In some places we have pushed them away completely. At the same time, during leisure time or fatigue, we take shelter in their shadow. Distinctive above the ground, strong below it. We have done them wrong many times, but they remain. They take care of their friends and relationships. Trees. 

In the choreography by Věra Ondrašíková, a seemingly static object firmly rooted in the ground becomes a partner of the dancer, but also his synonym. Real trees transferred to the stage lose their natural environment and acquire completely new characteristics. They are as flexible as the dancers’ bodies, they are vulnerable, but they are also strong and magical in every moment. 

The performance won the Audience Award at the Czech Dance Platform 2023.

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Věra Ondrašíková

After graduating from the arts grammar school, she went on to study choreography at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. As a dancer she has taken part in projects by Czech and foreign choreographers. She won the Most Outstanding Dancer Award at the Masdanza Festival in the Canary Islands and the First Prize for group work. Her performances have been presented at Biennale de la danse in Lyon, Aerowaves in London, Aerodance in Amsterdam, Cynetart in Dresden and other festivals. She created the choreography for Havel's Antikódy at the New Stage of the National Theatre. In 2017 she worked as a performer with Japanese choreographer Min Tanaka in A body performance at Archa Theater in Prague.

In December 2015, her most successful performance GUIDE premiered and it has been performed dozens of times around the world and has won a number of awards: the Audience Award, the Lighting Design Award and the Dancer of the Year Award for Jaro Ondruš at the Czech Dance Platform 2016. In 2017 the performance was selected among the 20 most interesting European works within the international Aerowaves network. GUIDE launched this prestigious festival in Aarhus, Denmark, where it was seen by over 300 foreign promoters.

Thanks to the Aerowaves platform, this distinctive performance has received invitations to many prestigious festivals, such as One Dance Week in Plovdiv, SIDance in Seoul, V4 Dance in New York and New Orleans, Israel Festival in Jerusalem, International Dance Festival in Birmingham and the prestigious Unidram in Potsdam. It has attracted viewers of all generations in Europe, the USA, Israel and South Korea.

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Warning: the performance features strobe lights and increased sound levels and smoke.