Dance Lesson - Demo

“Dance lesson” is based on Igor Stravinsky’s ballet “Petrushka”. Three versions of the piece exist: 



1. Performance (recreated twice: at the Body/Mind Festival at the Centre of Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle in Warsaw and in the Ludwig Museum in Vienna in 2001)



2. Video installation (created for the São Paulo Biennale)



3. A series of colour photographs.



Six men, amateur dancers, were suspended on a special construction fastened to a revolving wall, three on each side. The audience saw only one side of the wall. During the turn, the trio of dancers suspended in the air performed a 30-second choreography – they emulated the moves of the professional dancer, projected on the screen during the performance. Every 30 seconds the wall would be moved by Kozyra and her assistant, which allowed the performers to change and rest. The dancers were accompanied by two elderly women sitting in the audience. Through footage transmitted live, the audience could see them on a giant projection displayed in front of the seats. The women were topless, with clearly visible ample breasts – their only female attribute. The ladies were made-up and disguised as men: they had beards and moustache. The women observed their projected image with astonishment, and started to mimic themselves. The sex of certain dancers was “switched” as well, in the manner familiar from other Kozyra’s works: “Boys” and “The Rite of Spring”.


3-channel video installation (colour), sync. loop, 4:3 PAL, duration: 25’05”15