”, premiered in April 2016 at the Maria to be part of “20 Dancers for the 20th Danceweb 2016 Scholarship with Tino Matos Theatre in the framework of the cycle Century”, a living archive of the defining Sehgal and Louise Hojer as mentors. Vera Mantero “The Three Ecologies” co-commissioned choreographic solos of the 20th century, Outside Eye by Vera Mantero with Mark Deputter that took place at Tate Modern (London) and Studied classical dance with Anna Mascolo and Liliana Coutinho, clearly reflect the at the Paris Opera/Palais Garnier (Paris) in Katarzyna Sitarz and danced in the Gulbenkian Ballet choreographer’s concerns for fundamental 2015, and at the Staatsoper, in Hannover Performer between 1984 and 1989. Mantero started issues such as the environment, economic (Tanzkongress), and at the Museo Reina She studied Slav philology at the University choreographing in 1987 and, since 1991, has sustainability, social cohesion and inclusion, Sofía (Madrid), in 2016. of Wrocław and graduated from the been presenting her solo and group work and Citizenship. CODARTS / Rotterdam Dance Academy all over Europe, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Her artistic work has been recognized with in the , where she trained in Canada, Singapore, South Korea and the institutional prizes such as the Prémio dance and choreography. In 2007, for her USA. Almada (Ministry of Culture - 2002) or the show When the last candle is blown out Of her solo work mention goes to “Perhaps Prémio Gulbenkian Arte for her career as

} Marzena Krzeminska ARTISTIC DIRECTOR : MARZENA KRZEMINSKA

PERFORMERS : MARZENA KRZEMINSKA, KAROLINA KRACZKOWSKA, KATARYNA SITARZ AND SIMON TANGUY

OUTSIDE EYE : VERA MANTERO

MUSIC : JÉRÉMY RUAULT

PRODUCTION Propagande C

COMPAGNIE PROPAGANDE C Maison de quartier de Robien Place Octave Brilleaud 22000 Saint-Brieuc France

N° Siret: 794 774 919 000 29 // Code APE: 9001Z Licence d’entrepreneur de spectacle: 2-1069029

PRODUCER Marion Cachan t: +33 6 74 19 85 60 [email protected]