Drzewiecki Conrad, *14 October 1926 Poznań, †25 August 2007 Poznań, Polish dancer and choreographer. In 1947–48 and 1951–57, he was a soloist of the Poznań Opera ballet, in 1948–51 a soloist of the Central Artistic Ensemble of the Polish Army, and in 1958–63 a soloist of various French ensembles, including Théâtre d’Art du Ballet and Ballet Tcherina; in the years 1964-73 he directed the ballet of the Poznań Opera, from 1973 he was the artistic director of the Polish Dance Theater – Poznań Ballet. When martial law broke out, the Polish Dance Theater–Poznań Ballet was touring Italy. Many dancers decided to stay in exile and Drzewiecki did not manage to assemble the group again at such a high level. He remained the director of the Polish Dance Theater until 1987. Many of Drzewiecki’s ballets were filmed. As a choreographer, he collaborated with ballet companies from various countries, including the Staatsoper and Deutsche Oper in Berlin, Národní Divadlo in Prague, Het Nationale Ballet in Amsterdam, Stadsteatern in Malmö, Conjunto Nacional de Danza Moderna in Havana, La Scala in Milan, as well as with drama theatres. In 1956, Drzewiecki received the first prize at the international dance competition in Vercelli, in 1969 the Knight’s Cross, and in 1976 the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.
Drzewiecki produced several versions of the ballet Etude in B-flat minor (music by K. Szymanowski), including: in 1983 at the Polish Dance Theatre in Poznań, in 1992 at the National Divadlo in Brno, in 1993 at the Baltic Opera in Gdańsk, in 1995 at the Grand Theater in Łódź. For his entire artistic work, he received the ZASP award in 1998 – the Terpsichore statuette, and in 2006 the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis. In 2009, a documentary film Conrad Drzewiecki – tancerz i choreograf [Conrad Drzewiecki – dancer and choreographer] was made (directed by R. Ćwikliński).
Important parts: Diabeł (Pan Twardowski, music L. Różycki); Von Rothbart (Swan Lake, music P. Tchaikovsky); Dyl (Till Eulenspiegel, music R. Strauss).
Ballets (staged in Poznań if not indicated): Esik w Ostendzie (music G. Bacewicz, staged in Poznań 1964); Tempus Jazz 67 (music J. Milian, staged in Poznań 1967); The Firebird (music I. Strawiński, staged in Poznań 1967); The Miraculous Mandarin (music B. Bartók, staged in Poznań 1970); Gry (electronic music with fragments of J.S. Bach’s, arrangement E. Rudnik, TV film 1970); Les Biches (music F. Poulenc, staged in Poznań 1973); Epitafium dla Don Juana (music collage, staged in Poznań 1974); Modus vivendi (music N.M. Kuźnik, staged in Poznań 1975); Odwieczne pieśni (music M. Karłowicz, staged in Poznań 1975); Stabat Mater (music K. Penderecki, staged in Poznań 1976); Krzesany (music W. Kilar, staged in Poznań 1977); Symphony No. 3 (music K. Szymanowski, staged in Poznań 1977, Prague 1983); Dramatic Story (music K. Serocki, staged in Poznań 1979); The Childhood of Christ (music H. Berlioz, staged in Milan 1980, 2nd premiere Poznań 1980); Yesterday (music The Beatles, staged in Sofia 1981); Ad Matrem (music H.M. Górecki, staged in Poznań 1983); Ostatnia niedziela (music J. Skrzek, staged in 1985).
