HYBAJ HO! Festival Celebrates the Anniversary of the Velvet Revolution

The 7th annual festival of contemporary Slovak dance in Prague HYBAJ HO! will be held from 29 September to 6 October at Studio ALTA, Theatre Komedie and National Gallery (Veletržní Palace). The only Slovak showcase of contemporary dance is dedicated this year to the celebration of a quarter century of freedom. Besides the best of what contemporary Slovak dancers created at home and abroad, the audience can enjoy a rich accompanying program - discussions, workshops, parties, concert of Longital or traditional culinary specialties at a Slovak feast. 25 years ago Czechs and Slovaks fought together for freedom, and it is one of the many reasons why this showcase has found its place in Prague. The aim of the festival is to show that cultural ties between the Czechs and Slovaks are an integral part of our identity. Director of Studio ALTA and Hybaj ho! festival Lucia Kašiarová explains her intention: "Bratislava was always tied up with Vienna more and only within the Hybaj ho! festival it was possible to make contact between the Czech and Slovak dance scene. Many Slovaks work abroad and because there is no Slovak dance platform, it's great that here they all - the Czech and Slovak dancers – can meet. Today it is quite common that Slovak companies go to Bohemia and vice versa, but before it was very rare." Our common cultural space has not always had ideal conditions for progressive development, experiment or alternative culture. Therefore it is important to constantly remind ourselves the legacy of Velvet Revolution that not only opened the borders, but also enabled us to think freely and share opinions with others publicly. "I am part of the first generation, which makes good use of the fruits from the seeds planted by the revolution. Already as a student of dance I could travel abroad and I think how our current dance scene looks like today is just because of the opening of the border," says Lucia Kašiarová and it should be noted that this generation thanks to its "velvet" energy spanned half a century of isolation and returned our culture to the world context. An example of a fabulous success that would not have been possible without revolution, is the renowned Slovak dance ensemble Les SlovaKs Dance Collective - dance company operating in Brussels, which sells out theaters in Holland, France, Belgium and Prague. Hybaj ho! presents their latest project Fragments (5th Oct at 8pm, Theatre Komedie). Les SlovaKs are lively typhoon of dancers whose work combines everything they encountered during their life and artistic carrers. Hybaj ho! can be proud that it was this festival that discovered Les SlovaKs for the Czech audience: "Les SlovaKs are a traditional highlight of the festival. When they performed here the first year, nobody knew them. Today they are absolute stars, wanted by all the big dance festivals in the country. However, they remained loyal to us," says Kašiarová. This year’s Hybaj ho! festival is one of the few opportunities to see the currently most successful Slovak dance group live.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFHDV5-9hik#t=48 Diverse festival program is trying to show a wide range of topics and principles Slovak artists work with. The program will be opened by a dance duet Imago inspired by a C.G. Jung’s text, in which the dancers look inside themselves in order to find their true face. The Objects of Research by Petra Fornayová deasl with the topic of manipulation of our perception. Marta Polakova in SOLO Endings / Beginnings reflecting on what the end and the beginning mean in human life and how many of them follow. Zdenka Svíteková will perform a solo piece chiens naufragés. Debris Company focus on conflicts of consumer world in a production entitled Epic, which works with the principles of Brecht's epic theater. O as Schlemmer by Monica Čertezni till take us through the world of the Bauhaus and in particular the works of Oskar Schlemmer. Couch Corner by ensemble Artyci is a fun combination of dance and talk-show. Divadlo Śtúdio tanca and Jozef Fruček in From side of a man From side of a woman examine the body as an instrument of knowledge. Festival closes with premiere of ME-SA group called Duets, which will showcase two well known Slovak dancers Martina Hajdyla Lacová and Stano Dobák. Jaro Viňarský will invite viewers to his bed in Bed Identity Talks to talk with him. Improvised performative presentation of searching in the creative process, which he will present together with Petra Tejnorová, calls for direct audience participation in a research project of two artists on the theme of identity. Source: Studio ALTA