Several Witty Observations

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Dada von Bzdülöw - dance theatre

The name of Leszek Bzdyl--cofounder of Dada von Bzdülöw Theatre, one of the most renowned and recognized dance groups in contemporary dance theatre--has appeared in this newsletter twice before, as a choreographer of stage movement. In 2009, Dada prepared three projects, all of which were enthusiastically received by the public and the critics.

Dada von Bzdülöw Theatre was founded in 1993 in Gdańsk by choreographer and director Leszek Bzdyl, and dancer and choreographer Katarzyna Chmielewska. It operates as an independent group of dancers and actors, and realizes productions in cooperation with Polish and international partners/theatres, festivals, cultural centers, dance centers (including Klub Żak /Gdańsk, Dance Advance / Philadelphia, Les Hivernales /Avignon, Stary Browar /Poznań). During its 17 years of existence, it has achieved more than 40 premiers, often inspired by literature--the texts of Gombrowicz, Boris Vian, George Tabori. It presents its work primarily in Gdańsk. Dada started the careers of many young dancers, who went on to establish their own groups or work in theatres as choreographers and dancers.

"Dada von Bzdülöw operates at the interface between acting and dance. The group uses the poetics of pure nonsense and elements of banal everyday life, and contrasts high culture with kitsch. The tone of their productions is also established by the expressiveness of the staging--the use of light and color. Consequently, a single Dada von Bzdülöw Theatre production can feature both a pastiche of quotation marks and a lyrical, serious tone. According to the group, the most interesting things in art take place at the points of contact between various forms and styles. This is why the actors eagerly make use of various conventions in their realizations--they refer to circus and street theatre, pantomime." www.culture.pl

„Before Noon, Before Dusk" [Przed południem, przed zmierzchem]. Premiered 7 March 2009 at Nowy Theatre in Łódź.
Directed by Piotr Cieplak, choreography by Leszek Bzdyl, music by Patryk Zakrocki, Paweł Szamburski.
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Mirosław Baran, „Gazeta Wyborcza – Trójmiasto”
The stage features a cramped mock-up of a typical block-style apartment--a long corridor, salon, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. Plus the most important furniture and equipment: bed, wardrobe, television, sofa, shower stall and refrigerator. It is in this space that the characters move about, living side by side, but rarely noticing each other. The dance is interwoven with typical household activities: watching TV, sleeping, bathing, eating yogurt from the refrigerator. We see the characters hurrying on their way out the door: striking poses before the mirror, dressing. (…) he essence of the performance is the capturing of the characters in their intimate, private moments--when they are home, have nothing in particular to do, and are simply alone with themselves: they throw away their briefcases and begin to dance or to strike their pillows with rage. The production features many entertaining moments, and yet the feeling of nostalgia prevails, of undefined sentimentality. (…) ut Dada's most recent production doesn't feature a coherent story or an important theme, big idea, social engagement or struggle for the one and only truth. There is, on the other hand, an attempt to raise simple gesture, feeling, moments of daydream to the rank of key events. These may have nothing to do with the history of the world, but they are moments, however fleeting, of extreme importance to the characters.

Boris Vian „Red Grass” [Czerwona trawa]. Premiered 11 July 2009 in Wybrzeże Theatre, Gdańsk.
Directed by Katarzyna Chmielewska, Leszek Bzdyl, choreography by Leszek Bzdyl, music by Mikołaj Trzaska.
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Video 1, Video 2

Mirosław Baran, „Gazeta Wyborcza” Trójmiasto online
This is an unpretentious show in the positive sense of the word, featuring an unhurried succession of events filled with joyful eroticism. In "Red Grass", the irony typical of Dada is ever-present. However, it doesn't take on a harsh character; rather, it's an amused look at oneself, or at the theatrical relation between the actor and the audience (a phenomenal scene in which two actors, Leszek Bzdyl and Radek Hewelt, move through the audience, and Katarzyna Chmielewska and Ula Zerek dance in unison onstage). (…) An important element of the production is the excellent and occasionally sentimental music of Mikołaj Trzaska, which successfully combines jazz motifs with electronic music that is pleasing to the ear.

"Caffe Latte". Premiered 18 December 2009 in Wybrzeże Theatre in Gdańsk.
Production by Katarzyna Chmielewska and Leszek Bzdyl (Dada), Paweł Szamburski and Patryk Zakrocki (SzaZa).
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Łukasz Rudziński, Trójmiasto.pl
The Gdańsk-based Dada von Bzdülöw Theatre is like good wine--it improves with age. The group's most recent premier, "Caffe Latte" proves that the category "dance theatre" has become too constricting for Dada. (…) This time, we have two duets onstage, a dancing duet (Bzdyl and Chmielewska) and, no less important to the production, a musical duet (SzaZa, i.e. Paweł Szamburski and Patryk Zakrocki). The dancers and musicians enter into dialogues with each other on different levels--through the aid of artistic expression, dance and musical figures (an acrobatic form of play and movement in mixed duets--e.g. Szamburski plays the saxophone with Chmielewska on his back, and Zakrocki plays the violin while Bzdyl "models" his body into various poses), performance activities ("the rush of the sea" achieved by rubbing hair against the microphone), or simply with the aid of conversation. (…) Thanks to the equality of all of the participants, a rarity in theatre, the production has an atypical, pulsing rhythm. This show extends beyond the boundaries of dance theatre, or at least breaks with the convention in which dance plays a leading, and musical accompaniment a subordinate, role.