Ondrašíková, Věra

Věra Ondrašíková studied fine-arts grammar school, she graduated from choreography at AMU in Prague in 2004. Her graduation piece Aigues Mortes was presented at the Dance Prague festival and received the first prize for a group work at the Masdanza festival on the Canary Islands. She created choreographies Unique and In-finito in longer intervals and has participated in the projects of Czech and international choreographers. She received “The Most Outstanding Dancer” Prize at Masdanza festival, has had guest performances in Komedie Theatre (Klára S., directed by David Jařab), has worked as a residential choreographer in Mexico and Hungary, her projects have been staged at other festivals, such as Biennale de la danse in Lyon, Aerowaves in London, Aerodance in Amsterdam etc.

In 2009 she worked with the light designer Patrik Sedlák on the solo project 15 Steps and started cooperation with the computer programmer Michal Rydlo, who designs special software for every performance. In 15 Steps Ondrašíková used a light costume, which was the only source of light in the performance. In 2012 the project Unseen followed, with more intensive detection of dancer’s motion, who then controlled the screening. In 2013 she created the choreography for Braňo Mazúch’s multimedia production Antikódy for the Laterna Magika company.

In 2015 she created project Guide using intermedia methods, creating illusive three-dimensional light spaces. The performer influences all parameters of light design. He shapes and points the light where he wants it to be, thus he handles the light beam like a matter. Guide received Audience Award, Award for Light Design and the Award for the Main Performer Jaro Ondruš at the Czech Dance Platform festival 2016. The production was selected for the prestigious AerowavesTwenty17 and was staged at Aerowaves Spring Forward in Aarhus, Denmark, in Hellerau in Dresden, at One Dance Week festival in Plovdiv, SIDance in Seoul, V4 Dance in New York and New Orleans, Unidram in Potsdam and other places.

Her upcoming project is Witness, planned to premiere in March 2021. She shifts her focus from exploring the technical innovations in the field of light design to focus more on the magical atmosphere created on stage, while still using live sound and light design.

Věra Ondrašíková is occasionally engaged in interpretation, in 2017 she worked with the Japanese choreographer Min Tanaka (A Body, Archa Theatre). She teaches contemporary dance at the Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre DAMU and Dance Department HAMU in Prague, she also organizes workshops for dancers and general public. She founded the little festival Čáry, máry, fuk – Světlo, pohyb zvuk, which is a creative workshop for children and youth about contemporary dance, stage design and light design.
She also often collaborates with contemporary music composers, such as Filip Míšek, Ikue Mori or Khoiba.

“If we could have the opportunity to learn from ourselves in the future from somebody else who is looking back – what would we do, what would we want to know, what we would change. The topic itself is one of the themes that hits everybody, but it was also very beautifully done, the way how the effects were used, absolute precision of the movements was quite magical, and I think that was something I certainly valued.” (Laura Kumin, Director of Certamen Coreográfico de Madrid)