Polish National Ballet

The Polish National Ballet (PNB) is the largest and the most important ballet company in Poland. It continues a national ballet heritage, which dates to the 17th century.

Modernly it was known until 2008 as the ballet of the Teatr Wielki - Polish National Opera. In that year the ballet received artistic autonomy reflected in the theatre's by-laws and was elevated to the rank of Polish National Ballet. Since then, its director is Polish choreographer Krzysztof Pastor.

Ballet events in Polish history

In 1628 a traveling Italian opera troupe created the first ballet performance in Poland. Ballet scenes were then often incorporated into operas held at the court theater. For many years it was foreign dancers who performed. Eventually in 1765 the first permanent ballet company was formed, on the initiative of the king Stanisław II August. The company functioned with some interruptions in the Saxon’s Opernhaus (opera house), the first Polish public theater. A 1766 book on ballet by the famous ballet master of France Jean-Georges Noverre was dedicated to the Polish king.Paweł Chynowski
History of the Polish National Ballet
Accessed 7 April 2017.

Maciej Pręczyński (Prenczyński) was the first well-known Polish dancer; he worked with Gasparo Angiolini in Venice and Vienna in the 1770s. In 1785 Stanisław II August established a company of young dancers, trained in a ballet school at a Lithuanian estate. This first professional ballet company of predominantly Polish dancers was known as His Majesty’s National Dancers (1785-1794). Performances were held on stage at the National Theatre building in Krasiński Square, Warsaw. Its heritage was continued by subsequent Polish companies.

During the Romantic era the National Ballet School flourished in Warsaw. After 1818 it was guided by French ballet masters Louis Thierry and Maurice Pion. Under construction 1825-1833, the Teatr Wielki (Grand Theater) then became the artistic center for both opera and ballet in Poland. The choreographer and teacher Roman Turczynowicz became a Polish ballet-master at mid-century. Several outstanding foreign masters, e.g., Filippo Taglioni, Carlo Blasis, Virgilio Calori, Pasquale Borri, José Mendez, Raffaele Grassi, and Enrico Cecchetti, worked developing Polish dancers.

During the late 19th century, Mathilde Kschessinska (Matylda Krzesińska), a dancer of Polish extraction, became one of the leading lights of the Imperial Theater in St. Petersburg.

Early in the 20th century, there were many Polish dancers who joined the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev, which climbed to world renown. These included the ballet master Stanislas Idzikowski, Leon Woizikovsky (orig. Wójcikowski), and Mieczyslaw Pianowski. Polish dancers also distinguished themselves in the various Ballets Russes companies that succeeded Diaghilev's. Among these were Yurek Shabelevski, Roman Jasinski, Marian Ladre, Yurek Lazovski, and Nina Novak. Siblings Bronislava Nijinska and Vaslav Nijinsky were of Polish heritage, though they trained under the patronage of the Tsar at the Imperial Academy in St. Petersburg. They danced with Ballets Russes, and both became celebrated choreographers.

During the Second Polish Republic, Nijinska headed the Balet Polski, aka Les Ballets Polonais, aka The Polish Ballets newly formed in Warsaw in 1937. This company was the brainchild of poet Jan Lechoń, and created with the assistance of M. Waclaw Jedrzejewicz, Minister of Public Education and President of the Organization Committee of the Polish Section to the Art and Technical Exhibition in Paris. The company's general director was Arnold Szyfman. For the first season, 1937-1938, Nijinska created five new ballets including ''Baśń krakowska'' (''La Légende de Cracovie),'' to music by Michal Kondracki; ''Pieśń o ziemi naszej'' (''Le Chant de la Terre),'' to music by Roman Palester; ''Koncert E-moll Chopina (Concerto de Chopin),'' to Frédéric Chopin's B-minor piano concerto; ''Apollo i dziewczyna'' (''Apollon et la Belle),'' to music by Ludomir Rozycki; and ''Wezwanie (Le Rappel),'' set to a score by Boleslaw Woytowicz. This repertoire featured scenery and costumes designed by Teresa Roszkowska, Waclaw Borowski, Wladyslaw Daszewski, and Irena Lorentowicz-Karwowska. The souvenir program for this company's Covent Garden appearances states: "Every gesture and every colour, the ebb and flow of the groups, each step of the soloists, the spirit and harmony of the Polish Ballets are imbued with the artistic ideals of Bronislava Nijinska and her ardent desire that the world should see the dances of her country in their noblest and most beautiful form." At the Paris Exposition Internationale of that year, this Polish Ballet won the Grand Prix for performance, Nijinska the Gran Prix for choreography. In 1938 the Ballets Polonais was directed by Leon Wójcikowski. It appeared at the New York World's Fair in 1939, but World War II caused its closure.

