Ponec history

The purpose of Ponec

PONEC - A PLACE FOR DANCE

Opening of the Ponec Theatre has brought a completely new kind of space to our theatre map, thanks to the content of its activities. The dramaturgy of the Ponec Theatre, as well as its activities, have been systematically concentrating on contemporary dance and dance theatre, and they keep supporting all the inspiration relations to other genres, alternatives and scenic technologies, which are generated by contemporary art.

Ponec has been designed as a "stagiona" with the characteristics of a dancehall and can thus provide a good background for the production of new staging, as well as time and space necessary for preparation of single performances. The programme of the Ponec Theatre includes educational projects and workshops and the Theatre is also a place where professional seminars, conferences and various discussion sessions are organised. It thus forms a positive background for artists and professionals while also addressing its audience.

Conception of a theatre season

PONEC IN THE YEAR ONE

A Season of premiere - creative vigour of choreographs and stage managers, performers and of other artists enables the Theatre to put on at least one first run performance every month. In many cases such a performance will be prepared exclusively for our scene. In other cases our first run performances will be designed for the Ponec stage, however it will be possible to put them on as reruns also outside of the Ponec stage. A possibility of putting their artistic first run performances on the Ponec stage will be given not only to the Czech artists but also to those coming from abroad. This will give us an opportunity to get insights into the creative process of a number of acknowledged artistic personalities from all over the world. They will be provided with a space and technical equipment, as well as with necessary background support enabling the realisation of their performances.

Open-classes form a natural part of the Theatre artistic operation. Mainly foreign choreographs and dancers, or Czech ones performing abroad, can introduce their creative or training methods to dancers and the professional public during the preparatory stage of their projects - by means of open-classes. Within the preparation period also various selection procedures may be included, mainly in order to get new staff or to cast individual roles. This procedure has been commonly applied in European dance scenes.

Reruns - single performances will be rerun in series. Should they be successful, the performances of course will come back to Ponec and be rerun there.

Festivals - besides the top event of each season, the Tanec Praha Festival, usually held in the month of June, the Theatre also organises minor festivals, for example The Northern Lights - Polární záře - organised in November 2001.

The Czech Dance Platform represents a significant event of the Czech dance and theatre season. It is a professional artistic show introducing the latest domestic artistic production in the area of dance and dance theatre. For both the professional and amateur public this event represents an opportunity to judge and review the artistic quality of the work of choreographs and dancers in a few days. For the artists themselves it is a chance to attract professionals, dramatists and producers - not only domestic ones, but above all those coming from abroad and forming a part of the audience. The programme of the Platform will include performances of domestic artists acting at Ponec, but also those involved in the theatre called "Alfred ve dvore", residential space "4 days" Preslova, at artistic schools, etc.

The Platform also provides a possibility of awarding the most interesting staging, idea, personality, etc. in the area of modern dance in the past season. The Sazka Award will start being granted regularly once a year for  the best dance newcomer . This award will enable its holder to realise a complete performance of a new staging at Ponec in the following season

For dance school graduates Ponec will become a take-off platform. We know how difficult it is to start and we also know that a young artist needs to be provided with creative possibilities to be able to further develop his/her talent. We will be more than happy to have the chance to monitor professional start of young artists and we are ready to provide them with a friendly and professional background. For this particular reason also the beginning of the season was dedicated to new graduates from the Duncan Centre Conservatory performing under the name of Buffet. Also students of the HAMU Dance Department put on their student performances at Ponec.

Conferences, seminars - representatives of the Civic Association Tanec Praha, the runner of the Theatre, have been seriously dealing with scenic dance also on the theoretical, organisational and social level, and they continuously support and initiate any meaningful invention concerning scenic dance. These professional activities are often realised under the conditions of international co-ordination, with the participation of foreign specialists in the given area.

Light design has been ranked in the area of contemporary dance and dance theatre among one of the most fundamental scenic means. In modern choreography light design not only represents a tool of the stage atmosphere, or a visual stage image, but it is also related to the rhythm. Light may become a bearer and means of a very special significance.

So far this discipline cannot be studied systematically in our country. In spite of that there are some personalities (for example Daniel Tesar - WD Lux) there, who are internationally acknowledged and able to pass their experience over to young artists. Ponec provides all the technical support for this purpose.

