Young, beautiful nad forever
“The production uses the phenomenon of competition to show the principles of competition in the Western world, if we want to be radical, the principles of patriarchal capitalism, which puts ruthless struggle at the forefront – always and for everything. In hindsight, I see in it an attempt to point to the same principles operating at different levels of life: at the level of society, industry, and perhaps even the family. Talent competition is an allegory, art is just a smokescreen to trick the unsuspecting victim, because talent is the last thing on the line.”
Lucie Kocourková (Opera+)
Young, beautiful and forever
I’ll do anything to succeed. But will it be enough?
A fun dance reality show like the obstacle course we undertake daily in pursuit of success.
Choreography, script and direction by Jana Burkiewiczová
Co-writing, dramaturgy: Martina Kinská
Music: Jiří Konvalinka
Set design, costumes: Marek Cpin
Lighting design: Karel Šimek
Assistant choreographers: Paulina Šmatláková, Simona Machovičová
Assistant choreographers: Béla Kéri Nagy, Zdeněk Mládek
The performance is directed by: Jana Prašničková
Barbora Coufalová, Petronela Bogdan, Sophie Debou, Mai Iwamoto, Shino Kubesova, Jana Pelclová, Aurora Kubelíková, Markéta Vomáčková, Luigia Saccardo, Dancers: Zdeněk Mládek, Paolo Terranova, William Steers, Giovanne Frota, Jonathan Riveros Suarez, Valerio Testoni, Chikara Araki
Voice in the recording. Johana Matoušková
Photography: Michaela Karásek Čejková
Talent competition in dance, but something is a little different. Seventeen final contestants from different parts of the world, with different reasons for being here. They’re finally in the finals. Now it’s all about everything. The win is within reach. And with it comes fame, money, success. Talent, talent, ability. But also resilience, attractiveness, self-presentation, life story… And even that can be tailored to demand. Everything is adaptable to demand. And it’s not just the invisible hand of the market that drives it. Don’t let it get boring! Losses are to be expected. A fierce race to see who can offer more, who can last longer, who is the ideal product for the marketing machine to make more profit. Are there still any rules? And is it even about dancing anymore?
The production was created for the ballet of the South Bohemian Theatre in České Budějovice.
Premiere 21 March 2025 South Bohemian Theatre, České Budějovice.
“One starting point was the reality show, or rather the talent competition, but perhaps even more strongly the feeling that we are all participants in the talent competition in our everyday lives. We just have to be successful, we can’t afford to overstep. Society’s pressure to succeed drives us into a constantly competitive environment, and this is true both in everyday life and especially in culture, where the need to stand up to both the public and the critics is literally an existential matter. The feeling that we are like hamsters running in circles after an invisible vision of success was the basic starting point.”
Jana Burkiewiczová