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Residentie: Threesome (Werktitel)

Wojciech Grudziński / Frascati Producties
Fri 29 Mar ’24 19:00
A research on three legendary Polish dancers from the Communist Era: how to embody Queer Ancestrality?
Fri 29 Mar ’24
19:00
  • Fri 29 Mar ’24
    19:00
    Frascati
    Frascati 3
    Past event

"As a child, I once overheard a conversation between my ballet teacher and the pianist. They gossiped about the hyper-femininity of ballet superstar Stanisław Szymański. This was the first time I heard about him. It was also the first time I felt that I am a part of this story."

In Threesome (working title), Wojciech Grudziński investigates the trajectories of three legendary Polish ballet dancers from the 1960s to the 1980s: Stanisław Szymański, Wojciech Wiesiołłowski, and Gerard Wilk. Myths and legends have overshadowed their memories as they became both admired and derided due to the queerness of their identities. 

This research aims to unveil the marginalized figures lost in dance history. How do we remember these bodies? How would they dance – and express their queerness - if they were to meet on stage in 2024? That is just the beginning - many other biographies remain in the shadows.

Threesome is an archival-choreographic work that channels the iconic performances of my ancestors, acknowledging that their legacy is not only about the conventional ballet canon, but also extends to realms such as bars, cruising spaces, mutual trust and non-conforming bodies. This is a work about institutional violence, dance and sexuality. At its core lies an intrigue for the forgotten, the obscured, the silenced, but also for triumph, displacement, pleasure and liberated body. 

Wojciech seeks to provide collaborations within an international context, emphasizing that the struggle for inclusivity and acceptance extends far beyond one country’s borders. What are the movement forms that can blur the binaries between the perspectives of the outcasts and those who sustain their exclusion?

Residence

Threesome (working titlel) is being developed as part of Frascati's residency programme. This programme offers makers a space for experiment and independent research. The research period lasts several weeks and ends with a presentation of the 'work-in-progress' on 29 March.

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Duration: 30 min

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About the maker

Wojciech Grudziński (PL, 1991) is a Polish artist, choreographer and dancer based in Amsterdam. What he explores in his work are the in-between and interdisciplinary spaces, queerness, and embracing diversity. His practice is based on performative freedom and investigating implicit or explicit power dynamics in theater and choreography. He graduated from the Warsaw State Ballet School and the faculty of contemporary dance at the CODARTS in Rotterdam. Throughout his Master Studies at DAS Theatre (2021-2023), Grudziński explored the bowing gesture and its ambiguous meanings. As a performer he worked with many artists, including Dries Verhoeven, Ben J. Riepe, Marta Ziółek, Maria Magdalena Kozłowska and Ula Sickle. In February 2024, Wojciech presented his performance BOW A STUDY at Frascati. 

Press about Wojciech Grudziński 

"Playful, baroque and weird research into bowing [...] we want to see more from this maker." Theaterkrant

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Residencies

Since 2023, Frascati provides residencies for makers in various stages of their artisteric practice.

cofinanced by the Capital City of Warsaw with the support of Centre national de la danse, Cité internationale des arts in Paris, the Visegrad Artist Residency Program for Performing Arts (VARP-PA / Bratislava, SVK), Festival Belluard Bollwerk International (Fribourg, CH) and NOWY Teatr (Warsaw, PL)

       

Residences

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