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Prague’s Academy of Performing Arts will hold multiple celebrations in the upcoming academic year 2020/2021. The 27th of October marks precisely 75 years since the President of Czechoslovakia, Edvard Beneš, signed a decree confirming the foundation of an unprecedented higher educational institution in our country. Since 1945, AMU has been educating students in the fields of theatre, film, television, music and dance. The celebrations will start on 1 October, which is also the official beginning of the new academic year, and will last until its end on 30 September 2021.
Early in October, AMU will release special well-wishing videos as part of the celebrations through its social media and official website; in the videos, congratulations will come from current students, teachers and employees as well as from famous graduates who are now luminaries of the world of art. Congratulators include Polish film director and scriptwriter Agnieszka Holland; student Daria Kashcheeva whose bachelor film, Daughter, won the prestigious Student Oscar; National Theatre actress Taťána Medvecká; and globally renowned harpist and a Royal College of Music in London teacher Jana Boušková. AMU has shot a symbolic 75 videos to mark its remarkable anniversary.
Well-wishing videos to AMU also come from the Deans of all three Faculties, Doubravka Svobodová (DAMU), Andrea Slováková (FAMU) and Ivan Klánský (HAMU), as well as from Jan Hančil’s Vice-Rector team. The Rector says on the major anniversary: “AMU is launching the celebration of 75 years of its existence in a year when it is also facing unprecedented challenges caused by a pandemic that is severely affecting the social, cultural and artistic life in the Czech Republic and across the world. I am convinced that AMU will use all the creative potential of its teachers, students and everybody who supports teaching art so that the school emerges from this difficult situation enriched by new educational ideas. By overcoming issues and restrictions, art teaching and art as such gain strength and find new avenues.”
The extensive programme that AMU will offer during the year will be accessible to the academia and the general public.
Although AMU in cooperation with its Faculties have prepared many events to commemorate its 75th anniversary in various ways, it also expects their dates and forms to adapt to the current epidemiologic situation.
During the academic year, the school will bestow three honorary doctorates and three gold medals, one for each Faculty. Divadlo Inspirace will host the seventh edition of Territories of Art, a conference for doctoral art students that AMU organises in cooperation with other higher art schools, on 6 November. A day for children from children’s homes, which AMU organises along with the Children in Action Foundation, will take place on 12 February 2021. On the occasion, almost thirty children from primary and secondary schools who consider studying art will tour the school. Each Faculty will prepare a special programme for children to illustrate the opportunities of such studies.
AMU to launch an outdoor exhibit mapping the 75 years of its history late in June
The exhibit to mark 75 years since the foundation of the Academy of Performing Arts will feature a slice of history of all three Faculties and present their major personalities and events associated with them. The exhibit will be held outdoors so that it can be accessible to the general public. The exhibit will also expand the range of the planned anniversary events with a special programme.
The celebrations will end in the autumn of 2021 with a large concert, currently being prepared by HAMU.
Ingeborg Radok Žádná and David Mareček
Antonín Dvořák’s Concerto in A Minor Op. 53 for Violin and Orchestra Conductor: Leoš Svárovský Soloist: Jan Mráček & Akademický jubilejní orchestr 2021
Selections from Bedřich Smetana’s My Country – Vltava, From Bohemia's Meadows and Groves, and Šárka Conductor: Leoš Svárovský Soloist: Jan Mráček & Akademický jubilejní orchestr 2021
The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague bestowed the doctor honoris causa degree on actor, director and university teacher Martin Huba on Friday, 22 October 2021. He received the degree on the basis of a proposal from the Theatre Faculty, which used this opportunity to honour his mastery of drama acting, directing, and acting instruction. Martin Huba has joined 17 other luminaries who AMU named honorary doctors in the past.
Talented and passionate students, committed and good teachers and employees and successful graduates – such is the wish from Rector Jan Hančil to AMU on its 75th anniversary.
