Stepping to a dance institution in Warsaw

How is it possible that the capital of a Central European country with a population of almost 40 million does not yet have a venue dedicated to one of the most dynamically developing performing arts? - asks Joanna Leśnierowska in a conversation with Julia Hoczyk.

At the beginning of Upwording practice is anoticing the words in our communication and questioning why sometimes they have an impact opposite to our intention or don’t work at all, and instead of connecting people, words we use often land us into a spectrum that we’re so far apart from one another - says Rivca Rubin in a conversation with Joanna Leśnierowska.

This is the moment that the Polish performing arts community has been waiting for. The competition for the year-long curatorial concept for the Pavilion for Dance and Other Performing Arts has been launched. The competition is organised by the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw. Entries are open and will be accepted via the pawilontanca.pl website.

In December 2023, as part of the development of the architectural concept of adapting the Vistula River Pavilion for the needs of the dance community, Joanna Leśnierowska and architect Maciej Siuda made several study visits to, among others, the Pavillon ADC in Geneva. The office of the Association for Contemporary Dance (ADC), which opened in 2021, turned out to be an exceptionally inspiring place – almost a twin building with almost identical floor plans, dimensions and organisation, which, similarly the Warsaw dance community fought for its own space for dozens of years and now successfully supports the local dance scene. Following the December visit, which resulted with numerous architectural inspirations, we spoke with ADC’s dramaturgist, Léo Chavaz, to find out how they think and work and how they support choreographers.

On 18 March 2024, a meeting of representatives of the Warsaw dance community with Catja Loepfe, the artistic director of Tanzhaus Zürich (TZ), took place at WOK.Lab. The guest spoke about the establishment of the Swiss dance institution in the 1990s, its new premises and current activities within the broader framework of performance arts in the city.

26 lutego 2024 roku Warszawskie Obserwatorium Kultury zorganizowało spotkanie przedstawicielek środowiska tanecznego ze Slavą Gepnerem, dyrektorem zarządzającym i artystycznym oraz pomysłodawcą TanzFaktur w Kolonii. Spotkanie miało na celu poznanie historii tej instytucji oraz zdobycie wiedzy o tym, jak budować nowe miejsce dla tańca, czego w tym procesie unikać oraz jak współpracować ze środowiskiem niezależnych tancerzy i choreografów. Spotkanie moderowała Joanna Leśnierowska.

A meeting of the dance community with Maciej Siuda, architect and author of the Vistula Pavilion's functional and utility plan (PFU), was held at the WOK Lab space at ul. Marszałkowska 34/50 on 12 February. The plan’s development was preceded by workshops at the MSN (Museum of Contemporary Art) premises and study visits to the Pavillon ADC and Uferstudios and Radialsystem in Berlin).

Na zlecenie Warszawskiego Obserwatorium Kultury IPSOS przeprowadził badania na temat nowej instytucji – sceny tańca współczesnego. Raport dostarcza informacji na temat potrzeb środowiska i oczekiwań publiczności, a także zawiera rekomendacje dotyczące założeń programu pilotażowego nowej sceny tańca. Jest to część prowadzonego przez WOK wieloetapowego procesu wspierającego powstawanie tej placówki.

On Friday, 1 December 2023, an engaging workshop on architecture took place at the Museum of Modern Art at ul. Pańska 3. The session was led by Maciej Siuda, the mastermind behind the project to transform the Vistula River Pavilion into a dance centre. The event consisted of two modules: a presentation and a hands-on session. It successfully brought together a diverse group, including representatives from the theatre and dance communities specialising in directing, choreography, performance and architecture. Participants also included technical staff from Nowy Teatr and TR Warszawa and members of the Culture Office of the City of Warsaw.

In mid-November, we visited the Nowy Theatre on ul. Madalińskiego as part of our work on planning the Warsaw Dance Centre. This time we were inspired by a post-industrial space adapted to the needs of a theatre.

At the beginning of November, we went on a study visit with representatives of the dance community to the Vistula Pavilion, which now houses the Museum of Modern Art. The pavilion will be adapted to meet the needs of a pilot dance programme next year.

In October, the second workshop for the dance community took place at the Warsaw Observatory of Culture. This is the next stage of the work on modelling a new dance institution in Warsaw. The meeting was attended by representatives of dance organisations, the Culture Bureau of the City of Warsaw and WOK. The workshop was chaired by Joanna Leśnierowska.

Elise Bernhardt led a workshop which launched a study aimed at facilitating the process of modelling a dance institution in Warsaw.

At the Warsaw Observatory of Culture, we carefully monitor the contemporary artistic landscape and the mechanisms that condition it. We are interested in the changes that are currently taking place in this field.

At WOK, Marta Seredyńska is researching the working conditions of freelancers working in the field of contemporary and conceptual dance.

The Warsaw Observatory of Culture was a partner of an international discussion panel during the 22nd edition of the Ciało/Umysł Festival. Our research interests are close to the topic of the state of the creative sector, taking into account the psychophysical well-being and working conditions of people working in the cultural sector, which, among other things, was the subject of the meeting on 7 October 2023.