Janina Strzembosz

Janina Strzembosz (August 31, 1908, Lviv – December 21, 1991, Cracow) was a Polish dancer, choreographer, teacher, publicist, pianist, conductor and director, and one of the most acclaimed personas in Polish dance of the 20th century. A pupil of Isadora Duncan, Later, Juliusz Osterwa, who engaged her in this work said; “We will have Isadora Duncan at our school”. In 1947, Strzembosz established a Choreography Institute as a part of the People’s Music Institute in Łódź, which due to financial issues collapsed in 1951. Strzembosz’s variety of skills and knowledge allowed her to collaborate with many art institutes in Cracow, such as the Helena Modrzejewska National Stary Theater in Kraków, the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre, the , the Young Viewers' Theatre, and the Krakow Opera Society. From 1949, she worked at the Provincial House of Trade Unions Culture, later the Krakow Culture Centre in the , where she ran the instructor club, offering choreography and qualification courses under the patronage of the Ministry of Culture and Art.

In 1977-1981 she worked at the Dance Studio with “Mimus” - a drama dance group. Strzembosz created many art plays e.g. Poprzez wieki (Through the ages), Suita tańców historycznych XVI wieku (Suite of historical dances of the 16th century), Otrzęsiny drukarskie (Remnants of print). From 1979-1989, Strzembosz also worked with Ars Antiqua, a historical dance group, on Listy z okresu Romantyzmu (Letters from the Romantic period), Nie masz to, jak król Jan III Sobieski (You don't have it like King Jan III Sobieski), Polonia, Przebaczam (I forgive), Tajemniczy uśmiech Mony Lisy (Mona Lisa's mysterious smile), Stanisław i Anna Oświecimowie (Stanisław and Anna Oświecim), Aleksandro Cagliostro, Intryga Królowej (Zygmunt August i Barbara) (The Queen's Intrigue (Zygmunt August and Barbara)).