Maciej Kuźmiński (b. 1985) is a choreographer, performer, educator, and producer. He graduated summa cum laude from the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London, receiving degrees in choreography (MA) and dance theatre (BA). In 2016, he was appointed artistic director of the Caro Dance Theatre in Siedlce. An author of independent projects developed at the Maciej Kuźmiński Company, he is the initiator and organiser of the Polish Dance Network.
The “Dance Tabs” magazine described Kuźmiński’s Room 40 as 'perfectly bridging concept and beauty', a remark that aptly describes his choreographing style. His works—formally daring, with grounded, dynamic movement—revolve around existential and philosophical themes. The artist is also interested in social takes on feminism.
Since 2014, Kuźmiński’s pieces have been presented over 100 times in England, Finland, Holland, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Serbia, Macedonia, Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, Georgia, Italy, Hungary, and Poland. A multiple award winning artist, Kuźmiński is the recipient of such prizes as the prestigious Audience Award at the Polish Dance Platform 2014, the 2nd Prize and Scapino Ballet Prize at the international choreographic competition in Hannover 2016, as well as the 1st Prize, Critics Prize and Special Prize at the Festival of Choreographic Miniatures in Belgrad, Serbia (2017).
Kuźmiński has been teaching and developing three different movement techniques since 2009, including his auteur Dynamic Phrasing technique, Floor Work and instant composition. He has also worked on practical applications of choreology and re-composition in the so-called Task Basket method.
Kuźmiński is the author of three BA degree choreographies for the Trinity Laban Conservatoire for Music and Dance in London, the BDI – Belgrade Dance Institute in Serbia and the Belarussian State University of Culture and Art in Minsk.
Since 2013, Kuźmiński has been a guest teacher at the Institute for Artistic Dance in Belgrade, Serbia. In 2013-2016, he was a full-time teacher at the Ludwik Solski National Theatre Academy in Cracow / Dance Theatre Department in Bytom (currently the Stanisław Wyspiański Academy of Theatre Arts), Poland. As a pedagogue, he has taught at the Polish Dance Theatre, Trinity Laban Student Union, Tanec Praha, University of Calgary in Canada, RESEO and multiple institutions/events in Finland, Austria, Serbia, Germany and Poland.
His dancing debut came with the role of Romeo in the 2007 production Romeo and Juliet by an established Austrian choreographer Liz King. In 2007-2010, he collaborated with many Polish and international choreographers as a freelance dancer, performing for such choreographers as Ohad Naharin (Israel) or Nigel Charnock (England). In 2010-2011, he was a soloist at the Polish Dance Theatre. In 2013, after his MA Choreography studies, Kuźmiński returned to the stage in “Zero,” a production of the London-based physical theatre company the Clod Ensemble. In 2013-2016, he danced in his own productions. 2017 saw his stint with Miikka Ryytty (Finland) and the Polish Dance Theatre. He also performed at the National Theatre in Warsaw, Konzerthaus in Vienna, and Sadler's Wells in London.
Maciej Kuźmiński is the initiator and organizer of the first Polish Dance Network, as well as a Polish-Luxembrourg artistic residency exchange called Project 2/3 (with the support of the Culture Centre in Siedlce). An executive producer and tour manager of the Maciej Kuźmiński Company, he has worked with and was supported by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Polish Institutes in Germany, England, Austria and Belarus, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, and the Institute of Music and Dance, as well as a number of cultural institutions across Poland. He is also the initiator of five dance camps in Zduńska Wola (2005-2007), and the originator and coordinator of the Think Move Dance! Educational project, developed in collaboration with the Institute of Music and Dance as part of the Thought in Motion programme (2013, 2014).
Original etudes and theatre performances:
un-becoming – 2017, 60 min. ensemble piece developed at the invitation of STW (Natalia Draganik’s Contemporary Dance School in Poznań)
movement-image – 2017, 16 min. diploma piece, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London
I Fought Piranhas – 2017, 12 min. solo, Maciej Kuźmiński Company
Hotel Excelsior – 2017, 40 min. diploma piece, Institute for Artistic Dance in Belgrade
Archipelag – 2016/2017, 70 min. ensemble piece, Caro Dance Theatre in Siedlce
Powtórzenie [Repetition] (urban installation) – 2016, 60 min. duo, Maciej Kuźmiński Company
After Before – 2015/2016, 45 min. ensemble diploma piece, Belarussian State University of Culture and Art in Minsk, revived with the Caro Dance Theatre
Dominique – 2015/2016, 12 min. solo, Maciej Kuźmiński Company
Różnica [Difference] – 2014/2015, 35 min. solo, choreographer and performer, Maciej Kuźmiński Company
Powtórzenie [Repetition]– 2014/2015, 45 min. duo, Maciej Kuźmiński Company
Więcej [More] – 2013, author and performer, 60 min. solo street performance
Powtarzaj za mną [Repeat After Me] – 2013, 12 min., choreographer and performer, Maciej Kuźmiński Company
which will continue – 2012, 40 min. ensemble piece at the invitation of Shoreditch Youth Dance in London
Room 40 – 2012/2014, 35 min. duo, diploma piece, MA Choreography, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London
Appearances as dancer in pieces by other authors:
Żniwa (guest appearance) – 2017, dir. Igor Gorzkowski, chor. Iwona Pasińska, Polish Dance Theatre
God’s Machines – 2017, chor. Miikka Ryytty (Finland)
Mondain – 2013, chor. Rudolf Laban, reconstructed by Dr Valerie Preston-Dunlop for the BBC
Zero – 2013, chor. Suzie Wilson (England), Clod Ensemble
Minus 2 – 2011–2012, chor. Ohad Naharin (Israel), Polish Dance Theatre
Happy – 2009–2012, chor. Nigel Charnock (England), as part of the Old Brewery New Dance programme
B@ttle between Carnival and Lent – 2013, chor. Ewa Wycichowska, Polish Dance Theatre
Alexanderplatz – 2009–2011, chor. Paulina Wycichowska, Polish Dance Theatre
Ad Hoc – 2011, chor. Paulina Wycichowska, Polish Dance Theatre
Nic [Nothing] – 2008, Towarzystwo Gimnastyczne, as part of the Old Brewery New Dance programme in Poznań
taniec zasraniec – 2008, chor. Witold Jurewicz, Alter Dance Theatre
Orouboros – 2008, chor. Rose Breuss (Austria)
Romeo i Julia – 2007, chor. Liz King (Austria), Dance Identity
Palimpsest – 2007, chor. Carolyn Deby (England)
More information:
www.culture.pl/pl/tworca/maciej-kuzminski
Polish Dance Network:
Media:
Culture.pl (artist’s profile): http://culture.pl/pl/tworca/maciej-kuzminski
Culture.pl (Tanzmesse 2016 feature): http://culture.pl/pl/artykul/polski-taniec-na-tanzmesse-2016
“Taniec” quarterly (feature article): http://www.irk.org.pl/pdf/3-4.16.pdf
Dance Tabs (Lucy Ribchester, review of Room 40): http://dancetabs.com/2014/11/polish-dance-platform-lublin-2014/
Dans Magazine (Joost Gouziers, review of Room 40): http://dansmagazine.nl/blog/eigentijdse-dans-polen-beweegt-tussen-traditie-en-toekomst-1
Stuttgarter Nachrichten (Brigitte Jähningen, review of Dominique):
Magazyn „Mastactwa” (Svetlana Ulanovskaya, review of After Before):http://pl.maciejkuzminski.com/svetlana-ulanovskaya-recenzuje-after-before/
