about the production
One of the most remarkable productions of independent scene in the season 2008/2009 was developed within a co-operation between young Slovak dancers – choreographer Stanislava Vlčeková and Daniel Raček and well-known music composer, performer and director Jozef Vlk.
HEXEN is an associative tragedy about relationships and loneliness. The central source of inextinguishable energy which flows from this performance is a physical as well as metaphysical relation between the physicality and non-physicality, a sinusoid of tension and relief. The sensational basis of the production, perfectly balancing between emotionality and an exact dosage of ratio, speaks about the need of not being alone but staying independent, about the inclination to manipulation and impossibility to defence ourselves against being manipulated, about conflicts brought by the male-female principle archetypes. For all this, the creators need only one word; the spoken language is replaced by the language of bodies, sounds and images. The expressive vocabulary of this multi-genre physical theatre is based on an inventive symbiosis of contemporary performing art, oriental dance, movements of Asian martial arts as well as effective usage of the principle of physical stop-time. A precious ingredient is a humorous distanced view, unburdened and unorthodox look at serious private themes of today’s hectic world. The exceptionality of this less than an hour long production lies in a rare ability to hit (or enchant?) the audience, to activate people’s emotional world as well as their ratio-philosophical perception, imagination and fantasy.
The bonus is the original and minimalist visual design by Marija Havran, intentionally using modern computer animations, wonderful music by Jozef Vlk and four perfectly skilled dancers who are not only interpreters but deeply concerned co-creators of this pregnant piece.
In May 2009, the production caused a stir at the international forum – annual meeting IETM Bratislava 2009. The DEBRIS Company will be presented at the Divadelná Nitra for the first time.
Michaela Mojžišová
“HEXEN is a magical piece of theatre in which miraculous things happen. Or rather – in which lives extraordinary energy. It is not theatre of social thoughts nor the criticism of society, it is not an empty psychologization nor formal art for art. It is theatre reminding of experience which you gain together with young people and which fills you with various sensations. Or rather – which awakes in you your slumbering energies by its visual language of movement and gestures assorted by the rules of their own alphabet. Antoin Artaud would be pleased.”
Martina Vannayová: Dangerous Magic, Salto 2008
creators
music and directed by Jozef Vlk
choreography: Stanislava Vlčeková, Daniel Raček
set design: Maria Havran
costumes and visial co-operation: Eva Rácová
visual conception: Martin Piterka
light design: Jozef Vlk, Martin Piterka
music performed by Jozef Vlk, Peter Krajniak, Jozef Lupták, Peter Šesták, Boris Lenko
director
Jozef Vlk (1961) – a music composer, musician, producer, theatre director, performer and film creator. In 1990 he founded an independent theatre company - the Hubris Company, later renamed as the Debris Company. He received a number of fellowships concerning theatre, action art and music (Graz, Stuttgart, Amsterdam...). As a composer of stage music, director and producer he has collaborated on various theatrical, dance, visual-art, musical and multi-genre productions and co-productions in France, Senegal, Germany, the Czech Republic, Great Britain, Belgium, Switzerland etc. In 2008 he received the DOSKY Award in Best Stage Music category.
Daniel Raček (1973) – a choreographer, dancer and teacher. As a dancer he co-operated with various local and foreign choreographers and directors: Marta Renzi, Julyen Hamilton, Eszter Gál, Zuzana Hájková, Matthew Hawkins, Ioana Popovici, Karen Foss, Jozef Fruček etc. In 2006 he received the Philip Morris – Kvet Baletu Prize for Best Contemporary Dance Interpretation in 2005.
Stanislava Vlčeková (1981) – a choreographer, dancer and dance teacher. As one of the few, together with Daniel Raček, she has been focusing profoundly on contemporary dance and its technique. She co- operated with many renowned local and foreign choreographers and directors: Steve Paxton, David Zambrano, Oleg Soulimenko, Julyen Hamilton, Tina Mantel, Zuzana Hájková, Ondrej Spišák, Jozef Vlk, Ľubomír Burgr, Roman Polák, Kamil Zižka etc. She gave performances in various European cities and Japan where, together with the MY3 group, she received the SAITAMA International Dance 2002 award.