Balet 2019 Award for best ballet production goes to Pilsen

The Taming of the Shrew (Jarmila Hruškociová). Photo by Martina Root.

The BALET 2019 award ceremony, during which diplomas and monetary awards will be presented, will be followed by the performance of the winning production of The Taming of the Shrew in the Estates Theatre on 19 April 2020, 7pm.

Eleven ballet companies from the Czech Republic took part in BALET 2019 showcase, with the total of 28 productions:  The Czech National Ballet (Prague), Laterna magika, The Prague Chamber Ballet, Balet Praha Junior (the company of the Dance Center Prague Conservatoire), the FX Šalda Theatre (Liberec), the South Bohemian Theatre in Ústí nad Labem, the JK Tyl Theatre (Pilsen), the South Bohemian Theatre in České Budějovice, the National Theatre Brno, the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre (Ostrava) and the Moravian Theatre (Olomouc).

The five-member jury included Kateřina Dedková, Lucie Dercsényiová, Lucie Hayashi, Zdeněk Prokeš and Roman Vašek. They collected the record number of 116 expertises having a vital documentary and critical role. Regional ensembles appreciated the interest in their work and also the increasing number of reviews and critiques published in specialist dance magazines and publications.

The competitive showcase BALET 2019 was organised by the Association of Dance Artists of the Czech Republic (the former Czech Dance Association), with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic. All material and monetary awards were provided by Grishko, the Artist Life Foundation and the Czech Literary Fund.

The showcase was joined by all permanent independent ballet companies who had had at least one première in the last five years. “The theatres’ interest in participating in the showcase only confirms that such an event is necessary, as there is the need for confrontation with other companies once in a while, even though we cannot compare them performing in one place and at one time,” says the jury chair Zdeněk Prokeš and continues: “On the other hand, this model is multiple times cheaper, it allows for unlimited choices of repertoire and wide participation of companies. And it is definitely more objective, as the performances take place at their home venues – neither the dancing nor the staging are affected by touring conditions.”

The aim of BALET 2019, founded in 1992, is to encourage dance and ballet companies to direct attention to local original dance productions and to strive to include them regularly into their repertories.  The showcase has revealed what Czech companies consider to be their best and most representative shows.

The Jury, in accordance with the Voting Statute, decided to award the following prizes and monetary awards:

BALET 2019 Main Prize  – a diploma and 25,000CZK material prize provided by Grishko and 10,000CZK cash prize:
JK Tyl Theatre – The Taming of the Shrew
(music Jan Kučera, choreography and direction Alena Pešková)

Award for Best Choreography – a diploma and 10,000CZK cash prize:
PETR ZUSKA - Kytice for the Prague Chamber Ballet

Award for Best Solo Performance - a diploma and 10,000CZK cash prize
IVONA JELIČOVÁ for her role as Kateřina Kabanová in the dance drama Storm in the FX Šalda Theatre in Liberec (directed and choreographed by Alena Pešková)

Award for Best Solo Performance   - a diploma and 10,000CZK cash prize
GAËTAN PIRES for his role as Petruccio in The Taming of the Shrew
in JK Tyl Theatre in Pilsen (directed and choreographed by Alena Pešková)

Award for Best Solo Performance  - a diploma and 10,000CZK cash prize
BARBORA ŠULCOVÁ for her solo role in O Balcão de Amor in the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre in Ostrava (choreographed by Itzik Galili)

Award for Best Solo Performance  - a diploma and 10,000CZK cash prize
ONDŘEJ VINKLÁT for his role as Josef K. in the dance drama The Trial
in the National Theatre, Prague (choreographed and directed by Mauro Bigonzetti)

Award for Best Collective Performance – a diploma and 10,000CZK material prize provided by Grishko
NATIONAL MORAVIAN-SILESIAN THEATRE BALLET COMPANY in Ostrava
for their performance in Rossini Cards (choreographed by Mauro Bigonzetti), with regard to performances in other works in the company‘s present repertoire

The Jury also decided to award certificates of merit to

ODŘEJ BROUSEK (Kytice, Prague Chamber Ballet)
JAN KUČERA (The Taming of the Shrew, JK Tyl Theatre in Pilsen)
for original ballet music score

JAN DUŠEK
for his stage design for the ballet Kytice (Prague Chamber Ballet), with regard to his stage design for Klíče odnikud/Keys from Nowhere (South Bohemian Theatre in České Budějovice)

JAN HLADIlL AND FRANTIŠEK PECHÁČEK
for projections and videomapping designs for Cube in Laterna Magica

PAVEL KNOLLE
for his costume design for Keys from Nowhere (South Bohemian Theatre in České Budějovice) with regard to his costume design for Inscenační porada (South Bohemian Theatre in České Budějovice)

Source: Zdeněk Prokeš and Roman Vašek, BALET 2019 Jury members.