Every Minute Motherland
MACIEJ KUŹMIŃSKI COMPANY
Every Minute Motherland is a dance performance created by Maciej Kuzminski and devised using documentary methods in response to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and the refugee crisis that followed it. The performance was made with a Polish-Ukrainian team including refugees in collaboration with the dramaturg Paul Bargetto.
The piece is inspired by the personal stories of the dancers and based on extensive laboratory work. It explores the effects of trauma, exile, and alienation set against larger themes of war, identity, and the immovable forces of history and geography. With the constant daily background of television and social media where the war plays out in numbing repetition, the piece refocuses our attention on the bodies of the winessess, whose experiences will be released on stage transcribed in motion and time and reaching for the spirit of ritual and myth.
From Mariupol to Kharkhiv, and everywhere else the war has come, culture and artists have been made deliberate targets in an attempt to destroy Ukrainian nation. This project is an act of resistance to these crimes and a statement of solidarity with Ukraine.
The piece, was as oppressive as it was fascinating. (…) Horrific in statement, frighteningly beautiful in artistic execution.
Helmut Jasny, Westfälische Nachrichten
The dance painting by Maciej Kuźmiński reminds us of how real and close the experience of war can be - a total experience that permeates time, the space around us, our bodies and minds. [...] Despite the very expressive and emotional scenes, the performance is not depressing. It is moving, touching at times, but it is the kind of feeling that allows you to experience catharsis in the theater.
Justyna Stanisławska, taniecpolska.pl
It is an evening that leaves the emotions on the stage and invites the audience to watch this meditation on mourning. Everything remains incomprehensible and at the same time directly touching.
Torben Ibs, tanznetz.de
Land without time, life without land
The choreography avoids clear descriptions and drama, but relies on the wisdom of sensitive and multifaceted dance, on the superbly attuned group and the audience's ability to observe and empathize with every minute.Melanie Suchy, TanzWeb NRW
It is an evening that leaves the emotions on the stage and invites the audience to watch this meditation on mourning. Everything remains incomprehensible and at the same time directly touching.
Torben Ibs, tanznetz.de
Every Minute Motherland
MACIEJ KUŹMIŃSKI COMPANY
choreography, lighting design, music edit
Maciej Kuźmiński
dramaturgy
Paul Bargetto
assistant choreographer
Monika Witkowska
photos, documentary film
Anna Semenova
video recording, editing
Paweł Szymkowiak, Aleksander Joachimiak
production
Polina Bulat, Maciej Kuźmiński
creation & original cast
Daria Koval, Anna Myloslavska
Vitaliia Vaskiv, Anastasia Ivanova,
Monika Witkowska, Szymon Tur,
Omar Karabulut, Judyta Pakulska (intern)
performance
Daria Koval, Anna Myloslavska
Vitaliia Vaskiv, Anastasia Ivanova,
Monika Witkowska, Szymon Tur,
Maciej Kuźmiński, Judyta Pakulska (2nd cast)
duration
55min
premiere
25 August 2022, Klub Żak, Gdańsk, Poland
produced by
Maciej Kuźmiński Company within the project residency /premiere 2022 Klub Żak In partnership with Materia Łódź (Przestrzenie Sztuki program), Creators for Ukraine foundation (founded by CIAS and ZAIKS) and Ukrainian Institute.
The Przestrzenie Sztuki program is financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, implemented by the National Institute of Music and Dance and the Theater Institute of Zbigniew Raszewski. Operator: Materia, partners: the Music Academy of Grażyna and Kiejstut Bacewicz in Lodz, the City Culture Zone, Art Center and the City of Lodz Office.