All that I left behind is here
Romuald Krężel
Imagine a photograph of a family of four. At the beginning of the 90s, on one of the first days of spring. They are standing next to each other on the soon-to-be greener banks of the Oder River, looking into the camera. They all wear identical-looking, brand-new windbreakers in colours that blend into the landscape of a dirty city spring – grey for the father, purple for the mother, red-blue and grey-brown for the sons. All seem happy except for the youngest son – his sullen face clearly expresses embarrassment and disappointment, as if he would rather be somewhere else.
Romuald Krężel’s new solo draws on his personal and artistic experience. By returning to his very first dance experience – a ballroom dance class, the only one offered for free in his primary school – he aims to focus on different aspects of classism in the context of the performing arts. By relearning and critically reflecting on movements, steps, poses and different styles of cha-cha, rumba, jive, etc., he seeks to examine his social background and how it relates to his current choreographic practice. The ghostly figures, post-punk music and aesthetics support him in this return to his past.
Duration: approx. 1 h
Language: English
Audience discussion afterwards on 16.09.
Romuald Krężel is an independent theatre and performance maker, actor and choreographer from Poland living in Berlin. He studied acting at the Film School Łódź/Poland and choreography and performance in Gießen/Germany. Romuald Krężel works with various forms of contemporary performance, choreography and theatre. He deals with the subject of work in the realm of art and questions the position of contemporary artists in Western society by analysing their working conditions. In his most recent work, he has focused on the issue of climate change and explored its relationship to art and the body. With René Alejandro Huari Mateus, he was most recently a guest at HELLERAU with “To See Climate (Change)” as part of the alliance festival “Claiming Common Spaces IV: Cool Down”.
Concept, Choreography, and Performance: Romuald Krężel
Dramaturgy: Agata Siniarska
Research support: Tamara Antonijević
Costume design: Maldoror
Technical direction, lighting: Patrick Faurot
Sound design and musical direction: Miguel Caldas
Sound design assistance: Zach Hart
Artistic assistance: Louis Felipe Baca Velásquez
Press work: Kerstin Böttcher
Audio description: Emmilou Rössling, Silja Korn
Production management: Anna Konrad
Artistic support: Carolina Mendonça and René Alejandro Huari Mateus
“All that I left behind is here” is a production by Romuald Krężel in co-production with Uferstudios in Berlin and HELLERAU – European Centre for the Arts in Dresden. Funded by the Hauptstadtkulturfonds.
Supported by the Residency Programme of the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Europe, Station – Service for Contemporary Dance in Belgrade/Serbia, Akademie Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart. Supported by Fonds Darstellende Künste with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media within the program NEUSTART KULTUR (Prozessförderung). With the kind support of Theaterhaus Berlin Mitte.
