Play It, So 17 Dances About Something

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The Play

It’s 2044. Janina, Jan and Janka start working on an experimental documentary. In one of the rooms of a well-maintained museum theater, while making use of some former technologies (MacBookPro, overhead projector, etc.), costumes (Milan Fashion Week, 2013) and emotions (early twenty-first century cinema, dance, theater), Janina, Jan and Janka try to play out that SOMETHING that was the THING.

Directors’ Note

In 2012, with a symbolic show Celebration so the end and Once Again, we closed two decades of the existence of Dada Theatre. With the performance , Play it, So 17 Dances About Something,  we’re going to enter a new Dada Epoch, by loosening the shackles binding all artistic creation of such a long-lived form. Please let us not reveal the inspiration and intentions that accompanied us while working on Play it. The inspiration and intentions are, in fact subject to constant evolution until the premiere day. To those impatient, we can offer a short note announcing the show. However, we cannot resist not mentioning that we’re approaching 100th anniversary of the first emanation of Dada (Zürich 1916). Hence, once again we would like to publicly confess our belief that, since that memorable event, everything has only been as it is, and can no longer be any different. Play It, So 17 Dances About Something, is a collective brainchild of three Dada artists: Anna Steller, Katarzyna Chmielewska and Leszek Bzdyl, the co-founders of this one of a kind and legendary Theatre.

The Directors

Leszek Bzdyl – A dancer, actor, choreographer, director as well as founder and artistic director of Dada von Bzdülöw Theatre, he has been involved in a professional stage career since 1987. He graduated from Department of Philosophy and History, University of Wrocław, in 1990 and founded Dada von Bzdülöw Theatre in 1993 with Katarzyna Chmielewska. He has been awarded by the Minister of National Education (1999), the Marshal of the Pomerania Region (2006) and Theatre Pasta International Theatre Awards – India (2007) for his artistic achievements. In 2010, he was conferred with a ‘Meritorious for Polish Culture’ medal, by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage.

 Katarzyna Chmielewska – A dancer, choreographer, director, dance teacher as well as founder & artistic director of Dada von Bzdülöw Theatre, Katarzyna graduated from the State Ballet School in Gdańsk (1984-1993), following which she studied at P.A.R.T.S in Brussels (1996-1997). She has been involved with numerous Polish cultural institutions e.g.: the Ballet Group of the Baltic State Opera House, Gdańsk (1993-1994), Gdańsk Dance Theatre (1994-1995), City Theatre, Gdynia (1997-2000), Klub Żak, Gdańsk (2000-2008) and Wybrzeże Theatre, Gdańsk (2008-present). She has been awarded by the Mayor of Gdańsk and the Marshal of the Pomerania Region for outstanding and lifetime artistic achievement.

Anna Steller – A dancer, performer and choreographer, Anna has been an actress and dancer in Dada von Bzdűlőw Theatre, since 2003. Since 2004, she has been performing with ‘Read My LipsTheatre’. In 2005, she co-established ‘Good Girl Killer’ collective. She is a proud recipient of the Dance Web Scholarship for the 2003 Impulstanz dance workshops and festival in Vienna. In 2012, Steller was awarded by the Marshal of the Pomerania Region for her outstanding achievement in the field of dance and theatre.

The Group

Dada von Bzdülöw Theatre is an independent group of professional dancers and actors staging performances, in cooperation with home and foreign cultural institutions, such as: Teatr Wybrzeże, Gdańsk,  Klub Żak, Gdańsk,  Dance Advance, Philadelphia, USA, Les Hivernales, Avignon, France, Old Brewery,/Poznań and Teatr Nowy, Łódź; Nuova Foundation, Poznań. Since 2008, it is affiliated with Teatr Wybrzeże, Gdańsk, and has been regularly staging all its premiere & repertoire performances there. As of today, Dada has produced more than 45 performances, some of its productions are, Play it, so 17 dances about something, Enclave 4/7, Invisible Duets, Le Sacre, Caffè Lattè and Red Grass.

