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POLISH BALLERINAS & DIRECTOR COME TO BAY AREA FOR FESTIVAL
Lovers of Poland and lovers of dance are in for a special treat in March when two Polish ballet dancers
and the Director of the National Ballet School (Lodz) come to San Francisco. Joanna Jablonska, Marlena Pietrzykowska, and Director
Izabela Gorzkowska-Glowacka will be the guests of The Lively Foundation, San Francisco.
Ms. Jablonska and Ms. Pietrzykowska will perform in The Lively Dance Festival, March 26 & 27, 8 pm, and
March 28, 3 pm, at The Veterans Building, 401 Van Ness (at McAllister) in San Francisco's Civic Center.
While they are in the Bay Area, they will learn new choreography to perform on the Festival programs.
Director Izabela Gorzkowska-Glowacka will consult with Leslie Friedman, Artistic Director of The Lively
Foundation, for their project of developing a dance program at the University in Lodz. The Polish dance
artists arrive on March 19 and depart on March 29. Their travel was made possible by individual
donations to The Lively Foundation, a not-for-profit-tax-exempt organization.
A HISTORIC "FIRST!"
The visit by these dancers and the Director is an historic event. It is the first time Polish dancers
have travelled to San Francisco to perform; it will be the first time they will work with an American
choreographer to present new dances.
Director Gorzkowska-Glowacka recently celebrated her 25th Anniversary as Director of the National Ballet
School. As Director, she plays a major role in the world of the arts in Poland. She is also well-known
as a choreographer, especially celebrated for her beautiful and often humorous story ballets. In
addition to her distinguished career in Poland, she also directed and taught for the Opera Ballet in
Genoa, Italy, for many years.
SAN FRANCISCAN'S SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH POLISH DANCE
Dr. Leslie Friedman has a unique relationship with dance in Poland. She introduced modern dance to the
National Ballet Schools in Lodz, Gdansk, and Warsaw where she taught the faculty,senior students,
and the dancers of the national ballet company at the Wielki Theater (Grand Opera) in Warsaw.
In 1992, at the invitation of the Director of the National Ballet School, Warsaw, and with the support
of the US State Department, she made her first, groundbreaking trip. She was the first American dancer
to teach and choreograph there. That trip was so successful that there were invitations for her to
return to perform and teach throughout Poland. In 1993, she performed in Opera Houses and theaters in
Warsaw, Gdansk, Lodz, and Bytom. In 1994, she performed, taught and choreographed in Krakow, Warsaw,
and Poznan.
The Balet Poznanski brought her back in 1998 to choreograph and teach at their International Festival
of Contemporary Ballet. She returned in 2001 to teach at the National Ballet School, Lodz.
The Polish magazine of dance--Taniec--described her visit in 1992 as the single most significant event in
Polish dance since the visit of the Alvin Ailey Company in the 1960s. When Jacek Tyski won the Silver Medal at the
International Ballet Competition in Lausanne, Switzerland, the first Polish dancer to win a medal at
this prestigious event, he was welcomed home as a great hero. On Polish national television, he stated that he
could not have won his medal without the training he received from Leslie Friedman.
LIVELY DANCE FESTIVAL PERFORMERS
In addition to the ballet dancers from Poland, performers in The Lively Dance Festival are Flamenco
master, Nemesio Paredes, and dancers Helena Birecki, Brooke Bury, Leslie Friedman, Seung Yean Lee;
Bass-baritone Jonathan Clark and pianist David Neuman; actor Elan Freydenson.
The Lively Dance Festival features World Premiere dances as well as internationally acclaimed
performers. All this plus complimentary refreshments make these the concerts of the year!
The Lively Foundation has presented gala concerts every March, beginning in 1996. Proceeds from the
performances benefit breast cancer patients.
CALENDAR & TICKET INFORMATION
The Lively Dance Festival: MAGIC DANCES! three concerts in San Francisco, March 26 & 27 at 8 pm, and
March 28 at 3 pm, at the Veterans Building Green Room, 401 Van Ness (at McAllister) in San Francisco's
Civic Center. This is the building across the street from City Hall and next to the Opera House. The
Green Room is the beautiful ball room on the second floor. Both the building and the Green Room are
handicapped accessible.
Tickets are $15 general admission; $12 for those over 65 or 10 years old and younger. Tickets are
available online at www.ticketweb.com; charge by phone (toll free) at 866-468-3399; and from The Lively
Foundation, 415/346-8959.
Group rates are available; please call The Lively Foundation at 415/346-8959 for information about group
rate tickets.
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