Bretoncaffe Theatre was founded in 2001 in Warsaw by three artists, who in their work combine contemporary dance/movement, acting, dance and music: Anna Godowska, Sławomir Krawczyński and Dominik Strycharski. In 2003 the group welcomed a new member – Anita Wach. Bretoncaffe perceives dance as the totality of things that involve working with the body, where the body is treated as a medium for psychological contents. Dance and acting coexist in natural harmony as they constitute two aspects of one and the same process – physical manifestation of mental phenomena. Bretoncaffe’s operation has been developing simultaneously in three fields – art, research and education – which constitute a cohesive whole, based on a community of ideas, beliefs, passions, questions and explorations regarding both art and life. During the 9 years of its activity, Bretoncaffe created 12 spectacles, presented and awarded at numerous festivals in Poland. The Theatre also represented Polish art abroad – in France, Germany, Estonia, Croatia, Slovenia, Czech Republic and Hungary. Its members took part in international projects, including those organized by Centre National de la Danse, THEOREM, Choreographisches Zentrum NRW, Germany, and Centre Dramatique Le Manege Mons, Belgium. In 2004 the group initiated a research project titled “Dance of a Dreaming Body”, aimed at applying the philosophy and methodology of Arnold Mindell’s process-oriented psychology to dance and theater practice. The idea of the project was inspired by the artist’s longtime fascination with the workof Carl Gustav Jung. “Dance of a Dreaming Body” is realized in cooperation with the Academy of Process-Oriented Psychology in Warsaw. It is the first initiative of that kind in Poland. The shows “Dancing Sarah Kane” and “Topinambur” were presented within Polish Dance Platform 2008 and 2010.
Harakiri Farmers is an artistic initiative of Wojtek Klimczyk and Dominika Knapik. It is a space in which diverse projects are created – sometimes a choreography, sometimes a show, sometimes a film. It all started in 2008 with “Keret”, performative experiment performed in swimming pool. Since then Harakiri Farmers has been successful enoug to present their works at home and abroad. They visited, among others, Wrocław, Poznań, Aarhus and Kaunas. HAFA has no leader, no seat and no steady subsidy. In 2011 Wojtek and Dominika co-founded Association for Humanistic Initiatives in Arts “Sztruks” hoping to make their working conditions better one day. Yet they are perfectly aware it will not happen soon. In the long run it is, as Michał Gradowski put it, just a “painful harakiri performed with a blunt blade” (Gazeta Wyborcza, Poznań).
Agata Maszkiewicz choreographer and performer. In October 2009 she graduated Institute of Dance Arts at the Anton Bruckner Privatuniversitaet in Linz, Austria (Master of Arts M.A.). She is a recipient of the danceWEB scholarship in 2006. From January till June 2007 she continued her education in the Centre Choreoghraphique National (CCN) in Montpellier as a participant of the ex.e.r.ce program (under the guidance of Xavier Le Roy). Next to her own work, she collaborates with the collective Superamas, Ivana Müller, Alix Eynaudi, Anne Juren and recently with theatre director Weronika Szczawińska. In her own work (“Don Kiewicz i Sanczo Waniec”, „Polska”, „Snowflakes” „From A to P”) she uses different forms creating dance/theatre performances, videos, installations and texts where choreography is used as the main dramaturgical tool. She likes tracing various social patterns and transforming them on stage in a humorous as well as poetic way. The Austrian critic Helmut Ploebst called her a „sociocritical choreographer”. Agata presented her works in many festivals in Poland, Austria (her place of artistic residence) and all over Europe.
Renata Piotrowska choreographer and performer; in her works she is using tools of dance, especially its new streams and elements of performance art understanding choreography as a composition of equal elements: space, light, sound, bodies and objects. Renata creates her own works since 2007. She has collaborated with artists like Michael Schumacher, Nigel Charnock, Iwona Olszowska and Rafał Dziemidok. She has received various scholarships from the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Art Stations Foundation and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage (Młoda Polska programme, 2010). Her “Dancing with an enemy” and “Unknown” has been presented within Polish Dance Platform in 2008 and 2010. Currently Renata Piotrowska lives in France studying choreography in ex.e.r.ce programme in Montpellier.