The Silesian Dance Theatre has its home in the building that carries the same name as the theatre and has a 600 seat performing hall. The SDT became one of the most active contemporary dance and theatre arts center in Poland. The Theatre initiates, organizes and develops domestic and international artistic events and spectacles. The SDT is a driving force for contemporary dance in Poland, creating the atmosphere that allows dancers, choreographers and artists to break traditional, conventional ways of experimenting and participating in the evolution of dance in our country.
The Contemporary Dance Foundation
The Silesian Dance Theatre created the Contemporary Dance Foundation which promotes and presents works of young Polish choreographers. The foundation was started thanks to considerable help from the Trust for Mutual Understanding and The Dance Theatre Workshop/ Suitcase Fund.
The Silesian Dance Theatre Foundation
The SDT brought into being the Silesian Dance Theatre Foundation as a non-governmental organization supporting the Theatre and its activities. Every year the SDT and the Foundation organizes many educational, cultural and social projects that have international reach as well as events for the local community and communities across the country. The most significant and the best-known project is the annual International Contemporary Dance Conference and Performance Festival.
Polish Association of Contemporary Dance
The Silesian Dance Theatre allowed for the creation of The Polish Association of Contemporary Dance, which is the first organization of this kind in over 200 years. Its mission is to create connections between dance societies in the country to strengthen the status of contemporary dance in Poland. The Association assembles independent dancers and dance companies.
Outreach projects
While focusing on their artistic work the Theater is also committed to public work. The purpose of social programs introduce merits of art in fields such as medical and social care, children's and teenagers' education and upbringing. The SDT fulfills these goals through series of regular classes in welfare centers and organizing "Therapy Through Movement" and integration dance workshops (designed for disabled and handicapped people).
The Theatre hosts many artists who work not only with the company's dancers, but also with dancers across the country. They teach seminars and classes in National Ballet School in Bytom. They also participate in creating improved solutions for social programs organized by the Theatre since 1994. In 2000 the SDT introduced a new program called "Direction - Theatre" for people who use wheelchairs. The project has partners in Great Britain: companies Velcro and Colwell Art Center in Gloucester
Because of their novelty on the Polish market, specialists from the USA and Western Europe led the social projects. Under their guidance, a generation of Polish instructors was educated. Step by step they took over instructing some classes (at Children’s Houses for instance). Moreover, the Theatre exchanged experience and ideas with other institutions in the country that have similar programs in their areas (for example Lublin, Gdańsk).
Educational Projects
The SDT regularly organizes after school activities where children and teenagers can learn the ins and outs of dance technique and theatrical arts.
National Contemporary Dance Workshops
Since 1992 the Silesian Dance Theatre has been organizing monthly, national and international workshops and seminars for dancers, choreographers and managers. In 1995 these workshops became the foundation for creating an educational center that will be opened in the future. The workshops taught by the SDT's dancers, Jacek Łumiński, and national and international guests, are organized by the Theatre in cooperation with Creative Projects International, Ltd. thanks to help from the Embassy of the USA in Warszawa, the Consulate of the USA in Krakow, the Stefan Batory Foundation, Ministry of Arts and Culture, Art Education Center in Warszawa, Cultural Animation Center in Warszawa, Creative Projects International, Ltd. - Trust for Mutual Understanding, Arts International, Dance Theatre Workshop/Suitcase Fund, American Dance Festival, Upper Silesia Cultural Center, Gliwicki Bank Handlowy S.A., Belgian Ministry of Culture, Netherlands Theatre Institute and Goethe Institute.
New Educational Series for Dance Teachers and Communities Leaders
The SDT established the New Educational Series for Dance Teachers and Community Leaders to support growth of Polish contemporary dance society and especially to provide dancers with necessary elements to build the future of contemporary dance in our country. This series was created in order to build an educational program for Dance Faculty on the academic level and to prepare adequately trained body of teachers. Educational programs in the field of administration and management were created in cooperation with the Creative International, Ltd. - an organization that has been working with the Theatre since 1993.
The Annual Contemporary Dance Conference and Performance Festival
The Silesian Dance Theatre organizes the International Contemporary Dance Conference and Dance Festival, whose goal is to strengthen the position of contemporary dance in Poland and emphasize the democratic value of dance. Programs and performances of the Conference/Festival are designed with the intention of encouraging Polish dancers to build their own forms of expression based on movement qualities and impulses, and resulting from their personal experiences, national traditions, mentality, geopolitical conditions, historical and modern issues, etc. The structure of the Conference/Festival is designed to create personal paths of growth for independent choreographers and companies. The art creates a thread of understanding between members of local and international community. The Conference/Festival has become the main meeting place in Poland for the national dance community and international artists. It is here where they share experiences, ideas, present works in education and art creation, and catch a glimpse of the future of dance both nationally and internationally.
School of Performing Arts
In October 2005 the Silesian Dance Theatre started the School of Performing Arts project, which is meant to be a foundation for the first school of its kind in Poland, educating contemporary dancers on the academic level. This project is an international collaboration and is supported by the EU Leonardo da Vinci program. In 2007, as a division of Ludwik Solski Academy for the Dramatic Arts in Krakow, the specialization and major - Dance Theatre Actor was created (the first in Poland). Currently, there are 49 students enrolled and, since October 2008, Bytom has been the home for this unique specialization.