The Polish National Ballet will open the festival with a three-date run of its new production, Polish Ballets (10, 12 and 14 November). The triple bill combines music by three excellent Polish composers of the interwar period and fresh choreography by three up-and-coming Polish artists. Robert Bondara has devised a modern interpretation of Eugeniusz Morawski’s Świtezianka inspired by Mickiewicz’s ballad of the same title. Jacek Tyski has taken on Aleksander Tansman’s ballet Sextuor – completely unknown in Poland – and turned it into an original balletic joke titled On A Stave. Jacek Przybyłowicz adapted Karol Szymanowski's beautiful Violin Concerto No. 2 for the balletic stage, giving a chance to shine to almost all of the company’s top dancers.
Despite the challenge of premiering the new bill, the PNB will also present at the festival its enthralling programme Chopiniana/Bolero/Chroma (21 and 22 November) and Krzysztof Pastor’s new staging of Swan Lake (24–26 November), which has been scoring triumphs with Warsaw audiences.
An important section of the festival will be devoted to American choreography. We will see the now classical The Rite of Spring by the mother of American modern ballet, Martha Graham set to Stravinsky’s music as performed by the ballet company of the Łódź Grand Theatre, alongside Henryk Konwiński's ballet set to Krzesany by Wojciech Kilar (19 November). As for the latest choreographic developemnts from across the pond, the excellent Dance Theater of Harlem, New York, will treat the festival’s audience to two varied programmes made up of as many as eight different ballets choreographed by: Robert Garland, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Dianne McIntyre, Ulysses Dove, and the icon of American contemporary dance, José Limón.
Also captivating will be a modern take on the well-known romantic classic, Giselle devised by two choreographers, Chris Haring and Itamar Senussi Sahar, for Balletto di Roma (15 November). There is something for everybody in the festival’s programme, the only challenge is not to miss anything! (pch)
Pictured: Playbill designed by Adam Żebrowski
