Jana Bitterová is a dance artist, choreographer, improviser and creative movement facilitator.
Originally from Prague, she became a traveling artist working worldwide. She has been based in Cornwall, UK (assisting and teaching at Falmouth University), in Quimper, France (assistant in choreographic structure T.E.E.M.), in Oostende, Belgium (in educational department for Mu.ZEE), in Bratislava, Slovakia (student of Academy of Performing Arts) and she regularly returns to her homeland, the Czech Republic, to run various projects and deliver workshops.
As a choreographer and performer, she creates solo performances and participates in interdisciplinary projects with musicians, visual artists and digital media artists. She collaborates with Ian Biscoe in productions of multimedia projects connecting dance and digital technologies. She is a member of Free Three improvisational company.
(You can find more about Jana’s artistic practice in the Performance section.)
One of her main interests lies in Contact improvisation, facilitating classes and jams across Europe (Contact Festival Freiburg 2017, Wednesday CI Jams at Falmouth University 2016, a founder of Bratislava Contact Improvisation 2015). She enjoys introducing dance to people of all levels of experience and age (e.g. choreographic projects in primary schools organised by SE.S.TA.).
Jana studied for her Masters degree in Pedagogy of Contemporary Dance at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, Slovakia, under Anna Sedlačková (a dance and Body-Mind Centering Practitioner) and Marta Poláková (a Laban Movement Analyst).
Her professional interest in movement expression led her firstly to study Dance Research at Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, making her BA based on theoretical analyses and dance history. She continued her education focusing more on exploration of moving body and somatic techniques, being a student of Milan Kozánek and Zuna Kozánková (Artyci Dance Company and www.shiatsu-terapie.sk)
Subsequently, she had an opportunity to meet in studios personalities of postmodern dance and improvisation such as Nancy Stark Smith, Lisa Nelson, Daniel Lepkoff, Ruth Zaporah, Julyen Hamilton, Stephanie Skura, K. J. Holmes, Malcolm Manning, Frey Faust and others. Their propositions are important sources of inspiration for her work.
Collaborations and links
www.studiobiscoe.com
– collaboration with visual artist and engineer Ian Biscoe, Biscoe Bitterova Project
www.facebook.com/freethree.page/
– member of improvisational trio with dancer Kuldip Singh-Barmi and cellist Oak Matthias
www.falmouth.ac.uk
– teaching in Dance program of Falmouth University (2015-2016)
www.fontys.edu
– assisting in Digital Networked Arts project at Fontys University, Netherlands (from 2018 – ongoing)
www.se-s-ta.cz
– Center of choreographic development, delivering program “School dances” within KoresponDance Festival (from 2016 – ongoing)
https://npapws.org
– presenter at conferences Network Performing Arts Production Workshop (from 2016)
www.contactfestival.de
– teacher at international contact improvisation festival 2017
www.le-teem.fr
– collaboration with French choreographic structure T.E.E.M. (assistant 2012–2013)
www.shiatsu–terapie.sk
– training in Shiatsu (2008, 2009)
www.artyci.com
– collaboration and education with Zuna Kozankova and Milan Kozanek
www.tanecniaktuality.cz
– member of editorial staff of Dance actualities, the first Czech internet dance magazine (from 2008)
www.ivanamer.com
– collaboration with singer and composer Ivana Mer, project Coexistence
www.mu-zee-um.be
– member of Mu-zee-um, organization for culture and art education, Oostende, Belgium (2011–2012)
http://theateraanzee.be/
– dance workshop for children within festival Theatre aan Zee, Oostende, Belgium (2012)
http://tanecpraha.cz
– project Dance to Schools, Dance and movement education at primary schools in Prague (2011–2014)
