Theatre life has come to a halt, since mid-March we all have been living in what seems like an alternate reality. No one saw it coming, and we were not prepared. All of a sudden, our theatre turned into a sad empty space with no shows and no audience. All scheduled premieres and performances were cancelled, including our annual Creations.
Our artists, however, do not stay idle. Equipped by the theatre with pieces of ballet floor, they exercise and try to keep in shape to minimise the negative consequences of such a long standstill before coming back to regular rehearsals and performances. Also, they channel their artistic imagination and creativity through their private and the theatre’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.
During our regular online meetings we have decided that the upcoming twelve edition of Creations will be held as scheduled, they will simply move online. Following all the safety restrictions in place, our artists prepared ten choreographies, which were filmed and sent to Ewa Krasucka, our video producer, who then prepared the material for broadcasting.
The result is remarkably beautiful. It displays not only the creativity of our dancers but also their sensitivity and ability to notice what is happening around us. Poetically and metaphorically, they refer to the irrational unreality of our times. And with the cinematic form of this year’s Creations we can experience them up close and very intimately, which for me personally is very moving.
And so, thanks to our artists' collaboration and the potential of our Department for the New Audio-Visual Technologies, 5 June 2020 will see a virtual premiere of new choreographic works, which will be a novelty for our theatre and, I would imagine, a rare occurance on the international scene.
May this be a positive sign showing that the Polish National Ballet remains ready to work creatively, continues to think about its viewers, and is making plans for the future, while longing to meet the audience in the flesh again.
Krzysztof Pastor
Director of the Polish National Ballet
Poster design: Jacek Wąsik. Photo: Łukasz Murgrabia
