To bitch or not to bitch

To be or not to be for the body. In cultural and social contexts, we closet concepts and - yet - judgments. Dirty body or in purity? Unblemished or remaining what it is in its essence? Are there universal criteria to resolve the dilemmas? For female artists, physicality, guts, digestion and excretion, blemishes, eczema and stains are important; a laboratory where physiology meets philosophy. Hertz Haus, in its performance "To bitch or not to bitch," takes as its starting point` Shakespeare's poem , "The Rape of Lucretia," but without reaching for direct representations of violence. Instead, she focuses on the traces that rape leaves on the female body and female psyche, and on the care of the harmed body.

The ensemble was founded in 2018 by dancers and choreographers: Magdalena Kowala, Natalia Murawska, Joanna Woźna, and Anna Zglenicka, who create their own aesthetic by drawing on contemporary dance, physical movement, as well as improvisation and performative actions, thus striving to develop their own language of movement. In 2019, the creators established the Córy Kultury Association, whose mission is to bring dance ideas closer to various audiences, to create a repertoire, and to develop an artistic and educational program. The ensemble received the first prize in the national competition for the best independent theater performance, The Best Off 2022, for the show “Unbody,” which was later included in the Polish Dance Network 2022, allowing it to be presented on the most important Polish stages. In 2024, Hertz Haus received the main award in the SzekspirOFF competition at the 28th Shakespeare Festival for the performance “To Bitch or Not to Bitch.”