Jan Kodet, choreographer, director, long-time ballet master of the National Theatre and dance teacher, is one of the leading representatives of the contemporary dance scene. He has created a number of successful and innovative dance theatre projects not only in our country but also abroad, such as Danse Macabre, Touches of the Dreamer, Gates, Cala Estreta, Raumtraumen, Talking with Frida, Goldilocks, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, The Little Mermaid and Human Locomotion. Award-winning performances include Lola & Mr. Talk (Archa Theatre) or Camoufl.AGE (National Theatre ballet), which won the Theatre Newspapers and Sazka Awards for the best choreographic work of the theatre season. His original work from 2023 is the successful dance theatre performance Egon Shiele-self-portrait on the revolving auditorium in Český Krumlov. His teaching activities are also spread across Czech and foreign schools, theatres and dance groups. He has taught modern dance techniques, improvisation and composition in Prague (in collaboration with the Prague Dance Conservatory and the Prague Dance Centre) as well as in Germany, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and Portugal. Since 2006 he has been lecturing at the Dance Department of the Prague HAMU. Now, thanks to his participation in the next year of the MenART Academy, dance departments of the ZUŠ will also have the opportunity.
Jan Kodet acquired his dance basics in the University Art Ensemble of Charles University (later the Prague Dance Theatre) under the direction of Ivanka Kubicová, Jan Hartman and Marcela Benoniová. After graduating from the Modern Dance Pedagogy Department at the HAMU Dance Department, he gained experience abroad during the 1990s. He worked at Dance Berlin, S.O.A.P. Dance Theater Frankfurt, Ballet Gulbenkian Lisbon and met choreographers such as Ohad Naharin, Nacho Duato, Paulo Ribeiro and Itzik Galili. However, Kodet values his collaboration with the Portuguese choreographer Rui Horta the most, with whose group he danced for several years and later worked as Horta's assistant with a number of European companies (Cullberg Ballet, Compagnie National de Mareseille, Icelandic Ballet, etc.).
After returning to Prague, he joined the National Theatre as a ballet master, but primarily worked as an independent artist. He created a number of both large-scale productions, in which he prepared only the movement component, and original projects, in which both dance and artistic concept play an equally important role. He regularly collaborates with young dancers, with multi-genre directors, with the SKUTR director tandem, i.e. Lukáš Trpišovský and Martin Kukučka (e.g. Shakespearean Festival in Prague, opera and drama productions: Bouquet and Hamlet - drama of the National Theatre of Prague, Tales of Hoffman - opera of the National Theatre of Brno, etc.). He is one of the few choreographers to also collaborate with contemporary composers, such as Ivan Acher, Petr Kaláb or Zbyněk Matějů. He also participates in the choreography of opera productions by director Jiří Heřman; for the National Theatre in Prague, these include Rusalka, Hry o Mariai, Gloriana and in Brno, Epic of Gilgamesh, Faust and Marguerite, Alcina or Glagolitic Mass/From the House of the Dead. He also works in the field of commercial use of dance. He has presented dance shows for brands such as Nike, Puma, Christian Dior and others. He has choreographed a number of commercials. He has co-created music videos for Vojtěch Dyk and Barbora Kodetová. As a teacher, he has participated in a number of international workshops and was co-founder and artistic director of the International Contemporary Dance Workshop Prague (ICDW Prague).
Applications are accepted until 31. 3. 2025.
Information on applications to Jan Kodet's group
- Age: 12+
- Planned maximum number of selected participants: 1 or 2 ensembles (approx. max. up to 15 dancers)
- Enclose a description of the group with the application - summarizing the teacher's view of the work of the ensemble, state your role models and expectations from participating in the project. Also enclose short messages from the ensemble members (relationship with the ensemble, expectations).
- CV of the teacher - completed studies, previous experience in the field.
- Enclose two to three samples of the choreography you are working on - samples from completed or unfinished works (this may be work in progress from a rehearsal, not a recording of the entire performance) up to 5 minutes long.
- Samples must be uploaded (as a public or private link) to YouTube - see. Application conditions.
- Please note that failure to meet all conditions (general conditions + mentor-specific conditions) may be grounds for disqualification of the application.