Horizons

Horizons is an annual event organized by the Silesian Opera to celebrate International Dance Day, offering a platform for young talents to develop and showcase their choreographic visions. The event also honors distinguished artists, paying tribute to their contributions to culture and inspiring future generations of dancers and creators. This project affirms that dance remains a dynamic and powerful form of artistic expression—capable of captivating, moving, and continually engaging audiences. The result is a performance that brings together the freshness and boldness of emerging choreographers with the experience and depth of established artists who have left a lasting imprint on the Polish dance scene. The program is presented in two parts. The first part features the choreographies of the winners of the 2025 edition of Horizons, set to music by Polish composers—highlighting the diversity and richness of Polish dance artistry. The second part is the premiere of CIAŁO (BODY), choreographed by Grzegorz Pańtak—dancer, choreographer, educator, and co-director of the Kielce Dance Theatre. In his words: “I believe the language of dance often surpasses spoken or written language, as it transcends the boundaries imposed by established concepts. It creates, in real time, a multidimensional and intuitive world of associations within the viewer. It unfolds at the intersection of knowledge, instinct, and desire. This, in my view, offers the audience a vivid, immediate experience—evoked by the interweaving of symbols within relationships and the beauty of the human body in motion.”

Grzegorz Pańtak: dancer, dance teacher, choreographer, director, and producer. Together with Elżbieta Pańtak, he co-founded the institutional dance company Kielce Dance Theatre (Kielecki Teatr Tańca) in 1995, and since 2004, he has served as its co-director. He is the choreographer of numerous dance productions and also works as a lighting designer. He co-created the choreography and performed as a soloist in the dance and music spectacle Seven Gates of Jerusalem to the music of Krzysztof Penderecki, staged at the Grand Theatre - National Opera in 2008. A film version produced by Polish Television (TVP) was nominated for an International Emmy® Award in the United States (2009). As a director and producer, he has staged original dance productions premiered by the Świętokrzyska Philharmonic Orchestra, featuring music by Paweł Łukowiec and Krzesimir Dębski. On the occasion of the Chopin Year, he co-choreographed and produced the TVP2 broadcast Chopin4, with musical arrangements by Włodek Pawlik (2010). He has collaborated with the Israeli National Opera, choreographing Verdi's La Traviata and Orff's Carmina Burana, both directed by Michał Znaniecki (2014, 2015). For the Wrocław Opera, he co-created choreography (with Elżbieta Pańtak) for Puccini’s Turandot (2008), and for Opera na Zamku in Szczecin, he choreographed La Traviata (2016) and Romeo and Juliet by Charles Gounod - the latter also staged at the Silesian Opera (2017) and in Szczecin (2020). In 2023, he choreographed Penderecki’s Paradise Lost at the Grand Theatre in Łódź. For the Bartók Festival in Miskolc, Hungary, he created the ballet The Miraculous Mandarin and choreography for Bluebeard’s Castle by Béla Bartók (2018). As a dancer, he performed in all productions of the Kielce Dance Theatre, and appeared as a guest artist at the Wrocław Opera (Penderecki’s Paradise Lost, 2008; Puccini’s Turandot, 2010), the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg (King Roger by K. Szymanowski, 2009), and at the Israeli National Opera (La Traviata, Carmina Burana). In 2022, Grzegorz Pańtak earned a PhD in Art in the artistic discipline of Musical Arts at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. Lara Ern: A Brazilian dancer, she studied in Germany at the Mannheim Dance Academy from 2019 to 2024, earning a master’s degree in dance. During her time in Germany, she interned with the Staatsballett Karlsruhe under the direction of Bridget Breiner and had the opportunity to work with numerous choreographers, including Juliano Nunes, Ken Ossola, Jon Ole Olstad, and Paolo Amerio. She also performed in numerous works by William Forsythe under the guidance of Ágnes Noltenius. In 2024, she joined the Silesian Opera Ballet, where she has since appeared in productions such as Don Quixote, Macbeth, and Spartacus. Anna Kmiecik-Sokalla: Born on March 19, 1983, in Kraków, she graduated from St. I. Witkiewicz High School No. 21, the STU Foundation Ballet School, and the Ballet Studio at the Opera and Operetta in Kraków. She passed her diploma examination as an external student at the R. Turczynowicz General Ballet School in Warsaw. She was awarded a scholarship from the Prime Minister during the administration of Jerzy Buzek. She went on to study Polish Philology and Journalism at the Pedagogical University of Kraków. She has participated in dance and dance writing workshops, including those held during the International Dance Conferences organized by the Silesian Dance Theatre in Bytom, as well as the program Ciałopisanie II Słowotańczenie. Taniec i choreografia dyskursywnie (Writing with the body II / Dancing with the Word: A Discursive Approach to Dance and Choreography). She began her professional