Petra Soukupová, a graduate of HAMU’s Music Management Department, founded an orchestra with her brother in the small town of Police nad Metují nine years ago. Petra won several awards for her activities, including the British Ambassador Award in the “Young Person of the Year” (under 30 years) category.
Braňo Mazúch, the current Head of the Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre, teacher and theatre director, wishes AMU strong immunity and nerves for the future.
Marie Hasoňová, Judita Škodová and Kateřina Ochmanová are HAMU students who form Quasi Trio, a musical ensemble focusing primarily on classic works from the Baroque to the 20th century. All three musicians wish for AMU to raise more successful and talented performers.
Daniela Jobertová is the Vice-Rector of AMU for Student Affairs and Quality Assurance, and has been the Head of DAMU’s Department of Theory and Criticism since 2001. With her as the Vice-Rector, AMU obtained the institutional accreditation last year.
Current Vice-Rector for Development, PR, Research and Development, Japanologist, art historian and teacher. According to him, what AMU needs most for the future years is freedom, tolerance, less bureaucracy, peace for work and a good budget.
Ondřej Šejnoha, Director of FAMU Studio, is wishing AMU well as well giving it a notional gift. With him at the helm, a cinema is returning to FAMU Studio after thirty years of absence, following an extensive refurbishment project of several years: the unique Reference Screening section with four screens and a rare design of the operator’s cabin, which is prepared for screening nitrate films, among other material.
Andrea Slováková is a graduate of, among other schools, FAMU’s Department of Documentary Film and has been the first ever official female Dean in the history of the Film and TV School since May 2020. What does the Dean of FAMU wish the school for the future years of its existence?
In Praise of Educational Folly – this is how actress and teacher Eva Salzmannová titled her book that captures more than twenty years of her experience in teaching budding actors at the Department of Dramatic Theatre (2019, NAMU). She is joining the congratulators in her video, wishing AMU well on the occasion of its ‘birthday’.
Tereza Sochová has been working at the DISK Theatre for almost her entire career. She has been the Director for three years now. What does the Director of Divadlo DISK wish AMU?
Radek Marušák, the head one of the youngest departments of DAMU, is wishing AMU well on its 75th anniversary in today’s video. The Department of Drama in Education raises professionals who use dramatic education methods in various schools and other educational institutions. Radek Marušák teaches Czech, History and Dramatic Education in primary, secondary and art schools.
Martin Zbrožek is a teacher at HAMU’s Jazz Interpretation and Nonverbal Theatre Departments. Watch his video well-wishing where he wishes AMU primarily free and fresh atmosphere for the future.
Professor Rudolf Adler was the Head of the Department of Documentary Film in the 1990s and he is still an employee.Professor Adler wishes AMU an incessant inflow of new talent because that is what will make it grow younger. You can see his entire well-wishing in the video.
Actor and teacher Jaroslava Pokorná addresses her well-wishing primarily to the Theatre Faculty, her alma mater. . In her video wishing, she pays tribute to the Department’s founder, Professor Ivan Vyskočil.
Ivo Kahánek, Czech pianist and HAMU teacher remembers his first and quite ugly experience at AMU in today’s video.
Jan Machart is a piano technician and tuner who has worked in the background of dozens of prestigious recordings by leading Czech pianists and ensembles. Not surprisingly, then, he wishes AMU many beautiful pianos, among other things.
This well-wishing comes from the Film and TV School of AMU’s Professor Jan Bernard, a film teacher, historian and theorist.
Michaela Váňová is a successful graduate of DAMU’s Department of Drama in Education. Watch her well-wishing – it is brief but it says it all.
Kateřina Turečková is a student of FAMU’s Department of Documentary Film and a promising young Czech documentary film maker. She wishes for AMU to marry its philosophy with humanity and tackle all current turbulences.
Michal Čunderle is the Head of Authorial Creativity and Pedagogy, one of DAMU’s youngest departments. Why does he believe that what AMU needs most are the best students in the world? Watch his entire video wishing.