Ponec Children Studio - it is our big desire for the near future to prepare a quality programme for children and help develop their movement talent, imagination, as well as their interest in the dance art in general. For the time being pre-school children will have a chance to regularly meet at Ponec. From time to time they may invite other children to join them at a group event, for example at a dance St. Nicolas's party.

Open house day - has been planned for April 3, 2002, the anniversary of death and birth of Frantisek Ponec. We are going to commemorate this ideologue and open the contemporary form of the one-time  bioscope  to all the arrivals.

Film - the fact that Ponec has been operating as a cinema for a number of decades, has surely inspired us to make picture shows become a part of the Theatre dramaturgy plan. The dance film genre represents a specific and interesting area we concentrate on with pleasure.

Reconstruction of the theatre

Reconstruction process

Demanding and basic reconstruction of the building has been carried out for three years. It all started by throughout inspection and bearing of the facility - this period was marked with the lack of a major part of construction documentation. Then an architectonic studio had to be selected, a project had to be worked out so that we could be granted a building approval; then we came to its subsequent changes and finally we could start with the reconstruction works. However, soon after the first demolition stage had started last year, additional unexpected circumstances started occurring (non-registered functional sewerage under the building, emergency condition of the steel roof construction, interference of the adjacent building with the theatre hall, groundwater, etc.).

With the help of a lump sum subsidy received from the state budget and thanks to a number of sponsors (mainly Transgas, Level and Philip Morris) we managed to complete the reconstruction in September 2001.

A design made by arch. Jitka Cenkova, completed in co-operation with arch. Andrea Benesova, has been completely realised by the Level Holding Company.

A ramshackle store could thus be changed into an operating Ponec Theatre, which - as a result of the reconstruction - acquired a brand new basement for technological background. The whole facility was heightened by almost 1 metre, a completely new roof construction and roof casing was constructed and a new foyer with 1st aboveground storey for the theatre club was built there. Of course distribution/wiring and sewage systems were installed, as well as hygienic facilities, doors, pavement, facings, painting, etc.

The complete reconstruction of the building (its outside part) will be finished in the course of the year 2002. It is expected that also quality technological equipment will be completed during the same year.

From the history of the building

The building of the former Ponec Cinema comes from the end of the 19th century. It originally served for the purpose of a factory hall owned by a machinery magnate Rudolf Stabenow and it was used for rolling of plates, wires, bars and piping. The owner had his factory built in 1888 at the bottom of the so-called Sibenicni vrch ( Gallows Hill  - Galgen Berg, also referred to as Totentanz Berg).

In 1903 an admirer of the invention of cinematograph, Frantisek Ponec from the town of Mlada Boleslav, started making his tour of the Bohemian Kingdom with one of the first mobile cinematographs, which he called Ponec's Royal Bioscope since 1908.

In 1910 he made an agreement with the Zizkov Community and hired the former Stabenow's machine factory. In co-operation with an architect, Karel Masek, he decided to carry out a big and costly reconstruction of the facility. On September 3, 1910, the Royal Bioscope of Frantisek Ponec had a grand opening becoming the third steady cinema of the town of Zizkov.

Ten years after that he was revoked his license and his lease contract was repudiated. All the property was passed over to the hands of the Zizkov Community. In 1929 the cinema was given a new name: The Town's Bio Zizkov. As lately as at the occasion of the Exhibition of 50 Years of Cinematography, held on March 19, 1946, Frantisek Ponec was finally awarded for his pioneering desert. However, he did not live long enough to enjoy his appreciation. He died on April 3, 1946, the day of his 77th birthday. In his honour, already two weeks following his death, the Cinema was renamed back to Bio Ponec. It was serving to the public until the sixties. Then it became a ramshackle store of the Film Company of the Capital City of Prague until a tender concerning its long-term lease was announced in 1997 with the condition that this facility had to be used for cultural purposes.

The Municipal Quarter Prague 3 selected the future runner of the place, i.e. the Civic Association Tanec Praha. On 10th September 1998 a lease contract was signed for the definite period of time (25 years) for a symbolic lease fee of CZK 1 per one square metre. On 10th September Tanec Praha completed the fabric construction and launched its first theatre season at Ponec.

We would like to thank to Mr. Miroslav Cvancara for providing us with pictures, as well as other information on the history of Bio Ponec.