LET THE BODY SPEAK is a hub of Ukrainian contemporary dance during the war.

This project is supported by the British Council, within the framework of the grant program "UK/Ukraine Season of Culture", together with the Ukrainian Institute. It was created in collaboration with The Place (London, UK). 

The main idea of the project is to create a video archive of works, movement practices and discussions of Ukrainian dancers and choreographers and save documentation of somatic experience and visual evidence of processes occurring in the Ukrainian contemporary dance after February 24, 2022.

 

For the festival, we decided to combine video projections with live solos by selected dancers who work in different places in Europe: Maria Martos in Krakow, PL, Mariia Salo in Lviv, UA and Veronika Horiacha newly in Prague, CZ:

Maria Martos - Un/opportunity of communication - is an original solo she created in January 2023 in Krakow. She says to it:

“War, as a common process unites people through political, social and cultural aspects, but, at the same time, being a deeply intimate experience, leaves the individual in a deep separation on different levels. This is Un/opportunity to speak about communication within having nothing, but space, time and body, facing the questions: - what do I have, when I have nothing? Looking into the body, that goes through ongoing questions/feelings/states, finds and loses itself in them.” 

 

Mariia Salo - Black Tie(D) - she has had a series of solo performances (Wondering, KZ, The Right Place), which she is trying to follow up with her own work after her return to Ukraine. In her solos, Mariia reveals the themes of human philosophy, reactions and realities of life reflected in society. The solo is based on reflections on mass culture, a society dominated by surrogates of joy, acceptance and approval. Often in the pursuit of “bettering ourselves” we end up in a state of self-harm. In my solo, I see the framework of beauty and style as limiting us. Black tied, tied with a black tie. In this work there is a music of Roman Dalebi, made of different kind of noises of high heels, that remind us about the feelings when we are wearing them. 

 

Veronika Horiacha came to the Czech Republic from Spain and is working on a new short solo with choreographer Yana Reutova. Under her guidance she worked in the contemporary dance studio “Plastilin” in Chornomorsk, Ukraine, where she also worked as a teacher and choreographer for children in the studio. Now she is creating a solo with her, to which she says: “Every contact leaves an indelible mark in our life and development, it remains in our memory for a long time. The viewer becomes an integral part of the work. Someone became an accidental witness, someone had no choice, someone was intrigued, someone succumbed to temptation, and someone remained an indifferent observer who became a  participant for that very reason. To which of them do you belong?”

 

For more than a year, Ukrainians have been experiencing an unimaginably difficult situation and the perspective is still unclear. A number of women artists have gone to friendly countries to pursue creative work, some have returned, others have stayed, many others have not left Ukraine and are trying to pursue art there. Focus Ukraine will present examples of their work in various formats. Iryna Zapolska works sensitively with the youngest children - toddlers together with dancers in Kiev, but lives in Germany. Mariia Salo has returned to Lviv to create short solos. Rita Lira has found a base in France, Maria Martos in Krakow, Poland. Nika Horiacha spent a year in a refugee camp in Spain and has now joined Yana Reutova in Prague.