Performans

Description by Filmoteka Muzeum

Established in 1971 upon the initiative of Wojciech Krukowski, Akademia Ruchu aimed to modify the language of theatre, dominated at the time by Tadeusz Kantor and Jerzy Grotowski. One of the ways to achieve that was to open to various forms of communication, including movement and behaviour. And that was exactly what Other Dances referred to in the form of 16 short performances, presented initially in the urban space, and merged in 1982 into a spectacle on the Malarnia stage of the Studio Theatre. With no connection in the form of linear narration, the performances (“dances”) referred to stereotypical daily routine, revealing “the symptoms of psychosis among social groups in Poland in the 1980s.” The actors’ rhythm of behaviour was set by the field of action (large square of canvas). The neurotic gestures were accompanied by music from Brygada Kryzys and the ephemeral group Białe Wulkany. Punk, which Akademia Ruchu also addressed in English Lesson, became an important formal element in their spectacles, as a specific reaction to the imposition of martial law.

References: Akademia Ruchu. City. The Field of Action, ed. M. Borkowska, Warsaw 2006.
 

(AK)