Maciej Kuźmiński

A touching dance piece and a political statement: the Polish choreographer Maciej Kuzminski dedicates his work Every Minute Motherland to the refugee movement that resulted from Russia's war aggression against Ukraine. Collaborating with Polish and refugee Ukrainian dancers, Kuzminski employs dance as a common language to express the unspeakable and demonstrate resistance and solidarity. The choreography unlocks the images and experiences of war inscribed on the dancers' bodies on stage.

The performance invites the audience to partake in an existential experience where they can sense the weight and severity of the conflict, including moments of loss, mourning, despair, and helplessness. However, the piece also offers a glimpse of hope, attentiveness, and even beauty. Sometimes it only requires a small gesture, a glance, or the movement of a hand in which the whole magnitude of the tragedy can be found. The deeply touching moments throughout the piece make it a special witness of our times. Despite the disturbing background of the production, the fundamental tone is not furious, but it rather has a remarkable resilience and inner strength.

The Russian war of aggression in Ukraine is one of the most significant events in Maciej Kuzminski's life. In Every Minute Motherland, he interprets the war as a massive force that repeatedly sets the world in motion both physically and existentially. It challenges our values, identities, and concepts of security and homeland. As a choreographer, Kuzminski is recognized for his works developed with his original movement and composition method, known as "Dynamic Phrasing," which cultivates versatility and a 'soft power' in a dancer. Besides working with his own company, he has also created commissioned pieces for Scapino Ballet Rotterdam, Theater Regensburg, Šeiko Dance Company in Lithuania, and Polish Dance Theater.

"Every Minute Motherland is the work of the year."
(Melanie Suchy on Tanzweb.org, Dec. 3, 2022)

Every Minute Motherland will be performed at DANCE 2023 as part of the program that focuses on Eastern Europe, and it will be accompanied by Anna Semenova's documentation Fragments of Resilience and a discussion with the artists.

More about Every Minute Motherland in the Magazine