I respond first at the emotional level, at the level of belief. I believe deeply in what we are doing. I believe in risk, in artistic expression that takes risks in order to elicit a response. I want to engage people, to touch people personally. They can be disgusted, bored, angry, moved, inspired: I’m not searching for a happy ending based on a formula. I try to share with the public my final thought for that moment. I think both Monteros and I do this, while simultaneously trying to find and maintain a balance between dramaturgy, choreographic development, an abstract movement language, and an expression of the visual world through visual statement.
Wojciech Mochniej
I believe that movement vocabulary which comes from a deep, authentic source has a resonance that communicates, and that we have the ability to read and sense what the body tells us. As a result, I am searching for the place where movement resonates in the dancer and with the audience – not skill or refinement, but voice. In addition, I am inspired to explore and reveal the beauty of the body moving, in a way that does much more than admire the artist as an athlete. I find the common definition of beauty as elegant and pleasing to the eye and emotions, and the dancer as a beautiful object, awkward, uncomfortable and narrow. I am fascinated by the possibility of a body shaping that moves from grotesque to transcendent, of discovering beauty in and arising from the grotesque. I think both Mochniej and I try to raise questions about life by exposing aspects of the human condition, and that we create layers in images partly in an effort to stimulate thought and draw attention to the multifaceted complexity of the human condition.
Melissa Monteros
Born and raised in Lublin, Poland, Mochniej began his career as a street dancer. At a local ‘culture house’ he discovered contemporary dance with teacher Renata Pyszniak and a new passion was born. He was an original member of Silesian Dance Theatre Poland, where he danced from 1991-1994, and where he met Monteros. Together they launched W&M Physical Theatre in 1994. Mochniej has performed in the works of many prominent artists, including: Anna Sokolow, Talley Beatty, Mark Haim, Stephanie Skura. Risa Jaraslow, (New York), Alpo Aaltokoski (Finland), and Avi Kaiser (Belgium/ Israel). As an improviser he has studied with Chris Aiken and David Dorfman and performed with Ray Chung and Milan Kozanek. His work in theatre includes study with Polish actors Jan Peszek, Grzegosz Bral and Jacek Ozimek. Mochniej has received awards from both Gadansk and Lublin for his contributions to dance in Poland. He was the founder of Dance Explosions, Poland, and he has been involved in the Zawirowanie Festival in Warsaw since its inception in 2005. Mochniej has been a Guest Artist at the University of Calgary since 1995. He was invited to choreograph for the Polish TV version of “So You Think You Can Dance”. His solo and group work is highly sought after and has been presented internationally
A native of Los Angeles, Monteros is an active performer, choreographer and teacher. She has been a guest teacher and performer for dance companies, universities and festivals in Europe and North America, and her artistic work is informed by her frequent international travel. Monteros has a Master of Arts in Dance from UCLA, a BFA from the University of Utah, and has studied and performed with many distinguished dance artists. She has created work on companies in both North America and Europe and for theatre and film. She was a Fulbright Award recipient to Poland and Artistic Advisor to Silesian Dance Theatre. She is named in the Report on Contemporary Dance for the Congress on Polish Culture (2009) for her contributions to contemporary dance and has received honorary awards from two institutions in Gdansk for her contributions to dance in that city. She is currently Associate Professor at the University of Calgary. Her work has been seen in Austria, Estonia, Finland, France, Poland, Germany, and Italy, as well as Canada and the USA.