Pavel Šmok - Choreograf s duší básníka – Kocourková Lucie (2023)

Annotation: The publication Pavel Šmok – Choreographer with the Soul of a Poet offers a comprehensive view of the work of one of our most significant choreographers of the 20th century and will surely delight every lover of dance and ballet. Pavel Šmok became renowned as an innovator of ballet art in Czechoslovakia, and his fame extended far beyond its borders. The publication traces Šmok's career from his youth, identifies the influences that shaped his genius multifaceted talent, highlights the characteristic features of his work in different periods, and also what is common to all his famous choreographies. Pavel Šmok was exceptionally musical; he created his most famous choreographies in dialogue with the music of such giants as Leoš Janáček, Bedřich Smetana, Antonín Dvořák, and others. He had a great talent for creating humor on stage, as well as telling stories through dance without words and conveying a full range of emotions. The book captures his engagements as a dancer and his early choreographic works in Ústí nad Labem and Ostrava, the founding of the legendary Ballet Prague, the era in which Pavel Šmok was the head of the ballet in Basel, and his tenacious work with the second company he founded, the Prague Chamber Ballet. The author worked with dozens of articles, reviews, and interviews published both domestically and...