Nijinska Piano Forte

The creators of the performance draw from Niżyńska's biography, selecting key moments from her life and translating them into choreographic language. Niżyńska's (Daniela Komędera) encounter with herself leads to a re-experiencing of the emotions tied to pivotal events, aiming to extract a new quality and personal language of expression. This is particularly conveyed through Niżyńska’s interaction with rhythm, music, and counterpoint, brought to life on stage by Katarzyna Piszek. In the choreographic layer, the creators reference Les noces (The Wedding) – Niżyńska's work with music by Igor Stravinsky, which premiered in Paris in 1923. It was a groundbreaking piece, both for Niżyńska and for the entire avant-garde choreography movement. Dance historians describe Les noces as protofeminist – in this work, Niżyńska moved away from the joyful character of a typical wedding and, at the same time, revitalized the harsh and restrictive role of women confined to marriage Inspired by this work, Daniela Komędera, together with the team of Sztuki Nowej (Babicka, Dashuk, Jankowska, Ostrowska, Perkowski, Piszek, Żakowski), reinterprets Les noces. The creators engage in a dialogue with the original piece, examining the period during which it was created – a time when Niżyńska faced personal crises, such as being abandoned by her husband during the revolution in Russia, fleeing with her children and mother from Kyiv, financial difficulties, and both creative and emotional struggles. However, this challenging period also brought success, which ultimately defined her place in the history of dance. The performance Niżyńska Piano Forte raises questions about the situation of the contemporary woman – dancer, choreographer, artist – and reflects on her struggle to develop a personal language of expression in a world full of limitations and expectations.

Daniela is a choreographer, dancer, and actress. She is part of the Centrum w Ruchu collective. She choreographed Nijinska Piano Forte. She created the choreography for the animated painting film The Peasants- polish candidate for the Oscars, directed by DK Welchman and Hugh Welchman. She created the choreography for the dance-music performance Chłopi Tańcuj Remixed, which was presented in Poland for 10 000 people. Daniela worked as a choreographer on the film Winterreise, directed by Alex Helfrecht, and The Ugly Stepsister, directed by Emily Blitschfield (world premiere at Sundance; European premiere at Berlinale 2025). Together with the Sticky Fingers Club collective, she created the performance Glory Game, choreographed by Dominik Więcek, which was selected for Aerowaves 2025. In 2024, they presented Sticky Fingers Club at the Fringe Festival in Beijing, China and Tanz Mainz in Germany in 2025.With the collective from Munich she choreographed Heimsuchung, receiving the Golden Mask award for choreography. Daniela is a scholarship holder of the Grażyna Kulczyk Alternative Dance Academy and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. She has performed at festivals in Brazil, the United States, Mexico, the Netherlands, Japan, Greenland, Sweden, Germany, Ukraine, Georgia, Belarus, and others. Katarzyna Piszek, also known as Kasai, is a composer, vocalist, and producer. She comes from a family with strong musical traditions. She graduated from the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, Faculty of Jazz and Popular Music. In May 2019, her debut album Equals was released by the Art2 Music label. Kasai’s music is remarkably vivid, cinematic, and multi-layered, powerfully stimulating the imagination. She moves fluently across various musical landscapes, encompassing avant-pop, poetic music, alternative, and electro-ambient, although the roots of her inspiration lie in opera — in which she was “raised” — and symphonic music. Kasai’s primary means of expression are her voice and keyboard instruments. She is the lead composer and vocalist of her own musical project, Kasai. She also performs in a duo with Wojciech Waglewski and spent many years playing in the bands of Monika Brodka and Artur Rojek. Additionally, she has composed numerous songs performed by stars of the Polish music scene.