Martin Dvořák
Education
Martin Dvořák was born in Brno. As ten years old, began an eight-year study at the Dance Conservatory in Brno, which graduated in 1997. Already since 1988, consistently worked with the Brno National Theatre for performances of opera and ballet. He was in 1996 the part-time as a member of the Ballet National Theatre in Brno. After graduation he joined the first professional engagement at Laterna Magika in Prague under artistic leading of Jean-Pierre Aviotte (1997-1998). In May-June 2012 he graduated Yoga Teacher Course in India, Himachal-Pradesh. In 2013 he graduated his Masters Studies of Contemporary Dance Movement Research at the Anton Bruckner Privat University in Linz (Austria).
Dancer / Performer
In September 1998, he became for three seasons a dancer of the Prague Chamber Ballet / Ballet Prague. Under the leadership of artistic director Libor Vaculík got the first opportunity in choreographies of P. Šmok, J. Kylián, R. North, L. Vaculík, P. Zuska, J. Heckmann, P. Delcroix, B. Taylor and P. Tyc. The ensemble visited many European countries - Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Israel, Malta, Switzerland, Austria, Slovakia. For the role of Conscience in the ballet Hiroshima of L. Vaculík was nominated for the Czech theatre prize Thalia Award (2000).
Since 2001 he has worked abroad. First as a dancer Volksoper Wien / Tanztheater Wien (2001/03) under the leadership of Liz King, where he performed in pieces of international choreographers C. Guerin, G. Reischl, M. Klien, D. Terlingo, N. Mortimore, L. King, B. Lachambre, R. Breuss, Ch. Winkler.
In 2003-04 he was a member of Swiss ensemble Ballett Bern / Stadttheater Bern Ballett under the artistic leadership of Felix Dumeril (S. Celis, J. Stroemgren, and others.)
Between 2004-2012, he worked closely with the German choreographer Jochen Ulrich. First he was a soloist under his direction of Tanztheater Tiroler Landestheater in Innsbruck (in choreographies from J. Ulrich, L. Devos, F. Dumeril, J. Renshaw, M. D'Auzon, A. Gomes). Since 2006, as a principal soloist of Ballet Landestheater Linz. Here he starred in main roles in performances - Nussknacker und Mausekönig, Lorenzaccio, Lorca und Dalí, Campo Amor, Fidelio – Ein Ballett, Dornröschen, Michelangelo, Rumi and Bernarda Alba's Haus.
Video: Michelangelo / Sissi / Magic Night + Seven deadly Sins / Rumi / Lorca and Dalí
In addition to these permanent engagements he has been guesting in a number of projects: Edith – vrabčák z předměstí (chor. L. Vaculík, J. K. Tyl Theatre in Pilsen, 2000), Joseph and his brothers (I. Markó, Magyar Festival Ballet in Budapest, 2002/2003), Schwanensee-Rockballett (J. Ulrich, Ballet Vorpommern - Ostsee-Festspiele in Greifswald, Germany, 2004), 3mal-Lorca (J. Ulrich, Ludwigsforum Aachen, 2005), Könige (J. Renshaw, Kulturforum - Stadttheater Fürth / Nürnberg, 2007 ), Lorenzaccio (J. Ulrich, Staatstheater Darmstadt, 2008), Oeidipus is Complex (N. Adler, Tanztheater Homunculus Vienna, 2009)
Since 2009 he works as a freelance artist. Collaborated with Irish ensemble Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre and choreographer Michael Dolan on production of Rite of Spring for English National Opera in London (Nomination for Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production), with Tanztheater Homunculus in Vienna (Jennifer) and again with Landestheater Linz on the productions of Jochen Ulrich´s Anna Karenina, Rumi, Michelangelo and 7 Deadly Sins with Marianne Faithfull in the main role. He has choreographed for the operas The Cunning Little Vixen from Leoš Janáček, Rigoletto from Giuseppe Verdi and jazz-rock dance theatre Matchgirl Opera from Tiger Lilies.
