My Artistic Statement

ARTISTIC APPROACH

My artistic work is marked by an inner feeling of being a rootless nomad; someone shaped by my experience, history and the emotional sediments I carry from my birthplace and early life in the Czech Republic to where I am today, in Montreal. This nomadic existence has shaped my own sense of self and my need to stay in constant movement; seeking evolution and self improvement. 

Like my past, I am in constant movement, physically and creatively. I carry with me imprints of my transient life and my desire is to share those experiences and to discover new spaces for the spectator's imaginative mind.

As a rolling stone, I have never had the chance to become rooted in the social expectations of a single place, hierarchy, culture or dance aesthetics. Instead, I carry with me essential excerpts of different cultures that are important to me on the path of my own discovery. I want to evoke in the artists who I collaborate with and audience alike their own search followed by acceptance of identity of “self” and “others” in its difference and in its complexity.

I view dance as a very complex form of artistic expression that cannot be restricted to a single aesthetic.                                   

As a choreographer, I  synthesize a number of approaches and techniques within contemporary dance, including my ballet background and other forms of art that serve my artistic vision, creating my own “hybrid” dance vocabulary within a inter-disciplinary universe. 

I like telling a story through dance. A story of the universal search for humanity, the urgency for creating relationships to other beings, the interconnectedness of universe.  I am often re-constructing images of shared situations, experiences or emotions from everyday life, to which people can rely, manifesting in multiple ways in given space and time - the performance. 

I see the performance as a sacred space, where people through a direct experience, connect to their present self and forget about their daily routine. The stage for me is an empty book, the dancers body is the pen and the movements are the words written in a universal language of dance.                      

My movements as a separate words are precise and dynamic, but put together in a phrase they remain very fluid. I like to play with the contrast between extension and release, while keeping the lower body very grounded. Mastering a dance technique as well strong stage presence in the dancers I collaborate is for me a must. I believe that steady technique allows me to create a hypnotic effect, to capture attention and release the imagination of the curious spectator.  

What plays an important role in my work is the choice of music and minimalistic approach to the scenography. I carefully choose my props and lights effects, without over-saturation. I always think less is more and I consider myself a minimalist.

I am absorbed by the idea of collaboration and the exploration of other artistic mediums such as video projection, new technologies, text, soundscape and other, which, when properly utilized can greatly enrich the dance expression by contextualizing ideas, either directly or by juxtaposition, within the abstractedness of dance, creating an inter-disciplinary universe.

Lastly I want to create a supportive, collaborative work environment, which enables artist’s to take bold chances.