The Dream of Božena / Sen o Boženě / Jana Drdácka (CZ) 

"My grandmother lived for more than a century. Born under some emperor, she passed away after numerous wars and dictatorships, under the reign of some president. She believed in the soul, love, and life here as well as life after life. Burying her daughter at a tender age, she nurtured me, her granddaughter, in love for life and art," says Jana Drdácká about the project.

Premiére: 14.5.2022 / Ponec theatre, Prague

The content of the performance is a personal testimony of a woman who embodies the fundamental themes of the feminine nature, intimacy, roles, and strength for the author. It is a kind of kinetic gallery of a woman's destiny and soul. The performance is divided into chapters that correspond to life stages from childhood to death. Each chapter simultaneously reveals a specific experience, the emotion of a woman's life, from carefree joy in childhood, through love, hope, pain, loss, to humility and reconciliation.

Formally, it is a dance project complemented by video projections (photographs, archival footage, different perspectives on movement on stage), spoken word, and live musical accompaniment (in flamenco dances). Although the author is primarily a flamenco dancer, "The Dream of Božena" is artistically built on expressive and experimental foundations. In the project, Jana returns to Moravian folklore, where she began dancing as a child, and with the assistance of dancer and choreographer Michal Heriban, she incorporates contemporary dance. All these genres are delicately connected with the original music by Beata Hlavenková to create a seamless flow of the performance.

CHOREOGRAPHY, DANCE: Jana Drdácká, Michal Heriban

SCENIC MUSIC: Beata Hlavenková

VIDEO PROJECTIONS: Vojtěch Kopecký

LIGHTING: Lukáš Brinda

SOUND: Robert Schernstein

GUITAR: Stanislav Kohútek / Kamil Ďurana

VOCALS: Silva Morasten

PERCUSSION: Mateo Garriga / Michael Cába

ACTRESS IN PROJECTIONS: Zuzana Hodková

RECITATION OF PETR BORKOVEC'S POETRY "HERBÁŘ K ČEMUSI HORŠÍMU": Petr Fejk

Historical video recordings of Božena Drdácká from 1923-1954 – archive of Miloš Drdácký