CST Choreographic Self-Portrait: Elżbieta Pańtak

Autoportret choreograficzny introduces the audience to the work of a choreographer – a creator whose role often remains invisible. The person invited to participate in the project prepares a one-hour event in a format of their choosing. They may talk about their working method, return to an earlier work, realize an abandoned idea, or prepare a performative lecture, a screening, or another original action. They may perform solo or invite other dancers. The project features renowned Polish choreographers associated with various styles, forms, and dance techniques. Elżbieta Pańtak is a choreographer, teacher of jazz and contemporary dance, founder and director of the Kielce Dance Theatre. She graduated in theatre studies from the University of Łódź and in dance theory from the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, where she obtained a doctorate in 2022. Her body of work includes over 30 productions, including popular family shows: The Nutcracker, Alice in Wonderland, and Cinderella. She co-created choreographies for, among others, Krzysztof Penderecki's Seven Gates of Jerusalem, La Traviata, Carmina Burana, Turandot, and Romeo and Juliet, collaborating with opera stages in Poland and abroad.