Professor Miloslav Klíma has been working at DAMU for almost thirty years. In addition to teaching, he was also the Dean in the 1990s and then the Vice-Rector of AMU for Student Affairs. What does he wish AMU on its anniversary?
Jiří Vlček joined HAMU at a time when AMU was celebrating its fiftieth anniversary. In the 25 years of his work, he produced almost 6,000 domestic concerts and 7,000 international ones together with the other members of the production team. Take a look at what he wishes AMU on its respectable anniversary.
Today’s video wishing for AMU comes from Ivo Mathé, the Rector of AMU in 2005–2013, media producer, scriptwriter, manager, and a graduate and a long-time teacher of FAMU’s Department of Production.
Karla Stojáková works at FAMU’s Department of Production and is a successful film producer. She wishes to AMU many happy students and teachers.
Jan Mráček is a gifted violinist, a student of HAMU and the youngest ever soloist of the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra.
This video wishing comes from Marek Bečka, DAMU’s current Vice-Dean for International Relations, teacher at the Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre and one of the founders of the Buchty a loutky ensemble.
Hynek Alt is a graduate of FAMU’s Department of Photography and the Visual Research Lab of the State University of New York. He leads the Studio of New Aesthetics at the Department of Photography. Watch what he wishes AMU on its anniversary.
Václav Janeček is the Vice-rector for Study and Education Affairs, a teacher and a dance master. He was a Laterna magika soloist in 1982–2000, has been a dramaturge and a dance master there since 2000 and became the dramaturge of Prague’s National Theatre Ballet Company in 1998.
Jan Cina is an Acting graduate of the Theatre Faculty. He played his first role while still a child in The Brats (2002). Look at what Jan Cina wishes his alma mater.
Today’s video congratulations to AMU come from Eliška Děcká, an animated film theorist and historian who currently works at the Department of Animated Film of FAMU and she is also Vice-Rector for Scientific and Artistic Research Activity of AMU.
Lukáš Vasilek is one of the premier current Czech conductors and HAMU is his alma mater – he graduated in conducting.
Michaela Semotánová is a student of scenography at AMU’s Theatre Faculty. She won the Josef Hlávka Award in 2019 for exceptional abilities and creative thinking in her field. She wishes AMU and everybody associated with the school energy, courage, strength and persistence.
Watch the video wishing from Kristina Kůlová, a student of FAMU’s Department of Cinematography. She made herself known at the Jihlava IDFF last year with her short film A to světlo mění tvar in the FAMU student film section.
Today’s congratulator to AMU on its 75th anniversary is Pavel Rejholec, sound designer, composer, producer and teacher of FAMU’s Department of Sound Design. Pavel Rejholec’s won the Czech Lion Award for the Best Sound Design several times.
Jindřich Andrš, a student of FAMU’s Department of Documentary Film and of Edinburgh Napier University, is known film fans primarily thanks to The New Shift and The Last Shift of Thomas Hisem films. Take a look at what he wishes his alma mater on its 75th anniversary.
Having graduated from Palacký University in Olomouc as a Master of Arts, Marek Čermák joined FAMU’s Department of Directing. She is also completing his doctoral studies at the Department of Film and Theatre Studies in Olomouc.
The newly elected Dean of the Theatre Faculty starting his four-year tenure in March 2021 is wishing AMU well on its 75th anniversary. Karel František Tománek is a long-time teacher of DAMU’s Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre.
Nina Malíková is a teacher at DAMU’s Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre, a puppet theatre historian, translator and journalist. See what she wishes AMU on its anniversary.
Agnieszka Holland joins those who congratulate AMU on its 75th anniversary. The Polish film director, screenwriter and alumna of the Film and TV School of AMU is one of the leading lights of the current global cinema.