So far he worked with more than 50 choreographers - Henrik Kaalund, Elio Gervasi, Nir Ben Gal, Johannes Wieland, Chris Haring, Liz King, Jochen Ulrich, Catherine Guerin, Benoit Lachambre, Jiří Kylián, Stijn Celis, Felix Dumeril, Kaori Ito, Esther Balfe, Vangelis Legakis, Jo Stroemgren, Jean Renshaw, Isira Makuloluwe, Michael Dolan, Pavel Šmok, Robert North, Libor Vaculík, Petr Zuska, Robert Balogh, Jochen Heckmann, Patrick Delcroix, Jean-Pierre Aviotte, Bruce Taylor, Petr Tyc, Georg Reischl, Michael Klien, David Terlingo, Nicholas Mortimore, Rose Breuss, Christophe Winkler, Lode Devos, Michael D' Auzon, Antonio Gomes, Ivan Markó, Nikolaus Adler, Gabriel Wong, Neil Paris, Eva Klimáčková, Jan Březina, Vladislav Šoltýs, Jeongho Nam, Mei Hong Lin, Emma Murray, Anil van der Zee, Lazaro Godoy, Mani Obeya, Daphne Strothmann, Alexandra Karabelas and Martin Gruber on more than 100 pieces.
In 2013 he was guest dancer of Staatstheater Kassel Tanztheater (Germany) in production Readymades created by Johannes Wieland and Chris Haring and also as a dancer of Tanz Company Gervasi in Vienna, in production Solo with Guests by Elio Gervasi. Since 2014 he cooperates with inclusive dance company Ich bin OK for down syndrom handicapped people in Vienna. In 2015 he collaborated on the baroque opera project Gli Uccellatori for Theater an der Wien / Kammeroper Wien, as dancer and choreographer in Mozart´s Magic Flute in Burgruine Reinsberg (Austria) and on the performance project Zoes Bios Box II. for Pilsen: 2015 / European Culture Capital. In 2016 was a guest dancer at the Oper Graz in the production The Abduction from the Seraglio and assisting choreographer for Vienna State Opera production of Armide. In 2017 worked as a choreographer and performer at Opera Frankfurt´s opera production Berlioz´s Les Troyens (dir. Eva-Maria Hoeckmayer) and at Theater Regensburg as Oscar Wilde in opera Salome (dir. Brigitte Fassbaender). 2018 has re-started in collaboration with Brno Philharmonic (choreography: Bithday of Infanta) and with Opera Cologne in opera production Gli Uccellatori under artistic leading of Jean Renshaw (role: Uccello). In 2018, he met the same director in opera production Die Zauberinsel based on Shakespeare´s Tempest at the Theater an der Wien / Kammeroper Wien. He played the role of Caliban. In 2019, he continues in the collaboration with Jean Renshaw at Opera Cologne in Salieri´s La Scuola de´ Gelosi.
Choreographer, Director, Author
In Vienna he became acquainted with new choreographic influences and overhead, which seeks to develop in his own work. As a young choreographer created two choreographies for Dance Theatre Antares ("Den Toten Der Heimat" - 2002, "Gabriel Lion" - 2003), in Vienna also collaborated on the production of "Der Verlorene Atem" - Schauspielhaus Wien and in Prague with Dance Conservatory. Since 2004 he works continuously as a choreographer. So far he created more than 30 his own choreographic works, which were also presented abroad (Slovak Republic, Germany, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Israel, Portugal, Italy, South Korea, Malta).
As a choreographer has collaborated with directors as: Brigitte Fassbaender, Rainer Mennicken, Matthias Davids, Karl M. Sibelius, Jean Renshaw, Karel Drgáč and Eva-Maria Höckmayr, Ivan Alexandre and others.
2004 – opening night of his first freelance project "Gabriel Lion 2004" at the Terezín Memorial Meeting “Terezínská Tryzna” and as part of Czech Dance Platform. The project was presented in thirteen theatres in the Czech and Slovak Republic.
2005 - premiere dance-theater project based on a story by Joseph Heller - "I don´t like you anymore" (HaDivadlo Brno, Alfred ve dvoře in Prague) – formation of Company ProART, in Innsbruck choreography - "InUNSERirgendwo", "Interviews with loneliness" (searching project ProART Festival 2005 in Brno), "Banks of Ganges" (festival opera project in Rakovník).
