For three years already, summer Prague has been traditionally enlivened by two sister festivals: Zero Point and Behind The Door. While Behind The Door bursts with street theater and enchantments, The Zero Point focuses more on dance and movement theater. Theatre in Celetná became its main venue and the festival also used an unconventional space Divus Vltava.
The Zero Point is coordinated from the dramaturgical point by Petr Boháč, artistic director of Spitfire company. Therefore it is not surprising that a large part of the programme consists of the work of this group. Since this year failed to introduce a Czech premiere within the festival, the audience could only choose from performances they already had the opportunity to see during the season. This is not a bad thing, good performances need time to mature, moreover those Petr Bohac chose for this year were one of the most successful performances of the season. For example, One step before the fall is one of the most impressive performances offered this year to the dance community, and Markéta Vacovská received the award Dancer of the Year for it in the evalution of the Czech Dance platform. It is a performance full of tension and strong emotions.
There was also a performance by Lenka Vagnerova, anot
her successful and creative young dancer and choreographer (her choreography Riders was awarded at the Czech Dance Platform this year as the best production of the year). However, within The Zero point Vagnerová presented another piece of hers - La Loba, which aspires to great success. It is balanced dramaturgically, choreographically, it is rich in original ideas, mysticism... It gets under the skin.
The program included performances by Polish, Hungarian and Danish productions, work in progress of an Israeli co-production or choreography by Andrey Miltnerová Dance of a magnetic ballerina.
The closing of the festival was crazy this year. It was taken care of by TRAPART group with their performance Lived awkwardness that consisted of several tableaux. Thanks to the concept of the piece viewers could get familiar with a space Divus Vltava, otherwise closed for public. The entire final evening took place there. The audience walked through a bar, a shower, direction and rhythm was dictated by various instruments or vocals. Young four-member group TRAPART really knew their thing.
Space during the evening was also given to the participants of a course entitled PAFF - Young blood in motion, who worked during the festival on their stage expression with mimes Miřenka Čechová and Radim Vizváry. It was really worth their 
while, because in ten minutes of their speech they were able to entertain the audience. Although it was not a "full evening performance", it anyway proved that honest work can be seen even in a very short demo. To be as one body, interact on stage, listen to each other, to be able to open oneself and respond, that's what the participants will bring with themselves from this course - and that's not little.
The final touch was added by a performance Shrimps à la Indigo - flirty, seductive, playful, totally relaxed and very shiny. In a pleasant mood that reigned in Divus Vltava after previous performances, and after a glass of wine, this conclusion simply fit and it highlighted the perfectly organized festival.
International festival Zero Point 201315th – 20th July 2013
Theatre in Celetná, Divus Vltava
Josef Bartos
Thank you for your thoughts. One got stuck in my mind – that passion makes us different from AI. Just yesterday I read…I am a dance critic. I am a member of an endangered species