info choreographer
Katarzyna Skawińska is both a choreographer and a modern dance teacher.
She first gained dance experience in Kraków, in Jacek Tomasik’s KONTRAST Dance Theatre, then in the dance group of professor Janina Strzebosz – one of Isadora Duncan’s students, and in Chicago, at the Ruth Page School of Dance.
She hones her choreographic skills working on performances at various theatres around Kraków, but the main focus of her activities is the DF Dance Theatre, which she in fact co-founded and where she has been the Artistic Director since its very beginnings in 1990. In this time she has authored over thirty original dance performances for DF. Her choreographies have won numerous awards at dance festivals both in Poland and abroad. One of the main tenets of Skawińska’s choreographic work is remaining open to collaboration with representatives of other artistic fields.
A polyphony of dance is what emerges in her pieces, where multi-layered yet understandable narration is given abstract form. The boldly sculpted movements of her performances express courage and a genuine interest in the world.
The words to describe her choreography must be taken from the language of fine arts, geometry, and mathematics – they are terms like composition, proportion, multiple axis symmetry, spatial architecture, chiaroscuro, texture, color, and mosaic.
Two characteristic features of Skawińska’s work are her attention to detail and her ability to construct form by applying certain conventions defined for a given physical or psychological reality.
Skawińska also teaches her craft, working with a number of educational institutions in Poland, where she runs courses and workshops on composition and modern dance techniques for dancers, actors, and dance instructors.
The dance group she runs thoroughly prepares its dancers to take up the roles of teachers and cultural organizers in the field of modern dance. Her students not only develop artistic and technical skills, but also learn work-discipline, cooperation, and persistence in striving towards their goals.
Katarzyna Skawińska is also the initiator of a number of educational dance projects. She has co-organized the following events: International Dance Day and Dance Nights in Kraków, A Score for Body and Movement, Roz-ruchy Festival, PCC – First Choreographic Attempts, and the International Modern Dance Summer School in Koszęcin.
She collaborates with the following cultural institutions: Groteska – Theatre of Dolls, Masks, and Actors; Nowa Huta Cultural Centre; the art education foundation “Stowarzyszenie Sztuki i Edukacji Artystycznej”; the Song and Dance Ensemble “¦l±sk”; The Mazovia Region Centre of Culture and Arts; “Warszawianka” – the Folk Song and Dance Ensemble of Warsaw University; and the International Dance Council – CID UNESCO.
Skawińska is a recipient of the Commission of National Education Medal for her artistic and educational work, and of the President of Kraków Award. She has been a member of the International Dance Council – CID UNESCO since 2004.