Columns

For years, I have made no secret of the fact that I dislike the identification of artists by nation of origin on posters and promotional materials. I get that certain funding applications demand international participation. 

I have been preparing podcasts for Taneční aktuality for a couple of years now. I'm currently finishing up the Young Blood series, in which I try to show what problems dancers face at the beginning of their careers. For this discussion, I wanted to invite a National Theatre dancer.

In October 2023, Taneční Aktuality / Czech Dance News, organized a gathering at which it invited dance writers to examine to what extent dance review can be sustained as a media practice in today’s information landscape.

There is an artistic anarchy in the PONEC Theatre. On the last day of November, the position of artistic director, which had been held for two years and three months by Markéta Perroud, was abolished. 

The dance world is traditionally accustomed to seeing the figure of the critic standing there, slightly above the artists, judging or attempting to provide a solid, grounded, and unbiased opinion about an artwork.

Only two years ago, there were quiet salon discussions about artificial intelligence, which seemed to be something mysterious and far from reality. 

At the beginning of October, the National Theatre Ballet published the following on its Facebook profile: “Dance Europe magazine has announced the CRITICS' CHOICE poll.” 

Students of two artistic schools, the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (DAMU) and the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno (JAMU), have voiced their concerns about the current situation at their alma maters. 

Last summer, following the then gradual loosening of many Covid-19 restrictions, when the turn came for culture, there was a production titled Greta featured on the summer scene of VILA Štvanice. 

Last week, the dance world was rocked by the sudden death of 35-year-old British choreographer Liam Scarlett. The cause of his untimely demise has not been specified yet...

On the web, I come across articles which argue whether the essence of dance is really movement or something else, and I read through debates in which people question the necessity of dance in a dance performance. 

In the past days, the news has been all but positive. However, apart from the downsides that media tend to discuss over and over again, on a daily basis, the current situation has a positive face, too.

As is seems, there’s been a growing discourse on the issue of dance criticism recently. What purpose does (or should) dance criticism serve?

The Thalia Awards are changing - they must react to what is going on in the theatre world; newly they will not be presented after a calendar year but after a season, the categories are transforming too…

Last Tuesday, a debate over the professional organisation Vize tance took place in Studio Alta. As it showed, the organisation had been lacking leadership for a couple of months and is now close to its end.