As Long as We Dance

As Long as We Dance is the first in the series of dance performances to be premiered at the Studio Hrdinů each of the several following seasons. As Long as We Dance was created by the world-renowned Polish conceptual choreographer Renata Piotrowska-Auffret in cooperation with a team of Czech theatre professionals. The performace’s point of departure is the current pandemic situation we find ourselves in, which gave death more than just one fatal meaning. The pandemia has thrown social death upon us, changed our habits and usurped all our attention. The performance As Long as We Dance is a revolt – a revolt of those, who are or were in the most complicated of situations – that is, women and mothers. The feminist dimension of the performance guarantees that As Long as We Dance is not merely a product of this particularly extreme period of our time, but a universally valid image of our society. Dance is the major narrative tool, although the general concept of the performance is multigenre, radically employs spoken word and distinctively artistic stage setting.

It is so fucking difficult to find the energy to comfort my daughter as I’m crying in the pillow every night. I’m this desperate.

It is so fucking difficult to have strenght to get up since my daugther’s dad got locked down sick thousands of kilometers away from us and her grandad is fighting for life in the hospital.

It is so fucking difficult to tell her that it will be okay.

‘Cause I’m not sure I am not lying to her. 

I don’t know. 

I feel. 

We feel what is now.

We are alive.

As long as we dance.

The show is in Czech.

reviews:

“A production was created that (even though it does not have the ambition to become documentary theatre) is “a dance about dance” – about its place within the individuality of a person, about its naturally therapeutic possibilities, about its ability to metaphorically reflect the shape and state of society now. The production’s concept of the distinctive universality is a virtue that balances over a misty valley. From the fall into the depths of oblivion, it is balanced by real dancers (Martina Hajdyla Lacová, Cécile Da Costa, Veronika Švábová) belayed by the actresses Johana Schmidtmajerová, Diana Toniková and the performance and visual artist Zuzana Sceranková. The resulting equilibrium is yet another expansion of the genre limits of performative possibilities that get on so well with dance both with and without words. However, verbality prevails here. It attacks the audience’s senses via specific motifs that turn personal secrets into publicly available information. And this is of value today, especially in connection with dance.”

– Zuzana Smugalová, Opera+, 4.2.2022

“By staging the As Long as We Dance project authored by Renata Piotorwska-Auffret, Studio Hrdinů not only made a significant step to enter the European contemporary dance and performance scene, but also stood as the very first venue in our country, which created a comprehensive theatre piece reflecting on the pandemic.”

– Marcela Magdová, Divadelní noviny 3, 8.2.2022

“As Long as We Dance is an excellent multi-genre production that hits the audience with its distinctive humour, urgency, authenticity, and great interpretive performances, and lingers not only in one’s body but also in one’s mind for quite some time. Sans pathos, remorse, or aggression, this tell-tale reflection on the events of the past two years hints at the sadness of the loss of our past lives.”

– Lucie Štádlerová, tanecniaktuality.cz, 28.2.2022