ballet

The motifs of the sea, water, and the deep have recurred in culture and art for centuries, serving as both a source of inspiration and a symbolic reference to contextualize the human experience. Dance, too, has not been immune to this fascination, echoing the elusive movement of waves (e.g., Doris Humphrey's Water Study in 1928), the soft poetics of underwater motion (Daniel Larrieu's Waterproof, 1986), or the sheer spectacle of water itself, which mirrors the human body's composition (Pina Bausch's Vollmond, 2006).  

 

The newest premiere by the Ballet of the Grand Theatre in Łódź continues this tradition, dialoguing with the Mountain Triptych, which is part of The Evening of Polish Ballet Composers. The Sea is a ballet triptych comprising world premieres of choreographies by both Polish and international creators: Douglas Lee, Emanuel Gat, and Jacek Przybyłowicz.  

 

The evening's theme aligns with the latest developments in the humanities, particularly in fields such as blue humanities and water studies. These disciplines emphasize the significance of human relationships with nature and the non-human, focusing on the coexistence of oceans and seas with human life and their role in shaping cultures.  

 

On another level, the sea as a timeless source of inspiration will find resonance in the musical layer of the performance. The program features masterpieces such as Claude Debussy’s La Mer (Douglas Lee), Arvo Pärt’s Für Alina and Cantus for Benjamin Britten (Jacek Przybyłowicz), and Benjamin Britten’s Four Sea Interludes from the opera Peter Grimes (Emanuel Gat).  

 

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The Creators

 

Douglas Lee  

Douglas Lee, a globally renowned choreographer, will collaborate with a Polish ballet company for the first time. Born in London, Lee began his ballet education at Arts Educational School London before earning a scholarship to the Royal Ballet School, graduating in 1996 with the Alicia Markova Award. After joining Stuttgart Ballet, he was promoted to principal dancer in 2002, performing notable roles in works by John Cranko, Jiří Kylián, John Neumeier, Hans van Manen, Glen Tetley, George Balanchine, and William Forsythe.  

Lee debuted as a choreographer in 1999 and has since created works for Stuttgart Ballet, Staatsballet Berlin, the Royal Ballet of Flanders, New York City Ballet, the National Ballet of Greece, and others.  

 

Emanuel Gat

Emanuel Gat, born in Israel, discovered dance at the age of 23 during a workshop led by Israeli choreographer Nir Ben Gal. Shortly after, he joined the Liat Dror Nir Ben Gal Company, creating two works and touring internationally. Gat began working as an independent choreographer in 1994.  

In recent years, he has served as an associate artist at the Montpellier Dance Festival and the Théâtre National de Chaillot. He currently leads his own company, Emanuel Gat Dance, in Metz, France. As a guest choreographer, Gat has collaborated with Ballet Opera de Lyon, Sydney Dance Company, Tanztheater Bremen, Candoco Dance Company, Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève, Los Angeles Dance Project, Czech National Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, Polish National Ballet, Staatsballet Berlin, and the Paris Opera Ballet, among others.  

 

Jacek Przybyłowicz

A former dancer with the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company and an accomplished choreographer, Jacek Przybyłowicz served as Deputy Director for Ballet at the Grand Theatre in Poznań (2009–2014) and is currently the resident choreographer at the Grand Theatre in Łódź. His major works include Naszyjnik gołębicy (2003), Barocco (2004), Jesień-Nuembir (2008), Alpha Kryonia Xe (2006), 6 skrzydeł aniołów (2012), III Symphony: Song of the Night (2006), Infolia (2015), Bolero (2022), and N.O.M./Kościelec 1909 (2023). In 2023, he created Der Moment with Ceprodac in Mexico.  

Przybyłowicz has staged productions in the Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, and China. From 2010 to 2014, he curated the Poznań Ballet Spring, and from 2018 to 2020, he oversaw the ballet season at the Wrocław Opera. He is a recipient of the Bronze Gloria Artis Medal for Merit to Culture and the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage Award for Dance.