10th Cracovia Danza Court Dance Festival Although dancing had been present in European courts already in Middle Ages, the most intensive development of court dancing happened in Renaissance when two art styles, the French and the Italian ones, dominated in Europe. Catherine de’Medici, the wife of French King Henry II, greatly contributed to the history of dance. Born in Italy, the queen brought to the 16th -century French court dancers and dance teachers who introduced new types of this popular court entertainment. Due to Catherine’s involvement dance in the French court became an art which, in the 17th century, led to the opening of the first real dance school called Royal Dance Academy(1661).
Cracovia Danza Court Dance Festival, which is still quite a unique event of this sort in the world, has its 10th anniversary this year. The Festival was conceived by a dancer, choreographer and art historian, Romana Agnel, who has also set up the first professional court ballet group called “Ardente Sole.” Due to the efforts of this group and the yearly Festival the inhabitants of Krakow and those who just visit the city can learn something new about the partially forgotten cultural heritage of Poland. Because the history of dance is tightly connected with the history of customs and the history of culture.
This year the Festival will last ten days (1st – 9th August 2009) and in a sense it will summarize its 10-year history. The visitors will have a chance to learn again about the relationship between dance and the court theatre or ceremony, as well as to watch some Old Polish and Central European court dances. Apart from that the spectators may expect a lot of concerts, plays, performances which combine theatre with dancing, poetry, pantomime or plastic arts.
The spectacles and the performances might be watched not only in Villa Decius but also in Wawel Castle, the Barbican and even in the streets of the Old Town where colorful parades are scheduled to take place. But the Festival is something more than just the shows. According to the annual practice it will be possible to participate in dance workshops, listen to lectures on dance history or watch costumes, masks and other props during an exhibition entitled “10 years of Cracovia Danza Festival.”