Creations 19

A choreographic workshop must be an integral part of a ballet company’s life if it harbours the ambition to develop and carve out an original artistic style for itself. Without nurturing new talent, looking for new paths, exploring fresh means of expression, and even adopting a new language, ballet would be a mildly exciting art, offering little surprise or challenge to its audience. Perhaps it would be a dead art. Any major ballet company must be innovative, seek new artistic solutions, and offer works by emerging choreographers, ideally from its own ranks. Those choreographic talents, however, need favourable conditions to reveal themselves and develop. For this reason, one of Krzysztof Pastor’s first decisions after taking over the helm of the Polish National Ballet was to launch an annual choreographic workshop for the company’s members. 

Each year, our dancers take it upon themselves to stage new choreographic creations, handling the entire production process, including preparing the programme brochure, designing posters, and undertaking other promotional efforts. They put in the work on a voluntary basis in their free time, without any extra pay, which requires strong motivation and additional commitment. They also need to make a convincing case to the colleagues they seek to engage as performers. After all, the core of the exercise is creating a new dance piece and presenting it to the audience. 

This season sees the 19th edition of the workshop. We truly hope that, once again, it produces new talent, fresh ideas, and many artistic delights.