Following the traumas of war, the 'Ballet of Teatr Wielki' reemerged in Warsaw. Yet the original Teatr Wielki had been almost completely destroyed during the 1939 siege of Warsaw. Eventually it was rebuilt and enlarged, in a new facility (also called the Opera Narodowa ational Opera. Continuing a heritage of several centuries, the new theater opened in 1965. It housed the companies and schools for both opera and ballet, its stage being shared. The dance company later became the Polish National Ballet, which continues to rehearse and perform in Teatr Wielki.

Under new name and status

On 18 March 2009 Polish choreographer Krzysztof Pastor, already engaged with the Dutch National Ballet, became the director of the ballet of Teatr Wielki - Polish National Opera. He took over this position with Paweł Chynowski as his proxy only under the condition that the company receive artistic autonomy. Thanks to the efforts of Teatr Wielki’s general director Waldemar Dąbrowski on 29 April 2009 the Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage Bogdan Zdrojewski took the decision to separately constitute the ballet in the theater’s by-laws, under the name Polish National Ballet. With the foundation of the Polish National Ballet, the company became autonomous and works as an equal partner to the Polish National Opera.

Polish National Ballet pursues a program of major classic dance formation. It performs an academic choreographic repertoire, but also reaches for 20th-century ballet masterpieces. Invitations are extended to outstanding contemporary choreographers; it also introduces works by young Polish choreographers. With nearly 90 dancers it includes both Polish and foreign dancers and affiliated specialities. The company performs regularly at the Teatr Wielki, when it is not on tour in Poland or performing abroad.

Repertoire, 2009-2023

Ballets staged by the Polish National Ballet from its establishing (year, ballet, choreographer):