2006 - "Salome" (opera, Landestheater Innsbruck), "Who's afraid?" for the Company ProART, "... as in heaven" (searching project ProART Festival 2006), "Trio in 6" (for Landestheater Innsbruck) "BAROCKO - In the Men´s Arms" for the Company ProART (Czech-German-Austrian project of Baroque opera and contemporary dance theater).
2007 - "Fear and/or Desire" (for Landestheater Linz), "Trittico Botticelliano" and "Birds" (for the Municipal Theatre in Brno - Moravian Autumn Festival), "Never Sent Letters" (for Reduta Theatre in Brno), "Reality Boulevard" (for ProART Company).
2008 - "Helden Haft - 6 Tage Rennen" - a project in collaboration with the Dresden Tanzwochen (Prague, Brno, Essen, Dresden), "Mother Stood" - miniature for Irene Bauer (Company ProART), "Quartet for 2" - a duet for choreographic studio of National Theatre Ballet in Brno.
2009 - dance production of "Memoires" for the Company ProART and "Matchgirl Opera" with the music of Tiger Lilies for Landestheater Linz
2010 - "Giselle: Revenge" for the Company ProART (Vienna Review HERE), "Simple Total Beauty" for the Junior ProART Company
2011 - opera "The Cunning Little Vixen" from Leoš Janáček for Landestheater Linz, "Foreign Bodies" for Company ProART in cooperation with the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra, "Brotherhood" and "Beethoven-Tolstoy-Janáček: The Kreutzer Sonata" for the Company ProART (Review HERE)
2012 – Igor Strawinky´s dance pantomime "The Soldier's Tale" co-produced by the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra and Company ProART, "Rigoletto" – opera from Giuseppe Verdi for Landestheater Linz, "String Quartets" (Intimate Letters) for the Company ProART
2013 - "SFIDA FURIOSO" - solo dance piece with a theme of Pier Paolo Pasolini´s life and work (ProART Company in coproduction with Centre for Choreography of Johannes Kresnik, Austria) and "Milada" inspirated and dedicated to czech national hero and political victim Milada Horáková.
2014 - "OTA - PAVEL - RAŠKA" - dance theatre piece for Balet DFXŠ in Liberec, "USPUD_emoticon" - dance theatre production for UNESCO heritage Villa Tugendhat in Brno (ProART Company), world premiere staging of Erik Satie´s ballet Uspud, "Motion Scores" - dance evening of 10 international choreographers with music of 10 czech composers (ProART Company). "Another Jan" - dance piece as final part of tribute to the victims of communism - Milada Horáková, Jan Palach and brothers Mašíns.
2015 - "Poets of the City" - dance theatre double bill (Blatný + Vitka) as Hommage to Czech composer Vítězslava Kaprálová and Czech poet Ivan Blatný, for UNESCO heritage Villa Tugendhat in Brno (ProART Company). "Schubert: Winter Journey" - psychological musical theatre (Kammeroper Wien - ProART Company). Choreography and dance of "Magic Flute" from W. A. Mozart at Burgruine Reinsberg (Austria), direction: Prof. Karel Drgáč). "...One of the highlights was an expression dancer Martin Dvořák who completed the stage and sometimes even stole the show the protagonists..."
2016 - "Meeting in the Glassroom" - artistic talkshow series with various personalities of Czech cultural scene in Villa Tugendhat in Brno. Miniatures "Pilgrim Song - Fratres - Cadenza" in collaboration with Ensemble Opera Diversa in Brno. Assisting choreographer in "Armide" Wiener Staatsoper (chor. Jean Renshaw, dir. Ivan Alexandre, con. Marc Minkowski). Co-choreography and direction of dance project "W. S. Sonnets" - International Choreographers: Shakespeare 400.
2017 - Choreography and performing at Opera Frankfurt (Germany) in production of Berlioz´s "Les Troyens". Dance and choreography at Theater Regensburg (Germany) in Strauss´s opera "Salome" as Oscar Wilde (dir. Brigitte Fassbaender). "Oneness" - Czech-German dance project in collaboration with Phase Zero productions and ProART. "Poetic reflections in free moments" - dance theatre with a world-known pianist Lubomyr Melnyk, dedicated to the director Petr Weigl and his work.
