Premiere: A new dance happening brings everyday magic into railway station halls

What happens when a railway station becomes a stage instead of a theatre hall? What emotions hide in quiet goodbyes, in impatient waiting, or in the moment when the eyes of strangers meet for just a second? And can contemporary dance truly speak to those who wouldn’t normally buy a ticket to see it?

The performative project Connecting/Stations, created in collaboration between the Slovak collective Tanečno and MOVE Ostrava, brings contemporary dance directly into everyday public life - into train stations, among suitcases, departures, returns, and chance encounters. This site-specific happening, premiering on 24 June in Trnava and 25 June in Banská Bystrica, breaks down the boundary between the space of the everyday and the space of shared experience, inviting audiences to pause.

Perhaps even with themselves.

The author of the concept, Slovak choreographer and performer Andrej Štepita, noticed during his frequent travels (not only for art) that in places where hundreds of strangers pass each other every day, a space for something more than transit is created - a space for art. With this new dance project, he decided to bring contemporary performance directly into public space - among people, generations, social layers, departures and reunions, escapes and returns.

The movement grows from simple, everyday contact and naturally develops into partner-based choreographic work. The result is a dance that doesn’t tell stories - it lives them, together with the audience.

“Connecting/Stations is a continuation of the research project Passing/Station, which I originally developed together with performer and creator Miriam Budzáková in the form of a series of performative actions in railway station halls. The project was presented in several Slovak cities, and in 2021 it took on an international dimension, when – in collaboration with musician Hannes Schögl and the collective Artemporis – a new version was created.

The idea to build on the original piece and expand the duet into a work for multiple performers came from a desire to continuously explore new forms of human contact and mutual interaction. This never-ending research is also a metaphor for the constant social changes and developments that we manifest through compelling public interventions.

I am glad that the work continues to grow, because I see a great deal of potential in this type of performance — and with a larger ensemble and a strong creative team, that potential can be fully realized.”

— Andrej Štepita, choreographer and performer

The core inspiration for this project has always been the everyday - the kind we often pass by without noticing. This visually striking, physically intense and emotionally delicate happening was created from the desire to make contemporary dance more accessible to a wider public, and to place it within a setting that already carries deep symbolic meaning. Railway stations and transit spaces are not only points of departure and arrival - they are emotional landscapes, imprinted with memories that belong to all of us. They hold collective traces of waiting, returning, longing, separation, reunion. The performance seeks to capture this daily emotionality and offer audiences a space to slow down and feel again.

“Train stations are emotional maps,” explains choreographer Andrej Štepita. “They remind us of what we feel when we pause - joy, loneliness, hope, sadness, and new beginnings.”

The main intention of the creators is to return art to public space in its original and deeply human function – as a tool that connects, expands thought and feeling, and brings our attention back to the present moment. But this is not only a performance – it is, above all, a meeting. A space for dialogue between communities that might never otherwise cross paths.

“Connecting/Stations creates a platform for encounters between different communities and opens dialogue — not through words, but through presence, movement, and shared experience. Its ambition is not only to connect Czech and Slovak initiatives and support artist mobility across regions, but also to reach new audiences and spread an original, accessible form of contemporary dance beyond established frameworks,” adds Jana Ryšlavá.

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The movement language of the performance is rooted in everyday physical contact – natural, unforced interactions that gradually unfold into intense physical and partner-based choreographic situations. The creators listen to the rhythm of the day, observing what happens between experiences, and transform these micro-moments into a poetic physical language that speaks to any audience, regardless of age, background, or cultural familiarity.

In Connecting/Stations, dance becomes a medium of understanding and empathy – gently, but insistently reminding us that even in the rush of daily life, it is still possible to pause and look differently. At the core of the choreography is the relationship between bodies: touch, support, weight-sharing, closeness and distance… all of which are not only familiar to dancers, but to anyone living everyday human relationships.

As part of this Czech–Slovak co-production, the project also supports cross-border collaboration, connecting artists and audiences in both countries. The aim is not only to create a strong artistic work, but also to popularize contemporary dance in public space, engage new audiences, and expand the role of contemporary dance within the cultural context. The project strives to be not only locally relevant, but also internationally understandable — thanks to its accessibility, imagery, and strong emotional resonance.

The premiere tour will take place on Tuesday, 24 June in the main hall of the train station in Trnava, and one day later in Banská Bystrica. The performances will be free and open to the public, taking place directly in public space, reinforcing the project’s intention to bring contemporary art beyond traditional cultural institutions. Further presentations are planned across cities in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, including appearances at international festivals. The goal is for the piece to continue living — continuously responding to the spaces in which it takes place and to the people who experience it.

Creative Team

The project is created by a Czech–Slovak team of distinctive artists working in the field of contemporary movement arts:

• Andrej Štepita – performer, teacher and founder of the festival Tanečno, whose work draws from the energy and explosive dynamics of movement.

  
  

• Jana Ryšlavá – performer, choreographer and founder of MOVE Ostrava, working at the intersection of dance and acrobatic partnering.

  
  

• Michaela Králiková – performer and author of Sign Dance research, which bridges contemporary dance and sign language.

  
  

• Viktorie Szalóczi – dancer and acrobat with Cirk La Putyka, specialized in tightwire and aerial disciplines.

  
  

• Matúš Szeghö – dancer, choreographer and founder of MOMENTUM Dance Team, working across Vienna, Prague and Bratislava.

  
  

• Zuzana Burianová – choreographer, musician and dance film author, with a long-term focus on intergenerational dialogue through movement.

  
  

• Jakub Turác – percussionist performing on club stages and festival platforms, awarded both as a soloist and as a member of ensembles.

The project is supported from public funds by the Slovak Arts Council (Fond na podporu umenia) and the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.