A unique, female perspective on dance at the stage of the Grand Theatre in Poznań.

For this triple bill evening, we have invited three outstanding choreographers: the renowned Irish artist Marguerite Donlon, who served as Ballet Director at Saarländisches Staatstheater for twelve years; Anne Jung from Germany, recipient of the Dysart Prize 2021 for promising choreographers; and Katarzyna Kozielska, a Polish artist who has been creating acclaimed works for leading ballet stages around the world for over a decade.

The performance will feature To the Moon and Back by Marguerite Donlon, alongside two works created especially for the Ballet of the Grand Theatre in Poznań: Self by Katarzyna Kozielska and Ashes by Anne Jung.

To the Moon and Back by Marguerite Donlon marks the artist’s return to her Irish roots. The piece is visually striking, with echoes of Helmut Newton’s iconic women – tall, confident, and empowered. It is also a nod to the Irish folklore of fairies, sprites, and elves. The ballerinas, dancing on pointe as if wearing high heels, appear ethereal and elegant, their movements accentuated by voluminous white wigs. As a counterpoint to these graceful yet strong figures, male dancers appear in black skirts. The result is an abstract beauty of dance infused with Irish motifs.

Self by Katarzyna Kozielska is a journey inward — a spiritual transformation expressed through movement. The choreographer combines the music of Terry Riley and Dobrinka Tabakova with stage and costume designs that evoke the Far East. The choreography exudes tranquility; the positioning of the dancers and the composition of the group bring to mind depictions of deities and humans from miniature Indian paintings.

In Ashes by Anne Jung, movement can be read both symbolically and literally. The dancers move like fragments of burned paper — constantly in motion, sometimes united, sometimes dispersing. This perpetual dissolution and reformation is deeply evocative. Alongside the dancers’ precision, Jung’s choreographic concept is enhanced by a musical collage of electronically processed fragments by Arensky, Beethoven, Sibelius, and Chopin, which appear, fade, and dissolve into static.

no one can hold us back (nie upilnuje nas nikt) is a reflection on femininity imbued with strength and freedom, courage and emotion, subtlety and dynamism. The title, a paraphrase of a line from a poem by Zuzanna Ginczanka (1917–1944), intuitively weaves together the diverse choreographic visions of Marguerite Donlon, Anne Jung, and Katarzyna Kozielska — inviting the audience to seek ever-wider contexts and meanings.

„To the Moon and Back”

Marguerite Donlon – Choreography and Concept

Paul Calderone – Assistant Choreographer

Thomas Lempertz – Costumes

Jürgen Franz Kirner – Set Design

Mariella von Vequel-Westernach – Lighting Designer

Arkadiusz Gumny - Assistant Choreographer

„Self”

Katarzyna Kozielska – Choreography

Diana Marszałek – Costumes and Set Design

Mariella von Vequel-Westernach – Lighting Designer

Agnieszka Wolna, Arkadiusz Gumny -  Assistant Choreographers

„Ashes”

Anne Jung – Choreography

Diana Marszałek – Costumes and Set Design

Wiktor Kuźma – Lighting Designer

Agnieszka Wolna - Assistant Choreographer

The Poznań Opera House is carrying out the project titled "Production of the ballet premiere "No One Can Hold Us Back" using innovative equipment and graphic software in the theater’s painting studio – technical facilities of the Poznań Opera House,” as part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, funded by the European Union’s NextGenerationEU program.