JAN KODET: GATES (Bohemia Family Dance Project - Jan Kodet) 27.10. 8 p.m. STOA Choreography: Jan Kodet Dancers: Helena Arenbergová, Jan Kodet, Petr Kolár, Petr Opavskí, Robert Tirpák Jan Kodet is a promising young choreographer from the Czech Republic. After he graduated from the Academy of Musical Arts in Prague, he expanded and strengthened his dance technique by spending six years in the early 90s dancing with various European companies (Dance Berlin, S.O.A.P Dance Theatre Frankfurt, Ballet Gulbenkian). Currently his time is divided between acting as the assistant to the Portuguese choreographer Rui Horta and the choreographer with his own company, Bohemia Family Dance Project. The company comprises strong and independent Czech dancers. Kodet choreographed his first long piece for the company in 1998. The commission piece Gates, premiered in Avignon in February 2000, was jointly produced by the Avignon festival Les Hivernales, Tanec Praha festival and Praha 2000, and was completed during the artist's residence Kodet was offered by the city of Avignon. The themes in Jan Kodet's work are often derived from the complexities of human relationships and situations. Kodet shows great skill when dealing with these themes in his choreographies; he manages to capture the tensions hidden in human situations in the simplest gesture or movement. A brilliant example of this is his work Gates, which deals with the doors or gateways to the inner essence of the human mind. The dancers gradually strip themselves not only of their true selves but also their bodies and bring their own undefined worlds, rich with emotion, to the stage where the work is being performed. The dancers meet, pass each other, find each other only to lose each other again. Kodet's treatment of his subject matter is colourful, the eventful performance incorporates dance, speech, light, sound and life. The dancers perform their exacting moves very naturally, with perfect control of their bodies.   <<<