Jana is currently preparing a film about Robert Richardson, cinematographer and a long-time collaborator of Quentin Tarantino, whom she met during the work on her thesis. Watch her special video wishing that she sent to AMU from the US.
Ingeborg Radok Žádná is AMU’s Vice-Rector for International Relations and Artistic Activity as well as a teacher at HAMU’s Music Management Department. She wishes AMU primarily understanding between students, teachers and employees in the years to come.
There is likely no one who has not heard about Daria Kashcheeva, an up-and-coming hopeful filmmaker sand FAMU student. Daria wishes for AMU to continue providing shelter and support for young authors in their work; the support that she received has helped her achieve her successes.
Today’s video well-wishing for AMU comes from Ladislav Bilan, young and talented percussion student. He made his successful debut at the Prague Spring festival this year.
Professor Jan Dušek started teaching at DAMU in 1978 and has been the Head of the Department of Scenography since 1992. He was appointed a Professor at CAT Sevilla in 1993, taught at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, and designed stage sets for theatres in Monte Carlo, Los Angeles, Düsseldorf and elsewhere.
Doubravka Svobodová, Dean of DAMU. What does she wish AMU on its 75th anniversary, having served as the Dean of the Theatre Faculty for eight years and taught at the Department of Production for many more years?
Today’s video wishing for AMU comes from Martin Klusák, a successful graduate of two faculties. He studied sound design at FAMU and composition at HAMU with Professor Ivana Loudová. He is currently a successful sound designer, having scored, for example HBO’s full length documentary, The Great Night (2013) and the Polish film Journey to Rome (2015).
Lea Petříková is a graduate of FAMU’s Center for Audiovisual Studies and a fresh laureate of the prestigious Jacques Derrida Prize. She is currently finishing her doctoral studies at FAMU. She considers AMU a unique space for creating and thinking. What does she wish the school on its anniversary?
Professor Ivan Klánský is a premier Czech pianist, Chairman of the Chopin Society and the Dean of HAMU since 2018. See what he wishes the school on its 75th anniversary.
You may have recently heard of Jakub mainly in connection with his short film, Don’t Be a Pussy. The up-and-coming film director is currently finishing his Master’s programme at FAMU’s Department of Directing. Watch and see what he wishes AMU on its 75th birthday.
Denisa Barešová is a graduate of drama acting, having studied in the class led by dramaturge Daria Ullrichová and director Jan Nebeský. She sends her well-wishing to AMU directly from the roof of the Theatre Faculty.
Dancer, choreographer, actress and teacher Klára Lidová sends her well-wishing from a dance hall, one of HAMU’s most impressive palace-like spaces.
Professor Noemi Zárubová has been working at HAMU for almost a quarter century. In her video wishing, she remembers the visit of Mstislav Rostroprovich, a famous Russian conductor who brought an unusual air of authenticity to – and she believes that this is what should persevere in school in the coming years.
Lenka Řápková has been the secretary of FAMU’s Department of Animated Film for many years. In the video, she says she considers the Department and the Faculty her family.
Petr Prokop is a teacher at DAMU’s Department of Production and the Chair of AMU’s Academic Senate. He wishes the school to stay united across three diverse Faculties, as this is what it needs to continue prospering as an exceptional institution.
Jiří Hlaváč is a clarinet and saxophone player, composer and teacher at the Woodwinds and Brass Instruments Department of HAMU. He wishes AMU on its 75th anniversary primarily generosity, empathy, noblesse and endless artistic inventiveness.
Roman Bělor is an in-house teacher at HAMU’s Music Management Department. He is currently the je Chair of the Association for the Construction of the New Concert Hall in Prague, a member of the Club for Old Prague and The Mánes Association of Fine Artists. It should not surprise anyone that his well-wishing for AMU is somewhat pragmatic.
