TANEC PRAHA Festival 1997 | 15 June – 2 July 1997

Merce Cunningham personally came to Prague and despite his advanced age did not hesitate to perform on stage, modest, humble, and incredibly charismatic. Among mid-sized companies dominated the Swiss Alias, also returning to Prague was Guilherme Botelho, who danced here with the Geneva Ballet, and choreographer of the Brazilian Balé Teatro Castro Alves. Betontanc from Slovenia was a pleasant surprise, as were Clara Andermatt from Portugal, 2 in 1 from Hungary and the Croatian duet Mare, resonating next to the Czech scene. In that same year, a new venue for nonverbal art appeared in Prague thanks to Ctibor Turba: Alfred ve dvoře. The pressure on spaces suitable for dance was great; the festival worked hard to modify the large auditorium of the Trade Fair Palace to move a year later into a sports hall and circus tent. Only in 1999 did it manage to return to the big theatres and two years later to open its own dance venue.