Guiding principles
Tanec Praha has 3 basic missions:
Tanec Praha has no ensemble of its own and presents a wide range of productions no matter their size or recognition as long as they fulfil the requirement of artistic quality. It has been developing community work for years, collaborating with primary schools and linking them with professional artists. Since 2004 PONEC theatre runs a weekly Children Studio, which focuses on creative development of children from the age of 4.
Since 2014 Tanec Praha is a partner in the Be SpectACTive! EU large scale cooperation project, which is focused on active spectatorship, involving spectators in creation process as well as the programming under the leadership of the artistic director.
History
Tanec Praha was founded in 1991 when an independent legal entity Tanec Praha civic association was established thanks to a brand new civil code. The organization took all responsibility for the Tanec Praha Festival and started the idea of shaping the festival towards international level of contemporary dance with an emphasis on artistic quality and diversity. In 1995 Tanec Praha started organizing the Czech Dance Platform, a showcase of Czech contemporary dance for international and national presenters to open new opportunities for Czech dancers.
PONEC, the dancehouse, as a brand new type of space dedicated to contemporary arts first opened to the public after a thorough reconstruction in 2001. As a new platform for presentation of contemporary dance, the theatre filled an important gap on the Prague cultural map.
The theatre’s name refers to František Ponec who ran the famous cinema Poncův Royal Bioskop in the building from 1910. It was a cinema until the 60s and then it finished as a ruin. The roots of this building go back to the 19th century as far as the first owner, Mr. Stabenow, built it as a metallurgic factory in 1888.
Building and facilities
PONEC is a dance venue, which has the stage (12 x 14 m) with professional equipment and technical services. The venue presents more than 100 contemporary dance performances per year including international artists. It is the basic facility for Czech dance artists and their new works (presenting 8-10 premieres every season). PONEC is also the main venue of the Tanec Praha International Festival. Besides professional artists, the dancehouse is regularly opened for children and schools. The capacity is flexible, from 80 to 180 spectators. Tanec Praha/PONEC theatre provides creative residencies and different forms of support to the artistic research including consultancy, mentorship, dramaturgy and arts management issues. During summer (July and August) and winter (end of December and January) PONEC venue provides space to Czech and international artists for creative residencies including technical services. The organisation has a number of local partners with suitable facilities for residencies all year round.
This open-access glossary is the result of a collaboration between six European contemporary dance organisations exploring micro and macro dramaturgy in dance as a creative and socially conscious practice.
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