Edyta Kozak

A dancer, choreographer, curator and organiser of many events in dance and performative arts. A graduate of the Ballet Secondary School and the Musical Academy (now Fryderyk Chopin University of Music) in Warsaw. She was a soloist in the Wielki Theatre in Warsaw (now, Polish National Ballet) and Stadttheatern in Bern. In the early 1990s she co-founded NEI, one of the first independent dance theatre companies in Poland. In the late 1990s she gave up choreography in order to develop an original programme of the Body/Mind International Contemporary Dance Festival (now, Body/Mind International Festival) and create projects stimulating the development of contemporary dance in Poland, and has been working in this field to date. Kozak returned to artistic work in 2001, when she founded Made Inc. group in collaboration with multimedia artist Mirek Kowalczyk. In 2007 she created Dancing For You For One Minute, an installation that formed the first part of a triptych, to be later followed by the performance Dancing For You Longer Than One Minute and a feature film Dancing For You directed by Roland Rowiński. In 2011, together with Rowiński she produced a performance Folk? a ja się nie zgadzam! (Folk? I Say No!). Kozak’s most recent performance, Moje własne interview®Fanny Panda (My Own Interview®Fanny Panda), inspired by Jérôme Bel, was created in 2013.

Kozak was president of the Independent Dancers Association in 1995-2015. In 2007 she launched the Body/Mind Foundation, which, apart from international events, also promotes, presents and produces projects promoting the Polish and local dance scenes (for example, Warsaw Dance Stage, Warsaw Dance Night, Go! Go! Dance!). She has curated many important art events, such as +++ tańca (Pluses of Dance) – an art agency programme of the National Theatre in Warsaw (2004-2006); the taniec.pl First Polish Dance Platform (2003), and projects promoting collaboration of Polish artists with their colleagues from Germany, France, Serbia, Switzerland and Iceland, Jagniątków. Move the Mount (2005).

She was a coordinator of the Dance Congress in Warsaw (2011) and a member of the jury in the Young Dancer 2015 finale. Kozak is a partner and expert in international networks Open Latitude and Advancing Performing Arts Project. She has received many awards and scholarships, including Ministry of Culture awards for promoting the art of dance.

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