German premier

A man is standing at the edge of the desert. He enters it; to meet others, but mostly to find himself. The desert as a place of refuge and searching, a place of solitude and fulfilment. The magical brightness of the sun emphasises contours and colours, and the boundaries of perception and sensitivity gradually disappear in all visible activity.

»I felt a desire not only for ›inner peace‹, but also for a visible peace. Suddenly I noticed how often we surround ourselves with noise – music, radio, television – to avoid fear, so we are not alone with ourselves … «, said Zuzana Hájková, choreographer of the delightfully individual dance production »Tichá púšt’« (»Silent Desert«). The music is an equal element of this piece. It was originally composed specifically for it by Róbert Mankovecky´, who was born in 1965. Mankovecky´ studied at the drama and music academy in Bratislava and is the author and composer of around 110 works for theatre, television and radio.

Štúdio tanca, founded in 1998 by Zuzana Hájkova, is the only permanent modern dance company in Slovakia with an established stage – at the arts centre in Banská Bystrica. The city, surrounded by mountains and about 180 km away from the capital Bratislava, is in the East of Slovakia quite close to the Ukraine.

Zuzana Hájková, born in 1963 in Bratislava, studied choreography in her home town and went on to teach contemporary dance and choreography herself here. In 1996, she initiated the dance festival »Tanec Dnes« in Banská Bystrica, which later became the festival »4 days 4 you«. Her choreographies have left her decisive stamp on Štúdio tanca, who – with five dancers – work on their own productions. Štúdio tanca has made guest appearances in numerous cities in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, as well as in Poland, Russia, Hungary, Canada and Egypt.

»Štúdio tanca in Banská Bystrica has become like an island of dance in these difficult times, attracting increasing numbers of freelance Slovakian producers« (Eva Gajdošová, Salto, Bratislava, 1/2004).