The international and multicultural art project The Roots of Dance / Korzenie tańca is addressed to young dancers and choreographers. The project seeks to stimulate the artists’ imagination by looking for inspiration in local cultures with the hope of fostering contemporary dance and enriching dance cultures worldwide. The artists have just returned from another trip and recapitulated their workshop in India.
The Roots of Dance / Korzenie tańca will conclude at the end of 2022. The project will be capped with a documentary film and its public screening this fall in Katowice, Poland.
The workshop in Kolkata, India, for the Sapphire Creations Dance Company dancers took place on September 12-17, 2022. It was led by dr Jacek Łumiński, dr hab. Aleksandra Dziurosz and Łukasz Zgórka.
Lukasz Zgórka, workshop leader
-Watching the performances of the workshop participants, I wondered about one’s capacity to interpret the senses and the reality around us. There were works that, at the superficial level, initially depicted experiencing with the senses, but I failed to notice any deeper confrontation with this theme in dance. A few works immediately interested and moved me. To this day I remember a boy named Akash and his kinetic intensity, alertness, as well as the twists and relaxations of his body. Usually at such moments my perception of time changes. After a few days, the works took on a deeper dimension. I had the pleasure of watching dancing bodies in various outdoor spaces. My sensations were amplified out in the open. The dancers used earth, wind, objects, and light to change the quality of their moving bodies. I was fascinated by dancing bodies merging with a tree, leaves, a rock, a wall. Dance is an extraordinary means of expressing human potential. The profound vulnerability of bodies, their history, emotionality, and belonging intrigues me greatly. I am glad that I was able to experience and learn the stories of the participants in their pieces during the workshop.
Ankita Duttagupta, uczestniczka warsztatów
-For me the whole workshop opened up a new window in terms of movement initiation and thought structure – how we have so much of possibilities in both the mind and the body by connecting with nature and drawing inspiration from it. All the sight specific tasks during the workshop played a pivotal role in creating new idioms of language. Had so much fun through the whole process .
Promita Karfa, uczestniczka warsztatów
-The experience was priceless to express. I’ve explored not only the nature through this workshop but also I’ve taken the essence from the nature and tried to put it together through my dance. This workshop was self-exploration from my perception for my entity and the reason behind our entity. So, overall I’ve enjoyed a lot.
Co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland as part of the “Inspiring Culture” program.
Media contact:
Agata Szymczak (agata.szymczak@nimit.pl, + 48 785 310 000)
