A jazz infused, twisted dance theatre experience based on the play by Tennessee Williams.
The enigmatic DEKKADANCERS brings in bold director/choreographer Arthur Pita to re-interpret this classic 1947 Tennessee Williams play as a full out sweaty, jazz infused, twisted dance theatre experience. Set in New Orleans in the intense summer heat, the journey of desire and conflict ride the fast track. Blanche DuBois, a former southern belle, unexpectedly visits her estranged sister Stella and alluring husband Stanley. Blanche’s fragile world begins to fracture as Stanley stalks closer to the truth. Through vibrant choreography, song and an enticing cast, we get transported to a time when reality and illusion collide.
Pita brings in his regular collaborators, composer Frank Moon and designer Yann Seabra. Together they plunge deep into this physical, psychological and yearning masterpiece.
Who are Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders)?
For nearly 50 years, they have been providing medical and humanitarian aid to the most vulnerable: people affected by war, natural disasters, or epidemics. Each year, they treat, vaccinate, and perform surgeries for millions of people worldwide. At the same time, they share the stories of those they help and draw attention to crises whose impacts they work to alleviate. The organization operates in more than 70 countries around the globe. The backbone of the organization is local staff, who make up around 90% of mission team members. Their involvement ensures that aid remains sustainable even after the organization departs. Médecins Sans Frontières is funded primarily by private donors, not governments or international institutions, enabling the organization to uphold its principles of independence, impartiality, and neutrality.
Jitka Kosíková, a pediatric nurse with experience in pediatric intensive care (PICU) and palliative care. She has been collaborating with Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) since 2010. In 2011, she went on her first mission to Afghanistan. She subsequently participated in missions in Bangladesh in 2013, South Sudan in 2014, 2015, and 2019, Afghanistan again in 2015, Jordan in 2016, and Iraq in 2017. She has held various roles, including medical team leader and Medical Coordinator (MedCo). Her primary focus is on palliative care, its implementation in the Czech Republic, and its application in humanitarian contexts. She also works within the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC). Jitka actively supports Médecins Sans Frontières through public discussions, often addressing the topic of migration. She wrote a book about her mission in the Mediterranean, titled Břehy nejsou na dohled (The Shores Are Not in Sight).
Audiences are advised that sexual and violent scenes are present in the performance. For artistic reasons, tobacco products and stroboscopic light effect are also used.
“All the performers dance the jazzy swing step material with great ease and mastery. The unflagging energy and high professionalism of each of the performers may have exceeded even the director's expectations.”
“Superb performances in all roles – from the excellent Klára Jelínková in the main role of Blanche, who combines the statuesque elegance of a high-society lady with understated gestures, naiveté, feigned carefreeness and a type of vulgarity, while in reality these displays are meant to cover her inner fragility; to Patrik Čermák as the boorish Neanderthal Stanley, who with the same vigour ridicules Blanche, beats a wall, passionately throws himself at Stella and with abandon wolfs down cake; Ondřej Vinklát as Mitch, who appears naïve at first but then chills us with his transformation as he finally becomes indifferent (or did we, like Blanche, project onto Mitch something which was never there?) to the outstanding Natalia Metodijeva, who portrays the added character of Celestine, a blind girl.”
“DEKKADANCERS is a prominent dance company. They significantly influence the development of contemporary dance and dance theatre as well as undoubtedly the taste of the audience in a wider context. People simply go to see the “DEKKAs” – they are well known. That's no small thing.”
“The primary strength of this production is the excellent cast and solid portrayal of each character. The DEKKADANCERS hold nothing back – they give every dance their all.”
