Ballerinas - Spitfire Company (CZ)

Miřenka Čechová is more than 'just' a ballet dancer. She is one of the Czech Republic's foremost choreographers, an artist whose work has thrilled audiences around the world. Her artistic influence has reached 27 countries and she is referred to as one of the frontrunners of her generation. Even before the age of 30, she earned a doctorate and was named one of the three most influential choreographers in the US by The Washington Post for her groundbreaking production "S/He is Nancy Joe."

Čechová has also published several books. This performance is based on her autobiography "Ballerinas," which was published in 2022.

Every story has a beginning.

For Čechová, her story began at the age of 11 at a boarding school in Prague, more than 100 miles away from her family and classmates. Her heart was filled with a single dream - to become a ballet dancer.

Ballerinas is a raw, self-ironic look back at the dance school scene in Eastern Europe, especially in the wild 1990s after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The performance gives us a dark and humorous description of the bitter struggle against a despotic and dogmatic system.

"Ballet dancers have two faces. The smiling and perfect one that the audience sees. And the dark one, when they disappear behind the stage curtain," Čechová wrote in her autobiography.

Čechová has created a cross-genre dramatization of her own life, giving us a moving description of the difficult reality for young girls who follow their ballet dream. In this production, we experience a child taking control of her own life and finding her place in art as an adult woman.

Target group: From 16 years old

Venue: Pilotscenen

Duration: 55 minutes

Language: English

Cast:

Concept, direction and performer: Miřenka Čechová 

Musicians on stage: Mary C. 

Dramaturgy: Martina Kinská 

Regi collaboration: Janka Ryšánek Schmidtová 

Theater collaboration: Tereza Dočkalová

Music: Martin Tvrdý 

Lighting design: Filip Horn 

Animation: Linda Arbanová 

Costumes and props: Eva Matoušová 

Set design: Petr Boháč and Eva Matoušová

Thu 19. - Fri October 20, 2023

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