Alena Pešková

Alena Pešková is a Czech choreographer and director whose work combines contemporary dance, physical theatre and a carefully considered dramaturgical structure. She has long been exploring new possibilities in contemporary dance theatre and regards movement as a distinct dramatic language capable of telling powerful stories. She draws inspiration from history, literature, contemporary social issues and authentic human stories. She has created more than twenty full-length dance productions for professional companies. Alongside her own creative work, she directs operas, collaborates on movement with drama troupes, and creates choreographies for festivals, exhibition openings, social events and site-specific projects. She is the founder of the independent dance company Ultra-minimal-ballet (UMB) and leads workshops in dance, movement and acting.

She studied at the Prague Dance Conservatoire, graduating in 1994. Following engagements at the Karlín Music Theatre and subsequently with the ballet company of the J. K. Tyl Theatre in Plzeň, she has been pursuing independent artistic work since 1999. As a choreographer, director and performer, she has collaborated with a number of theatres and cultural institutions in the Czech Republic and abroad, and has toured throughout Europe, Japan and South America.

Her most significant projects as an author include Maryša, Café Aussig, Periferie, Jessie and Morgiana, The Nutcracker, Blood Wedding, Gustav Klimt, Cinderella, The Rite of Spring, The Taming of the Shrew, (S)Creation, The Tempest, Vlasta, The Cremator. As a director, she has staged, amongst other things, operas Carmen, Don Pasquale a The Troubadour.

In 2008, she founded the ensemble Ultra-Minimal Ballet (UMB), which focuses on original dance theatre characterised by distinctive dramaturgy, an original visual concept and interdisciplinary collaboration.

From 2010 to 2019, she worked as a choreographer and head of the ballet company at the F. X. Šalda Theatre in Liberec.

She has received numerous awards for her work as a performer and choreographer. She has twice been shortlisted for the Thalia Award. Her ballet The Taming of the Shrew In 2019, it won the Czech Republic Dance Artists’ Association award for the best ballet production of the year. Many of the performers appearing in her choreographies have been nominated for the Thalia Award or have won it.