On April 18, on the stage of Teatr KTO, you will be able to see the performance “Dirty Dancing,” directed by Eryk Makohon, featuring performers from M STUDIO. Despite the obvious reference in the title to the cult 1987 film, it is not a reinterpretation, but rather a response to the idea of “dirty dancing.”
“Dirty Dancing” explores the potential of embarrassing performance as a strategy of resistance against social expectations, norms, and pressures. Can voluntarily crossing the boundaries of “good taste” and convention create a new quality of presence—one that is more authentic, physical, and sensitive to one’s own emotions? In this sense, “Dirty Dancing” is not a performance meant for intellectual analysis from a safe distance. It is an event that engages the audience on a physical and emotional level, inviting them to co-experience, co-feel embarrassment, and laugh together. It is also a proposal—risky but sincere—to treat one’s own awkwardness as a gateway to freedom.
As the creators of the performance say: together with four performers from M STUDIO, we created a laboratory of individual “embarrassing performances.” Each artist developed their own stage alter ego, along with a set of actions and gestures balancing on the edge of shame, absurdity, and pleasure. A key element of the process was working with the concept of guilty pleasure—understood not as pop-cultural entertainment, but as a practice of crossing social barriers and testing the limits of comfort. We explored what happens when pleasure is no longer burdened with a sense of guilt.
The project was carried out as part of “Beyond Front@: Bridging Periphery,” funded by the Creative Europe programme (2023–2026) and co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage (MKiDN) from the Culture Promotion Fund—a state earmarked fund.
* The performance is intended for audiences aged 16+. It contains loud music and strobe lighting effects.
“Dirty Dancing”
April 18, 8:00 PM
Concept, direction, set design: Eryk Makohon
Choreography: Eryk Makohon and the performers
Dramaturgy: Daria Kubisiak
Assistant director and choreographer: Paweł Łyskawa
Text: Eszter Nagy, Daria Kubisiak
Costumes: Zsuzsi Szöke
Music: collage
Lighting: Huba Szabó
Sound: György Chiriţescu
Cast: Eszter Nagy, Emília Polgár, László Szekrényes, Zoltán Deák
Tickets:
Tickets priced at 80 PLN can be purchased online >>> CLICK
Reservations can be made at: kasa@teatrkto.pl and by phone: +48 12 633 89 47.