* 29 March 2009: ''Tristan'' by Krzysztof Pastor (Polish premiere)
* 3 April 2009: '' Romeo and Juliet'' by Emil Wesołowski (revival)
* 8 April 2009: '' Swan Lake'' by Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov / Irek Mukhamedov (revival)
* 16 May 2009: '' Onegin'' by John Cranko / Georgette Tsinguirides (revival)
* 28 May 2009: ''La Bayadère'' by Marius Petipa / Natalia Makarova (revival)
* 10 June 2009: ''Anna Karenina'' by Alexei Ratmansky (revival)
* 24 June 2009: ''When You End and I Begin...'' by Robert Bondara (world premiere)
* 20 November 2009: ''Kurt Weill'' by Krzysztof Pastor (Polish premiere)
* 17 December 2009: ''The Nutcracker'' by Andrzej Glegolski (revival)
* 23 April 2010: ''In Search of Colours'' by Jacek Tyski (world premiere)
* 23 April 2010: ''Alpha Kryonia Xe'' by Jacek Przybyłowicz (revival)
* 9 May 2010: '' Chopin, the Romantic Artist'' by Patrice Bart (world premiere)
* 30 May 2010: '' The Sleeping Beauty'' by Marius Petipa / Yuri Grigorovich'' by George Balanchine (Polish premiere)
* 25 June 2010: ''The Green'' by Ed Wubbe (Polish premiere)
* 25 June 2010: ''In Light and Shadow'' by Krzysztof Pastor (Polish premiere)
* 27 November 2010: ''Cinderella'' by Frederick Ashton / Wendy Ellis-Somes (Polish premiere)
* 27 March 2011: ''And the Rain Will Pass…'' by Krzysztof Pastor (world premiere)
* 11 June 2011: ''Le Sacre du printemps'' by Vaslav Nijinsky / Millicent Hodson (Polish premiere)
* 11 June 2011: ''The Rite of Spring'' by Emanuel Gat (Polish premiere)
* 11 June 2011: ''Le Sacre du printemps'' by Maurice Béjart (Polish premiere)
* 18 September 2011: ''Persona'' by Robert Bondara (world premiere)
* 25 November 2011: ''The Nutcracker and the Mouse King'' by Toer van Schayk and Wayne Eagling (Polish premiere)
* 14 April 2012: '' The Prodigal Son'' by George Balanchine (Polish premiere)
* 14 April 2012: ''Cain and Abel'' by Emil Wesołowski (world premiere)
* 14 April 2012: ''Six Wings of Angels'' by Jacek Przybyłowicz (world premiere)
* 17 November 2012: ''Century Rolls'' by Ashley Page (world premiere)
* 17 November 2012: ''Moving Rooms'' by Krzysztof Pastor (Polish premiere)
* 17 November 2012: ''Artifact Suite'' by William Forsythe (Polish premiere)
* 15 March 2013: ''A Midsummer Night’s Dream'' by John Neumeier (Polish premiere)
* 13 October 2012: ''Weill Suite'' by Krzysztof Pastor (premiere)
* 13 October 2012: '' Afternoon of a Faun'' by Jacek Tyski (world premiere)
* 3 October 2013: ''Hamlet'' by Jacek Tyski (world premiere)
* 7 March 2014: ''Romeo and Juliet'' by Krzysztof Pastor (Polish premiere)
* 29 March 2014: ''Adagio & Scherzo'' by Krzysztof Pastor (world premiere)
* 29 March 2014: ''Returning Waves'' by Emil Wesołowski (revival)
* 29 May 2014: ''Don Quixote'' by Marius Petipa, Aleksandr Gorski / Alexei Fedeyechev (premiere)
* 15 November 2014: ''Nevermore...?'' by Robert Bondara (world premiere)
* 15 November 2014: '' Soldiers' Mass'' by Jiří Kylián (Polish premiere)
* 15 November 2014: ''The Green Table'' by Kurt Jooss / Jeanette Vondersaar (Warsaw premiere)
* 14 February 2015: ''Pupa'' by Anna Hop (world premiere)
* 28 May 2015: ''Casanova in Warsaw'' by Krzysztof Pastor (world premiere)
* 27 November 2015: ''The Taming of the Shrew'' by John Cranko / Jane Bourne (Polish premiere)
* 9 April 2016: ''The Tempest'' by Krzysztof Pastor (Polish premiere)
* 25 November 2016: '' Chopiniana'' by Mikhail Fokine / Alexei Fadeyechev (premiere)
* 25 November 2016: ''Bolero'' by Krzysztof Pastor (Polish premiere)
* 25 November 2016: '' Chroma'' by Wayne McGregor (Polish premiere)
* 20 May 2017: ''Swan Lake'' by Krzysztof Pastor (world premiere with new libretto)
* 14 June 2017: ''Darkness'' by Izadora Weiss (world premiere)
* 10 November 2017: ''Świtezianka'' by Robert Bondara (premiere)
* 10 November 2017: ''On a Stave'' (Tansman's ''Sextuor'') by Jacek Tyski (Polish premiere)
* 10 November 2017: Szymanowski's ''Violin Concerto no. 2'' by Jacek Przybyłowicz (world premiere)
* 20 April 2018: ''Lady of the Camellias'' by John Neumeier (Polish premiere)
* 17 November 2018: Chopin's ''Concerto in E minor'' by Liam Scarlett (world premiere)
* 17 November 2018: Chopin's ''Concerto in F minor'' by Krzysztof Pastor (world premiere)
* 31 December 2018: Moniuszko's ''Polish Dances - Polonaise & Mazurka'' by Krzysztof Pastor (world premiere)
* 6 April 2019: ''Sarmatian Parable'' after Fredro's '' Zemsta'' by Conrad Drzewiecki / Emil Wesołowski (Warsaw premiere)
* 6 April 2019: ''Husband and Wife'' after Fredro by Anna Hop (world premiere)
* 25 April 2019: Kilar's ''Toccata'' by Krzysztof Pastor (world premiere)
* 16 October 2019: '' Le Noces'' by Bronislawa Nijinska (Polish premiere)
* 16 October 2019: ''Do Not Go Gentle…'' by Krzysztof Pastor (Polish premiere)
* 16 October 2019: ''Infra'' by Wayne McGregor (Polish premiere)
* 17 September 2020: '' Le Corsaire'' by Manuel Legris after Marius Petipa (premiere)
*16 December 2020: Kilar's ''Preludium'' by Krzysztof Pastor (world premiere at the Dance Open Festival, Saint Petersburg)
*4 June 2021: ''Mayerling'' by Kenneth MacMillan (Polish premiere)
*13 November 2021: ''Exodus'' by Anna Hop (world premiere)
*13 November 2021: ''Flights-Harnasie'' by Izadora Weiss (world premiere)
*28 April 2022: ''Dracula'' by Krzysztof Pastor (Polish premiere)
*25 November 2022: '' Giselle'' by Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot, Marius Petipa / Maina Gielgud (premiere)
*18 May 2023: ''Grosse Fuge'' by Hans van Manen (Polish premiere) in plan
*18 May 2023: ''Eroica Variations'' by Ted Brandsen (world premiere) in plan
*18 May 2023: ''Seventh Symphony'' by Toer van Schayk (Polish premiere) in plan

