History

The Polish Dance Theatre - Poznań Ballet was established in 1973 on the initiative of the city authorities and local artistic circles. The job of managing it was given to Conrad Drzewiecki, an outstanding dancer and choreographer.
Drzewiecki's 15 years at the helm were characterised by pioneer accomplishments which placed the Poznań Ballet among Europe's leading dance ensembles and opened the door to international ballet festivals. 

In 1988 Ewa Wycichowska took over as the manager and artistic director of the Polish Dance Theatre. Wycichowska, for many years the prima ballerina of the Wielki Theatre in Łódź, choreographer and teacher, had cooperated with numerous American, Italian and German ensembles and sat on the jury of many Polish and international ballet competitions.
Treating modern and contemporary dance as the basic movement material, Ewa Wycichowska developed an original concept of performance and choreography that aims at a synthesis of arts in which the choreographic, dramatic, musical and visual layers meet and intermingle. She also made her own contribution to the idea of individualistic theatre and invited the cooperation of many distinguished artists from all over the world.

For some years now the Polish Dance Theatre has been perceived as a unique choreography forum, which has seen original choreographies by such artists as Birgit Cullberg, Mats Ek, Örjan Andersson, Jens Ostberg, Marie Brolin-Tani, Virpi Pahkinen (Sweden), "Les Carnetes Bogouet" (France), David Earle (Canada), Toru Shimazaki (Japan), Yossi Berg (Israel) and Jacek Przybyłowicz (Poland).
The Polish Dance Theatre\'s attractive repertoire, original dance language and contemporary theatre form have attracted universal praise from audiences all over the world.

For 35 years The Polish Dance Theatre, though based in Poznań, has remained faithful to its statutory obligation to promote the art of dancing and disseminate ballet culture throughout the country. And adding an educational perspective to its wide spectrum of interests, the theatre started organising the Contemporary Dance Workshops and the Contemporary Dance Biennale in 1994 and the International Festival of Dance Theatres in 2004.