„Battle Why dancefor Culture. Why dance?”

The subject of the debate, which will take place in the framework of a popular cycle of discussions organized in Teatr Stary refers to the question “Why dance?” posed in 2010 in Lublin by John Ashford, former director of the famous London’s theatre The Place, an outstanding curator of ventures in the field of modern dance, founder and director of the international festival of dance avant-garde “aerowaves”. The question was posed during one of the European Council of Culture’s meetings devoted to the necessity to use the dance people’s potential in the competition for the European Capital of Culture 2016 title. Prominent Polish and foreign experts and promoter of new dance will participate in the debate, and by referring to John Ashford’s question they will join a discussion which has been running in our country for some time now, one that concerns the position of dance in social consciousness, widely understood culture, both the elitist and mass ones, and finally in cultural policy and economic system. Among the invited guests are: Bonnie Brooks, lecturer of Columbia College in Chicago, Joanna Szymajda, vice-director of Dance and Music Institute, Aleksander Tebenkow, founder and director of Galierieja Dance Theatre in Grodno, Ryszard Kalinowski, dancer and choreographer of Lublin Dance Theatre. Grażyna Lutosławska will be the host of the meeting.