Sticky Fingers Club is one of Poland’s most outstanding physical theatre companies, with its roots in dance theatre. The company is a collective formed by graduates of the Dance Theatre Department in Bytom, a branch of the Academy of Theatre Arts in Kraków. Its members are Daniela Komędera, Dominika Wiak, Monika Witkowska and Dominik Więcek.
Each member of the group is a strong, distinct artistic personality and an independent creator with a separate, ever-growing body of work.
Daniela Komędera is a dancer, actress and theatre choreographer, as well as a film and stage choreographer (including choreography for the films “The Peasants” and “The Ugly Stepsister”, and concerts by Polish singer and star Sanah), and an film actress (including one of the leading roles in the film “Glorious Summer”). Dominika Wiak and Monika Witkowska are active, talented dancers, actresses, choreographers and teachers. Dominik Więcek is not only a brilliant dancer and choreographer, but also a celebrity, well-known fashion designer and influencer.
The group’s name comes from its first show, “Sticky Fingers Club”, from 2020. Following the success of that production, the troupe created further shows: “Valeska, Valeska, Valeska, Valeska”, “Glory Game” and their latest, aimed at children, “I see something different here”.
The production “Glory Game”, directed and choreographed by Dominik Więcek and performed by a six-person cast expanded to include two additional performers, is a minimalist yet formally and aesthetically daring artistic experiment that straddles the boundaries of non-verbal theatre and dance theatre. “Glory Game” is an ironic and critical look at the world of competitive sport, gymnastics and the mechanisms of the pursuit of success. The creators analyse what happens to the human body and psyche when they are subjected to the rigours of training and the battle for medals. In slow-motion, successive frames – as in replays of key match moments – we see the naked bodies of the performer-athletes in increasingly complex, individualised compositions.
The performance has been selected for the prestigious Aerowaves network. This means that 44 partners and institutions from 35 countries have recognised this performance as one of the most interesting dance events in Europe.
The first modern Olympic Games coincided with the invention of cinema, which completely transformed the way people participated in sport and experienced it. The media agenda began to take precedence over the sporting agenda. The rules and regulations of Olympic disciplines are being reshaped for the camera and the viewer’s remote participation. Techniques used to present movement—slow motion and fast motion, replays, close-ups, and sudden shifts in perspective—have the effect of a gripping TV series on the viewer and contain elements of melodrama.
At the centre of it all is the body, from which the rules of the game constantly demand more and more. Modern sport imposes extreme demands on athletes that exceed the body’s biological capacity. Citius – altius – fortius (faster – higher – stronger).
Sticky Fingers Club
Concept and choreography: Dominik Więcek
Cast: Daniela Komędera, Dominika Wiak, Dominik Więcek, Monika Witkowska, Michał Przybyła and Piotr Stanek
Dramaturgical supervision: Konrad Kurowski
Set design: Mateusz Mioduszewski
Costumes: Weronika Wood
Music: Przemek Degórski
Lighting design: Piotr Pieczyński
Premiere: December 2023
Production: Teatr Komuna Warszawa
Duration of the performance: 60 minutes
18+
The performance is performed nude.
Tickets for the performance are available HERE.
BACK TO THE FESTIVAL WEBSITE
———————————————————>
