Report from Jarmila Jeřábková Award 2004
Duncan Centre Theatre 12–15 November 2004
The fifth year of the competition for Jarmila Jeřábková Award 2004 for young choreographers from Central and Eastern Europe took place at Duncan Centre. This year the participants came from the Czech Republic, Latvia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. There were 14 participating choreographers this year. The competition is specific for its openness to ever wider range of countries. Each participant competes with two choreographies, one free and one obligatory to the music by a contemporary Czech composer. This year the directress of Duncan Centre and founder of the competition Eva Blažíčková chose the composer Jan Hanuš in memoriam. A choreographic workshop was held for the competitors by the directress of DC Eva Blažíčková. The originally planned workshop of the jury member Trude Cohne from Holland was cancelled because of her injury.
The jury, comprised of representatives of the USA, Great Britain and the Czech Republic, awarded the first prize to the Hungarian choreographer Marta Ládjanszki for her solo pieces One and Image (to music by Jan Hanuš). This non-conformist and deeply intuitive and consistent choreographer works without mercy with her body which she has under perfect control. She exposes her body controversially and in a provoking manner. The second prize went to Jana Vránová for her piece Catharsis and her choreography inspired by Hanuš´s composition Wooden Christ. Though still a student Vránová surprised by her mature and temperate expression, clear contour of her stage ideas and subtle touches of social topics. The third prize was awarded to Klára Alexová for her choreography Red Is the Colour that Purple Desires Most and So Finally You Came (in co-operation with Jitka Štecová). Alexová is one of the few participants in the competition to create group choreographies; she works with collective dynamics and leans on the emotions of stage lights and colours.
At the end of the competition Eva Blažíčková announced the next competition. In 2005 the Jarmila Jeřábková Award will be open to choreographers from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Bulgaria and newly Romania. The composer for next year´s obligatory choreographies is Sylvie Bodorová.
The competition and all performances were open to public.