PREMIERE: A new family movement performance about the land of eternal ice, warm memories, and the power of community.

Mover
Aug 3
4 min read

The creative teams of the renowned contemporary dance and physical theatre companies FysioART and MOVE Ostrava present a new performance Wild Geese, developed over many months of research and collaborative creation. Audiences 6+ can look forward to a playful production at the intersection of contemporary dance and new circus, inspired by Nordic mythology and its echoes in today’s world - a story of freedom and the courage to fly to the ends of the earth to find it.

Wild Geese will take flight for the first time on 31 August 2025 as part of the Letní Letná festival in Prague, followed by its Ostrava premiere on MOVE Fest Ostrava 2025.

Movement as Instinct, Community as Strength

Each year, thousands of wild geese travel across continents. Their flight is a choreography of perfect coordination, mutual support, and the tireless search for a new home. Just like birds, humans also migrate - physically, emotionally, and metaphorically. On this foundation, the co-production Wild Geese explores themes of migration, adaptability, and trust in collective movement. It asks how we might live in balance with nature: taking only what we need to survive, and finding ways to give back.

Under the direction of Hana Strejčková, an international Czech–Slovak team of performers, choreographers, and musicians spent many months researching how to translate the movement of a flock into the human body, how to transform space through minimalist scenography, and how to carry the physical sensation of flight from the stage into the audience.

Creation at the Intersection of Dance, Acrobatics and Object Theatre

Wild Geese is not a traditional dance performance. It weaves together contemporary dance, new circus, physical theatre and live original music, using an unconventional movement language - shifting between individual and collective rhythm, instinctive responses, and acrobatic elements that evoke the currents of air in flight.

“When human energy comes together with the theme of wild geese, Arctic landscapes and Central European wood, a sculptural, dreamlike terrain can emerge - one about resilience and the strength of living beings in harsh conditions, about trust in friendship, and about seeking balance in places where humans can merge with nature,” describes director Hana Strejčková.

The musical composition is created and performed live by Vladivojna La Chia, who shapes each performance in real time through repetitive rhythms, organic textures, and minimalist motifs that evoke the sensation of endless flight.

Where and how did Wild Geese come to life?

The creation process unfolded in several phases - from authentic research in the Nordic regions at Arctic Culture Lab in Greenland and in the Far East, to studying Arctic sagas, and finally through a series of collective artistic residencies. The team worked, for example, in CirqueoLab in Prague, where the first movement vocabulary and visual tone were formed (and where the behind-the-scenes video was filmed); at Moving Station in Plzeň, where the focus was placed on the physical interplay and shared rhythm between performers; in Varnsdorf, where scenographic concepts were explored and tested; and at Švestkový dvůr, where the performance found its distinct visual and atmospheric identity.

The result is a vivid, imaginative performance for children aged 6+ and their adults, which — thanks to the language-free nature of performative art and a minimalist scenography — invites the audience to engage their own imagination and become part of the endless story of the Wild Geese.

The performance is not only an artistic experience, but also an invitation to reflect: Where are the boundaries between the individual and the group? How do we choose when we must adapt to unexpected change? How does movement become a way of survival?

Creative Team, Premiere Tour & Credits

Authors: Hana Strejčková, Jana Ryšlavá

Direction & Dramaturgy: Hana Strejčková

Performers / Creation: Jana Ryšlavá, Michaela Králiková, Radoslav Piovarči, Jakub Slovák, Matěj Výborný (internship)

Music & Sound Design: Vladivojna La Chia

Choreography: Radoslav Piovarči (Tanc o.z.)

Rigging Consultation: Kateřina Klusáková

Dramaturgical Collaboration: Kateřina Schwarzová

Technical Collaboration: Tomáš Strejček

Production: Eliška Adamovská

Residency Partners:

Moving Station / Johan Centrum Plzeň, Švestkový Dvůr, CIRQUEON, Arctic Culture Lab Greenland, Městské divadlo Varnsdorf

Photo & Video (Cirqueon): Jakub Dušek

Photography: Vojtěch Brtnický, Ivo Šafus

Production & Support

The project is co-produced by MOVE Ostrava & FysioART, with the support of the Prague City Hall, Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, South Bohemian Region, and the State Cultural Fund of the Czech Republic.

The project is realized with the financial participation of the European Union through the National Recovery Planand the Ministry of Culture.

Funded by the European Union – Next Generation EU, IDU and PerformCzech.

The project benefited from residency programs at Moving Station Plzeň, Městské divadlo Varnsdorf, CIRQUEON, Švestkový Dvůr, and Arctic Culture Lab Greenland.