Upright bass player Jiří Slavík lived abroad for almost fourteen years but his name is highly respected in the Czech jazz scene. He currently works as a teacher at HAMU and JAMU, putting his wealth of experience from Italy, England and France to good use, and works with leading Czech jazz ensembles. In his video wishing for AMU, he wishes the school to be able to always reflect on the young world that has had and will have a major impact on teachers’ artistic activities.
Today’s video well-wishing to AMU comes from Jana Boušková, a teacher at the String Instruments Department of HAMU and Royal College of Music in London.
Alexander Kashcheev is a student of FAMU’s Department of Editing. Without a doubt, his greatest achievement is his editing work on the Oscar-winning short film made by his wife Daria Kashcheeva. Her Daughter dazzled the whole world primarily with its unorthodox experiment involving camera movement.
Taťjana Medvecká is a theatre, film, voice-over and radio actress. She became a member of the drama troupe of Prague’s National Theatre immediately after graduating from DAMU and she plays there to this day. Radiating positive energy, the actress channels her well-wishing to her alma mater from the sunny streets of Prague’s Vinohrady district that lead to the Theatre Faculty building.
“A lot of inspiration for years to come.” – such is the wish from Ondřej Urban to AMU: a sound designer, director, composer, pianist, teacher and the head of HAMU Sound Studio.
In the following video, Petr Erbes shares the wishing for AMU coming from an entire creative team known as 8 lidí (Eight People). They are theatre directors, dramaturges and set designers from DAMU’s Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre who met there as students in 2014.
Today’s well-wishing from FAMU comes courtesy of Ester Grohová, a student of the Centre for Audiovisual Studies. The young director has several audio-visual projects under her belt and has also developed her individual artistic language.
Professor Štěpán Rak is a guitar virtuoso, a major Czech composer and a professor of the Music and Dance Faculty where he founded the guitar department in 1982, laying the foundation for guitar study on a university level. Professor Štěpán Rak is celebrating the same anniversary as AMU – they both are turning 75 this year.
Eva Kyselová has been working at DAMU since 2009 when she joined a doctoral programme at the Department of Theory and Criticism. Over the years, she has become an in-house teacher; she started teaching at the Department of Production and later also as an extern at FAMU. In addition, she is a theatre critic.
Graduates of FAMU’s Department of Production, Alžběta Noll, Pavla Klimešová and Karolína Fránková, extend their collective well-wishing to AMU.
The faculty café is an integral part of the Music and Dance Faculty, which resides largely in the Liechtenstein Palace. Luděk Lechnýř operates the ‘oasis amidst the big city bustle. See what he wishes the school on its anniversary.
Today’s video brings congratulations to AMU from Radovan Lipus, a theatre, TV and radio director and a teacher of the Theatre Faculty.
Jakub Kudláč is a Professor at the Department of Sound Design of FAMU, lectures at the Tomáš Baťa University in Zlín and focuses primarily on writing theatre and film scores.
Kateřina Javůrková, a French horn player, HAMU graduate and a member of the Czech Philharmonic’s horn section, is sending her well-wishing to AMU.
Svatopluk Skála has been working at DAMU for a long and admirable 27 years. During their studies, students encounter him primarily in the cabinetmaking shop where he is involved in the production of scenography items, puppets and props and oversees the production process. What does Svatopluk Skála wish AMU on its anniversary?
Ivan Štraus, Professor of the Music and Dance Faculty and a violin virtuoso, is wishing AMU well on its 75th anniversary today. He has been a teacher at HAMU since 1968.
Eliška Křenková, a graduate of the Theatre Faculty, is wishing AMU well today.
Kateřina Kněžíková is a graduate of AMU’s Music and Dance Faculty and one of the most prominent current Czech opera singers.
Professor Petr Jarchovský is a long-time teacher of FAMU’s Department of Scriptwriting and Dramaturgy where he studied in 1987–1991. Petr Jarchovský’s greatest achievements are without a doubt the Academy Award nominations for Želary (2003) and Divided We Fall (2000) in the Best International Film category.