Directed, Choreographed by:
 Katarzyna Chmielewska, Anna Steller, Leszek Bzdyl

Manohar Khushalani

Manohar Khushalani

Prof. Manohar Khushalani is a former Visiting Faculty at Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi. The courses he taught were: Animation & Graphics, Non-Linear Editing for Film and Radio and Theatre Appreciation.  He has won a total of nine Excellence in Teaching awards for all the courses he has taught at IIITD Earlier he retired from Government of India as Director Environment Management, Central Water Commission and held many senior positions in the Government Based on a Belief that Culture and Environment are the two keys to global sustainability , Manohar Khushalani has launched two portals: A Portal on Environment and Water called One Vorld at url: www.onevorld.org and two Ezines on Culture called Stage Buzz at url: www.stagebuzz.in He has taught extensively in varied subjects such as Dam Safety, Instrumentation, CAD, IT, Animation, Theatre, Newspaper Editing. He has conducted Courses on Environment Management, Water Shed Development, Team Building and Personality Development. He was an Expert Member of Prasar Bharti’s Committee for Grading & Short listing Films for Telecast on all channels of Doordarshan.  He is a Radio Anchor for All India Radio and has moderated several programs for the Rajdhani Channel He is a well-known Theatre Actor/Director and Critic, has been involved in theatre since 1977. He has worked as an actor in over 50 plays with almost every leading director/Actor in the Country including Badal Sircar, Feisal Alkazi, Amal Allana, M.K. Raina, Anuradha Kapoor, Maya Rao, Manohar Singh, Prasanna, Rati Bartholomew and Sushmita Mukherji. He has been active in the social sector as a street theatre activist. As a member of Workshop Theatre, Theatre Union and Prayog, Khushalani has participated in street plays taking up major social issues such as dowry, bride burning, Sati, banned medicinal drugs and communalism. Dario Fo’s Accidental Death of an Anarchist and Can’t Pay Won’t Pay, both directed by him, received rave notices from critics and audiences alike. Other plays directed by him include Badal Sircar’s, Sagina Mahato and Boris Vian’s Empire Builders for Ruchika Theatre Group. Khushalani has also acted in a few films such as Sudhir Mishra's Hazaron Khwaishen Aisi , Shoojit Sircar’s Madras Café and Pradeep Krishan's Annie Gives Those Ones. He is an Animator & Graphics Designer and has directed a number of documentaries. He also held a number of Honorary positions and was President of North India Films Association, He was the Chairman of  Jury for UGC CEC Educational Films Competition and has been on their Preview Committee since last many years. He was on the preview committee of Door Darshan Channel 3, was a visiting Professor at National School of Drama, New Delhi, and Film & Television Institute of India, Pune, AJKMCRR, Jamia Milia Islamia and Professor in Media at FICT, Delhi  He has judged a large number of Drama Competitions and conducted a number of Theatre / Management Games Workshops with Institutions such as AIIMS, NTPC, CWPRS, NWA, Karve Nari Prakshishan Sansthan, FICT, IIT, MAMC, Gargi College, KNC, Tagore International School and Vivekananda School. He is a Theatre Critic for IIC Diary, has also been a Columnist with Midday and Pioneer Daily and wrote Column's Called Culture Cocktail and Footlights Respectively. He was also the Guest Editor for an issue on Folk Theatre of ICCR Journal Horizons. He has written for Times of Indian, Hindustan Times, Blitz, Hard News, Hindu Business Line, Theatre India & Art Times. He has designed dams and hydraulic structures for the Government. He is a programmer and has developed Engineering design software in Fortran. He is a co-author of Irrigation Practice & Design (Vol 1 to5 - 1500 pages) published by Oxford & IBH and sponsored by National Book Trust. He has been a Director, Environment and Sociology, at the National Water Academy, Khadakwasla and Director, Environment Management Directorate, Central Water Commission and Member Secretary, National Environmental Monitoring Committee for River Valley Projects. He was also Director of Instrumentation Directorate in the Dam Safety Organisation. He was Chief General Manager and Head of Water Resources at Scott Wilson and is an accredited consultant with numerous other organizations He is a Delhi Public School, BITS Pilani, IIT Delhi and FTI Pune Alumini. He was also the President of BITS Pilani Alumni Association, Pune.

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