The River’s Course was a participatory and site-responsive project created on the grounds of the Bohnice mental health hospital in Prague, Czech Republic. Performed by 10 international dancers and 40 community participants, The River’s Course was an immersive performance score that mimicked both the responsive nature and reliable presence of flowing water—a form with porous edges but a clear pathway.
Initiated by BPART+, Prague-based production company, and co-produced by Montréal-based 44Arts Productive and Nichole Canuso Dance Company, The River’s Course is part of a triptych of community-centered, site-specific, and collaborative works which use the artistic process as a tool to support the development of civil society, a sense of belonging, and the visibility of marginalized groups.
Credits/Collaborators:
Presented by Mezi Ploty. Commissioned and produced by BPART. Co-produced by Nichole Canso Dance Company and 44 Arts Productive. Community partners: Bohnice Psychiatric Hospital, Fokus Praha, Studio Citadela. Artistic direction and dramaturgy by Michèle Steinwald. Choreography by Nichole Canuso and Sam Johnson in collaboration with Eun Jung Choi and Lila Hurwitz. Design by John Fleischer. Music by Irena and Vojtěch Havlovi.
Performance by: Levin Eichert (CZ), Audur Huld Gunnarsdóttir (IS), Lara Hereu Macho (CZ), Agáta Jarošová (CZ), Tiffany Margelin (IS), Gabriel Marling Rideout (IS) , Yuliana Palacios Figueroa (IS), Marie Svobodová (CZ), Orkun Türkmen (CZ), Thea Atladóttir (IS), Vojtěch Havel (CZ), Lila Hurwitz (USA), Eun Jung Choi (USA), Nichole Canuso (USA), Sam Johnson (US), and community members from Studio Citadela, Fokus Praha, Bohnice Psychiatric Hospital, Charles University (Department of Philosophy), and Prague College of Psychosocial Studies
Project funded by:
EEA and Norway Grants
Národní Plán Obnovy / National Recovery Plan
Ministerstvo Kultury / Czech Ministry of Culture
Jihomoravsky kraj / South Moravian region
Státni fond kultury CR / National Fund for Culture
And through the generosity of Carlo and Lalie Scandiuzzi, Daniel Steinwald, David Roark, Huong Vu, and Rudi Bertschi.