Ballerina Horror Project explores themes of bodily-political regimes, queer transformation, and the weaponization of ballet in the Soviet imperialist project. Błaszczak, a former student of the State Ballet School in Poland, studies the traces left by ballet education on her body, revealing ballet as an oppressive system of control formed on philosophical foundations from sixteenth-century royal courts in Europe. As a descendant of the Łemko ethnic group, who faced forced displacement after World War II by the Soviet army as part of Operation Vistula, Błaszczak's solo offers an alternative to cruelty: a queer becoming.

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Choreography, performance, text, styling, music and light composition: Monika Błaszczak

Aerial work and other technical support: Kote Liparteliani

Aerial work lessons: Ana Talakvadze, Misha Zakaidze, Chica Ogi, Oliko Barbakadze, Kote Liparteliani

Projections: Koka Esaiashvili

Special thanks to: Mateusz Czekaj, Levan Khetaguri and Iuri Mgebrishvili

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Ballerina Horror Project was created as part of Dancing Together, Again! Creative Residencies Programme in Tbilisi, Georgia, organized by the National Institute of Music and Dance in Poland and funded by the European Union under Creative Europe, Component Culture program.

 

 

Ballerina Horror Project is supported by the National Institute of Music and Dance in Warsaw, Poland; Arts Research Institute of Georgia in Tbilisi, Georgia; Movement Theatre in Tbilisi, Georgia; Movimento Danza in Naples, Italy; TRAFIK Dance/Theatre Company in Rijeka, Croatia.