We invite you to the 11th edition of the festival of contemporary dance, physical theater, and new circus, which will take place in the beating heart and yet undiscovered corners of Ostrava from September 25 to 29, 2024. The number 11 is considered in some Native American cultures as a symbol of the natural and organic cycle and transformation. And for the cycle to renew and the transformation to be complete, it is necessary to leave. Leave behind the old, the unnecessary, the dysfunctional, the unsuitable, or simply leave and change direction. And since leaving is also a movement, it is the perfect theme for this year's edition.
The edition will offer a series of 6 dance performances from both Czech and international artists across various genres, 1 outdoor performative project, 1 curated evening of student choreographies, and a rich accompanying program including screenings of dance films, movement workshops, discussions, and activities (for cultural journalists and critics as well).
You can already look forward to 5 unforgettable days full of movement, experiences, and encounters, which will unfold in a dramaturgical arc from the grand opening with the powerful dance duet Where to the top-tier Swedish contemporary circus performance Les.
MOVE Fest Ostrava will open at the Poruba Cultural House Poklad with an intimate and flawless collaboration between Thália Award winners Helena Arenbergerová and Václav Kuneš in an intergenerational movement dialogue. This performance was created as part of the 42+PEOPLE project, which focuses on exploring the careers of performers over the age of 42.
At the seemingly genre-opposite end stands the final performance – a project by the young Swedish new circus company Right Way Down, which is literally built on the technique of hand balancing, but transforms it into a modern, dynamic, and visually captivating approach. Against the backdrop of the gloomy Forest, a new life, new hope, a new ecosystem, and a fresh interpretation of new circus slowly but surely unfold on stage.
Between these two symbolic peaks of the festival program, you'll find equally significant performative pieces, such as the result of the Slovak-Italian co-production YOLT - You Only Live Twice, which will make you laugh, think, reflect, and question. Or the powerful movement documentary drama Vnorená by the Slovak ensemble ODIVO, which truly digs deep into the festival theme of leaving behind.
Lighter, playful, and even suitable for the youngest audience members – these are the performances that will be presented at Studio G. You can look forward to the puppet The Nutcracker - A Vegetable Ballet with the iconic music by P. I. Tchaikovsky, featuring garlic, ginger, eggplant, six walnuts, and a rat, as well as the grand theatre piece about small and even smaller things, Microworlds.
Is your head spinning from all this, and you'd rather let this article go? Fair enough! You can explore the rest of the program with arriving companies and performers who will share their stories about departures and farewells, but also about renewal and hope, here. Get ready for performances that will captivate your senses and mind, and inspire reflection on the lifelong cycle of leaving and accepting, this never-ending movement forward.
Come and experience the festival of performative arts, where leaving means a new beginning!
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