The title sounds like a futuristic vision of distant future inspired by science fiction. Is is that distant, though? We are living at a time of unprecedented technological progress. Artificial Intelligence does not only lean but can talk to us. It can create art, support medicine, and co-decide in matters which up until recently were a human prerogative Printing tissues and organs, designing humanoid robots, or allowing algorithms to take responsibility for our choices is not a future possibility. It is the reality. The future we read about in novels and watched in movies is imperceptibly turning into our ‘here and now’.
Androids is inspired by the work of Isaac Asimov and Philip K. Dick. Immersed in the neo-noir and cyberpunk aesthetics, the production traces the pulse of our era, exploring our fears and fascinations. In a world ravaged by a climate catastrophe, the Hunter and Dr Ræ, a researcher specialising in androids, seek to track down unruly humanoids that have defied humans. Their pursuit is more than a normal mission. It triggers the characters’ internal transformation and raises the most fundamental questions about awareness, empathy, and what it means to be human.
Will Artificial Intelligence or other, yet unknown to us, forms of life be able to feel? Are dignity and identity exclusively human faculties or will we have to redefine what we consider a ‘person’? Or perhaps, when confronted with thinking beings other to ourselves, we will fully realise our weaknesses and fears, and discover that our definition of humanity needs revising?
The music for the ballet was written by Przemysław Zych, a composer and educator associated with the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music who has extensive experience in the performing arts. He was involved in the creation of multimedia performances, wrote a chamber opera, Poiesis, based on Zbigniew Herbert’s play, and a ballet based on Alice in Wonderland. His latest composition was commissioned inspired by Robert Bondara, commissioned by the Polish National Opera with the support of the Composing Commissions programme of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
Known for his use of suggestive choreographic metaphors, Robert Bondara combines classical and contemporary ballet, juxtaposing pointe technique and movement that transcends style boundaries. Each gesture conveys a thought, each scene provokes a reflection, and the whole production tells a story not of androids but ourselves. This is a moving vision of a future that is already knocking on our door.
Maestra Marta Kluczyńska serves as the productions' music director. Other members of the creative team are Diana Marszałek (set design), Martyna Kander (costumes), Maciej Igielski (lighting), and Kamil Polak (projections).
Pictured:
- Robert Bondara during a rehearsal for Androids, photo: Ewa Krasucka
- Robert Bondara working with the Polish National Ballet, photo: Ewa Krasucka
- Robert Bondara, Vladimir Yaroshenko, Paweł Dobrzyński, and Julia Alvarez during a rehearsal, photo: Ewa Krasucka
- Robert Bondara during a rehearsal for Androids, photo: Ewa Krasucka
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