Prime Figures
Viktor Černický
- Monday Oct 7 / 19:30, Desfours Palace
- Saturday Oct 12 / 19:30, Desfours Palace
In his latest project, Viktor Černický asks us to look at theater as a place for people to meet, and so he opens up his performance for people who are rarely represented in performances. With its unusual interest in society, Prime Figures calls on the public to take its place not just in the audience, but also on stage. Anyone can become a part of large group that, after three days of working together, will try repeatedly to create a joint self-portrait. Inspired by the paintings of the Dutch Golden Age, Prime Figures ignores large issues; instead it turns its gaze on the little things and discovers the magic in everyday details.
“I was first attracted to the subject of community while looking at The Night Watch, one of Rembrandt’s best-known paintings, made as a document of Amsterdam’s civic militia. Later, I was captivated by the motif of people coming together after getting to know Swedish director Roy Andersson’s films You, the Living and Songs from the Second Floor. Their stories lacking narratives are portraits of human ordinariness, a celebration of humor, and a praise of pettiness capable of recasting original human insignificance into something grand – just as the troops commanded by Captain Frans Banninck Cocq, through their ridiculous desire to be captured on canvas, formed the impulse for Rembrandt to create one of the most important works in the history of art.” (Viktor Černický)
Concept: Viktor Černický
Performance: Kolektiv
Dramaturgy: Lukáš Karásek
Lighting design: Zuzana Režná
Scenography: Zuzana Sceránková
Production: ZDRUHESTRANY
Co-production: Places of Act/4+4 Days in Motion
Created in collaboration with: CIRQUEON Centre for Contemporary Circus, Studio Alta, and Initiative for Invalidovna.
With support from: Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, City of Brno.Viktor Černický creates works that straddle the fine line between dance, performance, circus, and physical theater. He heads the long-term research project The Body as Object / The Object as Body, which looks at the dynamics of relationships between the object and the subjective individuality of the performer. His solo performance PAROLAPOLEA earned him nominations in the categories Dancer of the Year and Dance Production of the Year at the 2018 Czech Dance Platform, and was presented with a special award in the form of participation at the Choreographic Research Week at the B-Motion Festival in Bassano del Grappa. His latest solo piece PLI won the Audience Award and Main Prize at the 2019 Czech Dance Platform. He has also performed alongside Jaro Viňarský, Dominique Boivin, Daniel Gulko, Miřenka Čechová and Compagnie Mossoux-Bonté.
