Press Release: Ballet Prague Heritage: The Pavel Šmok Institute and Endowment Fund Expands Its Unique Archive of Czech Dance
Prague, October 21, 2025 – The year 2025 brings not only an anniversary but also new beginnings for the Pavel Šmok Institute (IPŠ). Fifty years have passed since the founding of the Prague Chamber Ballet, a company that has had a profound influence on the shape of modern Czech dance. To mark this occasion, the Institute is presenting projects that connect the past with the future: the digitization of a unique archive, a series of meetings with personalities from Czech culture, and a traveling exhibition capturing five decades of the company’s work.
This year, the Institute is expanding its activities with the major project BALLET PRAGUE HERITAGE – the digitization and cataloguing of archival materials that form the core of its unique collection. The aim is to preserve and make accessible to the public the work of Pavel Šmok and his followers – choreographers, dancers, and artists who shaped the form of modern Czech ballet. The project is being implemented with financial support from the National Recovery Plan of the Czech Republic.
“This year we are celebrating fifty years of the Prague Chamber Ballet and at the same time embarking on a major task – the digitization of the archive,” says Ladislava Dunovská Jandová, founder of the Pavel Šmok Institute and Endowment Fund. “We are gradually processing hundreds of photographs, articles, and posters—true treasures of Czech dance. We don’t want them to remain hidden in boxes, but rather for everyone who loves dance to be able to view them on the Ballet Prague Heritage website.”
In addition to digitization, the Institute has also prepared a series of meetings with prominent figures from the Czech cultural scene. In October, there was a discussion with dancer and choreographer Dominik Vodička, and in December there will be a meeting connecting the worlds of dance and music – this time with the musicians of the Zemlinsky Quartet. The Zemlinsky Quartet has been collaborating with the Prague Chamber Ballet since 2014. The members of the quartet, led by violist Petr Holman, will talk about their joint projects, the connection between music and movement, and the behind-the-scenes of their collaboration on December 15, 2025, at 4 p.m. in the Small Hall of the Municipal Library in Prague. Visitors can look forward not only to an inspiring discussion, but also to a little musical surprise.
The 50th anniversary celebrations will also include a mobile exhibition, which will be officially launched on November 23, 2025, at the Vinohrady Theater. It will present the most important personalities and productions of five decades, including a selection of the most valuable archival photographs and documents. After its premiere in Prague, the exhibition will travel to other Czech cities.
The Pavel Šmok Institute is also continuing to expand its series of publications entitled Studio Balet Praha a Pražský komorní balet – historie a osobnosti (Studio Balet Praha and Prague Chamber Ballet – History and Personalities), which captures the life stories and work of important figures in Czech dance. Three publications have been released so far – Studio Balet Praha – nová vlna československé choreografie (2021), Pavel Šmok – Choreograf s duší básníka (2023) and Luboš Ogoun – Hvězda poválečného baletu (2024). Readers can look forward to another volume, dedicated to the history of the Prague Chamber Ballet, next year.
The Pavel Šmok Institute thus fulfills its mission – to preserve, document, and revive the work of Pavel Šmok and his followers, to commemorate the history of Czech dance, and to bring the public inspiring encounters with the people who continue to create it.
Media contact:
Mgr. Johana Mravcová
tel: +420 605 751 290
e-mail: mravcova@balet-praha.cz