Join us for a unique ecology and dance double-bill bringing together land and sea: first our special American guest lecturer, who is both a marine ecologist and a dancer, and then an encounter with Central European choreographers in the process of creating a multi-phase biological performance cycle inspired by the Carpathian Mountains.
1) Dorota Michalak & Alica Minar (CZ/DE/PL/SK): LUSH BLAST | performative walk | work in progress
A performative walk guiding our attention towards sentient processes and the orchestration of various bodies that co-form the site. Attuning our senses to minor movements, elemental dramas and visceral interconnections. A practice of letting go of control and celebrating life’s innate exuberance. This work-in-progress version of LUSH BLAST follows the notion of wilderness rooted in the more-than-human heritage of Carpathians. It is anchored in local narratives of natural disasters, cross-species collaborations, human interventions and the ongoing political struggle for ecological land management. Along the way, stories and practices are shared to unleash our perception and fuel our imagination. The narration is a woven hybrid, combining live performance, traditional songs, the loudness of saws and the sweetness of sugar. Can dance mend our ties to the land and intimately imbricate us? Part of the Live Performance Bazaar Residencies program.
LUSH BLAST will take place in English and Czech.
2) Courageous practice sharing | Carolyn Hall (USA): EMBODYING ECOSYSTEMS | multimedia talk
Bridging the worlds of natural science and performing arts is Carolyn Hall, a freelance performer from Brooklyn, a Bessie Award-winning artist, a historical marine ecologist and an accomplished science communication teacher. In a multimedia talk, she will share some of her art-meets-science public projects and demonstrate approaches to holding and engaging others in both disciplines. What steps does she regularly take to connect these worlds and deepen the general public’s understanding of the natural world? How to bring science to art and art to science? As a scientist, her research focuses on past and present human impacts on coastal ecosystems and the living creatures within them. At the same time, she is increasingly invested in combining her artistic and scientific halves in public contexts to make data-rich science more understandable, embodied and memorable for the general public. Carolyn Hall comes to Prague at the recommendation of colleagues at the GPS/Global Practice Sharing project run by Movement Research in New York.
Carolyn Hall’s talk will be in English with simultaneous interpretation into Czech.
LUSH BLAST TEAM:
Choreography, dance: Dorota Michalak (PL/DE), Alica Minar (CZ/DE)
Dance: Breeanne Saxton (US/DE)
Music: & the romantic horse by Ola Zielińska (PL/DE) & Agnieszka Kucharska (PL/DE)
Stage design: Natálie Rajnišová (CZ)
Light design: Raquel Rosildete (BR/DE)
Dramaturgy: Maikon Kempinski (BR/DE)
Text and communication: Katarína Bakošová (SK/CZ)
Production: Dorota Michalak (PL/DE), Alica Minar & col. z.s. (CZ)
Partners: Studio Alta in Prague (CZ), Bazaar Festival in Prague (CZ), Uferstudios in Berlin (DE), Teatrul Andrei Muresan in Sfantu Gheorghe (RO), Divadlo X10 in Prague (CZ), Hellerau in Dresden (DE).
Supporter: State Fund of Culture of the Czech Republic.
Present during the residency: Dorota Michalak, Alica Minar, Breeanne Saxton, Agnieszka Kucharska, Ola Zielińska
Carolyn Hall is a Brooklyn, NY-based award-winning freelance dancer/performer, historical marine ecologist and communication instructor. She specializes in science communication but loves working with and learning about all areas of expertise. In dance, Carolyn has had a rich career collaborating with numerous choreographers and companies both nationally and internationally and is currently involved in projects with Carrie Ahern, Maho Ogawa, and Clarinda Mac Low. As a freelance ecologist, Carolyn focuses on the impacts humans have had on shoreline ecosystems and the creatures within them. NYC and its deep water-based history serve as her archive. She is also the research assistant and fact checker for best-selling author Paul Greenberg. Carolyn’s ecology and art intersect in new ways all the time, but most notably in the experiential climate change sensing project Sunk Shore, with the art-eco collective Works on Water and as the Co-Creative Programs Coordinator at Genspace. You can find Carolyn Hall discussing communication with the American Fisheries Society’s Climate Ambassadors Program and with Exact Communication. For more, please see carolynjhall.com.
Supported by:
LUSH BLAST is part of the LIVE PERFORMANCE BAZAAR RESIDENCIES programme with financial support from the European Union and the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.
The SHARING COURAGEOUS PRACTICES project is implemented with the financial participation of the EU through the National Recovery Plan and the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.
Carolyn Hall appears in Prague thanks to the support of the Trust for Mutual Understanding and Workshop Foundation, Budapest.