Leading soloists, 2009-2023

On tour

* 2010: Russia, Saint Petersburg, Mariinsky Theatre, 18th White Night Music Festival (''Chopin, the Romantic Artist'' x 2)
* 2010: China, Shanghai, Shanghai Oriental Art Center, Expo 2010 (''Chopin, the Romantic Artist'' x 2)
* 2010: Norway, Bergen, Den Nye Opera, Bergen, Norway (''When You End and I Begin...'' / ''In Search of Colours'' / ''Alpha Kryonia Xe'' x 3)
* 2012: Spain, Sevilla, Teatro de la Maestranza (''La Bayadère'' x 5)
* 2012: Finland, Kuopio, Music Centre, Kuopio Dance Festival (''Weill Suite'' / ''When You End and I Begin...'' / ''Afternoon of a Faun'' / ''The Green'' x 2)
* 2013: USA, Houston, Cullen Theater, Dance Salad Festival (''Kurt Weill'' / ''And the Rain Will Pass...'' / ''Moving Rooms'' / ''Persona'' – excerpts x 3)
* 2013: Spain, Barcelona, Gran Teatre del Liceu (''The Kisses'' / ''Concerto Barocco'' / ''The Green'' / ''In Light and Shadow'' x 4)
* 2013: Lithuania, Vilnius, Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre (''Century Rolls'' / ''Moving Rooms'' / ''Artifact Suite'' x 2)
* 2015: USA, New York, Joyce Theatre (''Adagio & Scherzo'' / ''The Rite of Spring'' by Emanuel Gat / ''Moving Rooms'' x 7)
* 2015: USA, Washington, Eisenhower Theater (''Adagio & Scherzo'' / ''The Rite of Spring'' by Emanuel Gat / ''Moving Rooms'' x 1)
* 2016: Netherlands, The Hague, Zuiderstrandtheater (''Romeo and Juliet'' x 2)
* 2016: Lithuania, Vilnius, Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre, Krzysztof Pastor’s Birthday Gala (''Adagio'' / ''Moving Rooms'' x 1)
* 2017: Russia, Saint Petersburg, Alexandrinsky Theatre, Dance Open Festival (''The Tempest'' x 1)
* 2018: Czech Republic, Brno, Exhibition Centre, Festival Dance Brno 100 (''Chopiniana / Moving Rooms / Bolero'' x 1)
* 2019: Canada, Montreal, Place des Arts (''Swan Lake'' x 10)
* 2019: Russia, Saint Petersburg, Alexandrinsky Theatre, Dance Open Festival (''Toccata'' x 1)
* 2019: Germany, Osnabrück, Theater Osnabrück (''Toccata'' x 1)
* 2019: Lithuania, Vilnius, Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre (''Toccata'' x 1)
*2020: Russia, Saint Petersburg, Oktyabrsky Big Concert Hall, Dance Open Festival (''Preludium'' x 1)
*2022: Germany, Hamburg, Hamburg State Opera - Main Stage, 47th Hamburg Ballet Days (''The Tempest'' x 2)
*2022: Netherlands, Amsterdam, Dutch National Opera & Ballet, 60th Anniversary Gala Dutch National Ballet (''Toccata'' x 1)
*2022: Finland, Lappeenranta, City Theatre, Lappeenranta Ballet Gala (''Tristan and Isolde''-Pas de deux ''& Moving Rooms'' x 2)
*2022: Hungary, Győr, National Theatre of Győr (''Husband and Wife'' x 1)

See also

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References

External links

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{{Ballet companies

Ballet in Poland
Ballet companies
Performing groups established in 2009