3.09.2026, 7 PM 

"SPELL" Julia Maria Koch/Alwynne Pritchard

Choreography, direction: Julia Maria Koch; movement direction, text, performance, direction: Alwynne Pritchard; performance, choreography: Erik Iñaki Odriozola Soraluce, Alberto Chianello, Nadine Nasr; text, performance: Eslam Saad; sound, music, performance: Thorolf Thuestad; light design: Torsten Lippstock, lighting:  Paal T Nygaard; woodwork: Øystein Nesheim, production: Berta Reig and Aistė Žumbakyte / 70 min.

Through movement, sound, scenography, and text, "SPELL" explores the role of the body when confronting the unknown.

The performance is grounded in the concept that stories, collective experiences, and intergenerational traumas take root in our genes, in inaccessible regions of the brain, and within the body itself. Physical practices—such as singing, dancing, speaking, and breathing—often employed in ritual acts, can unlock access to the subconscious, enabling the telling of one’s individual story.

While there are significant cultural differences in how we create, recount, and share our stories, the act of storytelling itself is universal. This performance—an international collaboration involving artists from Germany, Norway, Italy, and Egypt alongside Polish volunteers—offers an opportunity to hear and witness a story that emerges from a convergence of diverse experiences.

Julia Maria Koch is a Berlin-based German freelance choreographer and dancer.  She graduated in Choreography from the Institut del Teatre in Barcelona in 2011 and has worked internationally as a performer, choreographer, and lecturer.

Her choreographic works have been presented at renowned international festivals and venues including Baryshnikov Arts Center (New York), Sarajevo Winter Festival (Bosnia & Herzegovina), Alexandria Festival of Contemporary Theater (Egypt), Danza Almada Festival (Portugal), Gdański Festiwal Tańca (Poland), Agitart Festival (Spain), Prisma Festival (Panama), CIFET Cairo (Egypt), and SAT Theatre (Barcelona). Her work has received numerous international recognitions, including the Special Prize at the Arte Laguna Prize (Venice), Second Prize at Certamen Coreográfico de Sabadell, Special Mention at InShadow Festival (Lisbon). 

Alongside her artistic practice, Julia regularly teaches choreography and composition in Berlin and has developed choreographic works for international companies, independent productions, and cross-disciplinary collaborations.

Alwynne Pritchard is a British composer, vocalist, actor and writer based in Bergen. In her music and performances she explores relationships between musical expression and the human voice and body. She has appeared as an actor, vocalist and physical performer in a number of stage productions, as well as directing and developing choreography for her work. In 2015, she formed the music-theatre company Neither Nor with her partner Thorolf Thuestad.

After undergraduate studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal Academy of Music in London, Alwynne went on to obtain a Masters in Musicology and a PhD in composition from the University of Bristol. She is an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music.

Ticket sales begin on July 15, 2026.

TICKETS:

60 PLN – regular price
45 PLN – Culture Card*, reduced-price ticket*, Dancer’s Card*

The festival is co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund under the "Dance" program, implemented by the National Institute of Music and Dance.