This project by Batter Dance Company was instigated by Hanna Strzmiecka, a choreographer and leader of the dance community in Lublin.

Finding that the available theaters in Lublin offered stage dimensions inadequate for BDC, she proposed to the local branch of Polish Television that they host a public performance by BDC in their studio while creating a video recording for future broadcast. The studio accommodates an audience of approximately 100. The television people took responsibility for organizing hotel accommodations and meals for the Company and agreed to handle local transportation.

However, they failed to meet us at the train station and we were left to our own devises for the first ½ day in which we were in Lublin (They later reimbursed us for our meals and cab fares, and began their patronage in earnest on the second day of our stay.) However, it wasn’t until the actual day of taping that certain issues were resolved. Worried about the interference of a live audience and interested in taping several run-throughs rather than a single performance, the station cancelled its earlier plans to have a live audience. Because they had waited so long to begin production details such as lighting, laying a dance floor, organizing the rehearsal and taping schedule, and because we discovered that the production team were unaccustomed to recording dance, we ended up deciding in favor of recording only Zero…Two…Blue…Heaven…Seven, our newest work and the one that involved live music. To complete a 30 minute program (the dance work is only 18 minutes in length), the t.v. people expressed an interest in interviewing the collaborative team of choreographer (Jonathan Hollander) and Frank Carlberg, composer/pianist. They were very excited about the results and have proposed creating a similar production of “Layapriya”

While in Lublin, we were able to rehearse at Hanna’s studio, and to meet with her and her protégé, the young choreographer Tomasz Siwek. We also visited the Teatr NN in the Brama Grodzka where we met the directors Witold Dabrowski and Tomasz Pietrasiewicz whose work on the Memory Project was deeply impressive.