stage career at the Kraków Opera and has been associated with the Silesian Opera since 2005 as a dancer, coryphée, and later as assistant to the ballet director. She is the author of the choreographic works Tkliwie, ulotnie, samotnie (Tenderly, Fleetingly, Alone) set to Karol Szymanowski’s Roxana’s Song from King Roger and based on the short story Lovers from Marona by Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, as well as Śniliśmy w dzikie noce sny gęste i okrutne... (We Dreamed in Wild Nights, Dreams Dense and Cruel...), set to Dominik Czocher’s composition Forgive from the album Dreamscapes. She is currently pursuing a degree in psychology. Magdalena Matejko: Mitsuki Noda: She has been associated with the Silesian Opera since 2019, and since 2023, she has performed as a soloist with the Bytom ballet company. Born in 2000 in Japan, she began her ballet education in 2006 at The School of Dance West Ballet in Chicago. From 2009 to 2016, she trained at the Soda Ballet School under the direction of Shizuko Soda. She continued her studies from 2016 to 2018 at the Dutch National Ballet Academy in Amsterdam. A finalist in the 2016 Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) in New York, she has also participated in summer intensives organized by the English National Ballet School and received a scholarship from the Dutch National Ballet Academy. She took part in masterclasses in Croatia led by Alexander Lukjanov and performed at the Tricore International Dance Gala in Italy. In 2024, she was awarded second prize for her choreography Be My Wings, and in 2025, first prize for Nigdy nie istnieliśmy (We Never Existed) at the International Choreographic Review Horizons, organized by the Silesian Opera in Bytom. On the Bytom stage, she has danced leading roles in productions such as Don Quixote, Macbeth, Spartacus, and Snow White. Alberto Pecetto: Born on October 10, 1997, in Italy, he began his ballet training in Turin under the guidance of Patrizzi Crepaldi, and later continued his studies at the English National Ballet School in London. In 2019, he made his professional debut with the Ballet de Catalunya in Barcelona under the direction of Elias Garcia Herrera. In 2021, he joined the ballet company of the Wrocław Opera, where he distinguished himself in the classical ballet repertoire and created his first original choreography — the neoclassical pas de deux Born in Naked Flash. Since September 2021, he has been a coryphée, and since May 2023, a soloist with the Silesian Opera in Bytom. In 2024, he was nominated for the 18th Jan Kiepura Theatre Music Awards in Warsaw. He has performed notable roles in productions including: Don Quixote - Espada, Requiem in D Minor - Soloist, Sól ziemi czarnej (Salt of the Black Earth) - Father and Gabriel Basista, Pictures of Poland - Chief and Karol Wojtyła, Macbeth - Banquo, Spartacus - Spartacus. He is also the originator and author of several award-winning choreographies: • Love - First Prize, My Dance Choreography Competition, Tarnów (2023) • Czas maków (The Time of the Poppies)- Special Mention, 3rd Open Competition of the ZAiKS Authors’ Association (2023) • Scherzo Barocco - First Prize, 2nd edition of the Horizons Choreographic Review, Silesian Opera in Bytom (2024) • Marionetki (Puppets)- Special Mention, 4th Open Competition of the ZAiKS Authors’ Association (2024) Wiktor Perdek: A member of the Silesian Opera Ballet since 2023, he was born in 2004 in Bytom and is a graduate of the Ludomir Różycki General Ballet School in Bytom (2023). A recipient of scholarships and a finalist of numerous ballet competitions. His achievements include: finalist of the 6th International Dance Competition in Pilzno (2018), third place in the 21st W. Wiesiołowski National Dance Competition in Gdańsk (2019), and second place at the European Ballet Grand Prix in Vienna (2020). He was also a finalist in the 11th International Choreography Competition in Bytom (2020), a semi-finalist in the Young Dancer of the Year competition (2021), and received second place in the Bożena Kociołkowska International Choreography Competition in Bytom (2022). In the same year, he was awarded first prize at the Grand Jete International Dance Awards in Portugal. He received a scholarship from the Ballet - “Złote Pointy” Foundation in 2018 and was twice recognized by the Mayor of Bytom: with the Youth Award in the category of Culture - “Wena” (2019) and the “Young Talents” scholarship (2019). He has participated in numerous artistic projects, including Young Spirit of Dance (2017-2020), the musical Karol (2017), and the documentary film I Dance for You (2018). In 2023, he received a special award from the Director of the Silesian Opera for earning second place in the Bożena Kociołkowska International Choreography Competition in Bytom. This recognition led to the creation of his original work Out of Nowhere for dancers of the Silesian Opera and to his participation in Horizons - Intergenerational Ballet Meetings (2023). In 2024, his choreography Vendetta was awarded second place in the Horizons Choreographic Review. He performs leading roles in numerous productions, including: soloist in Requiem in D minor, Matador in Don Quixote, Crassus in Spartacus, as well as featured appearances in Macbeth, Don Quixote, and Snow White.