2018 - Choreography and performing "Birthday of Infanta" (for Brno Philharmonic) / "Fairy Tales in the Villa" (Firebird, Marionettes) for ProART Company in collaboration with Dance Conservatory Brno. For ProART Company created dance pieces "Amid Fragility" (with singer Lenka Dusilová) "Pochodně - Torch of Freedom", and dance-theatre events "Visiting Beauty" (with actress Veronika Žilková), "Landscape of the soul" (with actress Marta Vančurová and violin duo ECH!) in the Villa Tugendhat and finally for Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra "Destiny of Anita Garibaldi" with a singer Radůza.
2019 - "Ema Destinn_Storm and Peace" - a multi-genre stage poem about Czech national hero Ema Destinn. Musical theater in the co-production of ProART Company (CZ) and Tanzkompanie Golde G. (DE). "Přervané životy" - three solo pieces dedicated to the victims of August 1969 in Brno (Danuše, Stanislav, Jirka) - coproduction ProART and Meeting Brno. "Orten_100_Ohnice" - musical dance theatre based on poetry of Jiří Orten - collaboration with actor Daniel Krejčík and musicians Jitka Břízová and Vojtěch Drahoňovský (ProART Company). "Broken Lives" - 3 dance solos dedicated to the victims of 1969 (for festival Meeting Brno). "Ondina" - dance theatre in collaboration with Buranteatr Brno and ProART Company. "Minulost mává nám" - dance project as a memory of Velvet revolution in 1989 with songs of Czech singer and songwriter Jaroslav Hutka.
VIDEO - OWN WORKS
Since 2004 he works as artistic director of the ProART Company and artistic director of the International Workshop Festival ProART (www.proart-festival.cz)
Teacher
International experiences as teacher of contemporary and modern dance, ballet, partnering, improvisation and yoga in: Austria (Anton Bruckner Privat Universitaet), Poland (Zawirowania, Varšava), Hungary (Budapest Dance Theatre), Israel (Liat Dror Nir Ben Gal Dance School), Slovakia (VŠMU - Bratislava v pohybe), England (Oxford House London), South Korea (Korean National Univeristy of Arts), Czech Republic (JAMU, Dance Concervatory Brno, Prague Chamber Ballet, Brno National Theatre Ballet), Italy and Malta.
Yoga
My classes are based on my 10-year experience with yoga as a way of my own personal training. You will not learn how to jump high by practising yoga, neither how to do pirouettes or fall on the floor. But it will teach you how to be aware of yourself, be aware of your own body complexly. After many years of practising different types of yoga - Bikram Yoga, Shadow Yoga and Hatha Yoga (the latter I studied in India, Himalaya - Pradesh), I try to offer dancers a new way how to work and take care of their instrument - their body. Synchronizing breathing with movement, looking inside yourself, overcoming pain, calming down, distinguishing between muscle tension and release, meditation. Those are the qualities which you can discover or deepen in my classes of yoga for dancers and not only for them.
Improvisation
Workshop focused on creative, improvising and choreographic skills of dancers. In my lesson I do not concentrate on improvement of the dance technique, but on catching and development of the dancer’s personality and his/ her creative potential. Using various choreographic and improvising processes, I try to create motional material together with the students, where we step by step insert content, expression, idea. As a source of inspiration I use happening in everyday life, words, sounds, images, texts, numbers, letters, ornaments and above all emotions. I look for potential of motional expression and emotional sharing depending on the music. I try to share my experience that it is possible to keep the structure and inner scheme of the motional material in a way that audience does not recognise that the same motional setting is interpreted differently (change of motion size, sight, visualisation, space, direction, dynamics, energy and pace). Suitable for choreographers and dancers who don't like being a puppet in the hands of the choreographer, and who like to participate in the creative process or just show their opinion. Creative captivation and no shame presumed.
Contemporary ballet
In classes I draw from my experience of a classically trained dancer who is active in the world of modern ballet, contemporary dance and movement theatre. The structure of the class remains preserved, it is only enriched with principles and pieces of knowledge from ballet Vaganova, traditions of American school and French school, contemporary dance and yoga - breathing, release, tension, work with energy, respect for the given anatomical features of the body and as main goal I am using Yoga. The form gives way to the contents of the movement. Listening to your own body extends career, quality above quantity; the time of overturned-out 1st positions belongs to the past. Suitable for everybody, not only for contemporary dancers.
