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Instytut im. Jerzego Grotowskiego
  • Polish
  • English
Rynek-RatuszBrzezinkaNa Grobli
                                                              
Where Two Paths Meet
Workshop led by Przemys³aw B³aszczak and Jakub Gontarski

Fri-Sun 11–13 April 2014, 11:30am–3:30pm
Na Grobli Studio

Contact and application
Please send your completed application form to Izabela M³ynarz at iza@grotowski-institute.art.pl by 1 April 2014. The number of places is limited. Applicants will be accepted on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Workshop will be conducted in English and Polish.


Where Two Paths Meet is a workshop developed by Przemys³aw B³aszczak and Jakub Gontarski, the leaders of Studio Dwóch ¦cie¿ek (Two Paths Studio) working as part of the BodyConstitution research programme. In its daily work, the Studio explores concepts related to physicality such as:
  • the centre (or centres);
  • balance and imbalance;
  • distance;
  • relation (between the partners, also in space);
  • rhythm;

and ethical questions such as:

  • individual attunement (preparation)
  • respect and concern for your partners
  • taking care of the work environment and creating good working conditions
  • responsibility for oneself and the group

 

Inspired by martial arts, we will focus on preparing and strengthening the body and on developing new types of contact and partnering – from those based on trust and cooperation to those involving distrust and desire to take control by misleading or exploiting someone’s lack of focus. We will also utilize exercises that develop trust, alertness, coordination, speed, flexibility, the sense of distance and space, and whole-body listening skills.
What is behind the techniques and skills of traditional martial arts? How can we use them to discover something important and fresh for actors, dancers, performers?

 

Photo from private collection

 

Przemys³aw B³aszczak is an actor who has been associated with the Grotowski Institute since 1995. From 1996 to 1999 he worked with Song of the Goat Theatre, where he performed in Song of the Goat – Dithyramb. Between 2002 and 2003 he created the solo performance Ecco Homo. Since 2004, he has been an actor with Teatr ZAR, led by Jaros³aw Fret, the resident theatre company of the Grotowski Institute. Przemek performs in the Gospels of Childhood triptych (Gospels of Childhood: Overture, Caesarean Section: Essays on Suicide and Anhelli: The Calling). He is currently involved in the creation of Teatr ZAR’s new performance, Armine, Sister. In 2012 he performed in the premiere of Heiner Müller’s Mauser directed by Theodoros Terzopoulos. Since 2005, Przemek has studied the Japanese martial art of aikido under Sensei Piotr Masztalerz (5th dan). In 2011 he studied under Juba Nour Shihan (6th dan) in Baja California, Mexico. He is currently training to become an aikido teacher. In 2005 he went to Japan, invited by Toshi Tushitori, where he practiced shintaido, a Japanese system that integrates voice and body through training based on traditional Japanese karate. He leads the Two Paths Studio, which runs as part of the BodyConstitution research programme of the Grotowski Institute.

 

Jakub Gontarski practiced the Japanese martial art of judo (1993–2001) and the Brazilian martial art of capoeira (Brazil, England, Poland; 2002–2012). He plays Afro-Brazilian instruments. Since 2011 he has been Secretary of the “Momentum” Association of Creative Initiatives and co-organizer of the ¯ywe Kultury Ruchu CYRKULACJE festival in Wroc³aw. He has created the one-man play Animan-I Am That and the performance Dom Wariatów. Jakub is a co-founder and leader of Two Paths Studio, which operates as part of the BodyConstitution research programme of the Grotowski Institute. He collaborates with the Grotowski Institute and Teatr ZAR, leading intensive physical sessions devoted to body awareness techniques, martial arts and developing a body work methodology.


 As part of BodyConstitution, practical seminar