Teresa Kujawa was born on 11th December 1927, in Bydgoszcz. She was a dancer, choreographer, ballet director, and educator of character dance.
Her teacher was dancer Zofia Pflanz-Dróbecka, who gave her lessons in dancing at the local ballet school in Toruń. She graduated from Technikum Kinematografii (Technical High School of Cinematography) in Poznań and the Roman Turczynowicz Ballet School in Warsaw.
In the years 1949-1971, she worked as a professional teacher at the Poznań Opera. During that time, she took a two-year break to work as a dancer in Paris. In 1971, she became a ballet mistress at the Wrocław Opera. Later on, she worked as a choreographer for the Polish Dance Theatre – Poznań Ballet, the Grand Theater in Łódź, and then at the Grand Theatre in Warsaw (in the years 1982-1989). In the years 1992-1994, she worked as a ballet director of the Szczecin Opera and Operetta.
For many years, Teresa Kujawa worked as a dance teacher, with her main focus on Spanish dances and Polish folk dances. She is considered to be one of the popularisers of modern dance in Poland. As a choreographer, she worked with many theatres in Poland and other European countries.
As a film actress, she was cast in the film ‘Roman i Magda / Roman and Magda’ (1978) directed by Sylwester Chęciński. She also worked with Stanisław Różewicz in two of his films, as a choreographer.
Teresa Kujawa died on 28th April 2020, in Wrocław.
Selected Filmography
- 1978 – ‘Roman i Magda / Roman and Magda’, dir. by Sylwester Chęciński (cast)
- 1984 – Kobieta w kapeluszu / Woman in a Hat, dir. by Stanisław Różewicz (consultation)
- 1989 – Nocny gość / The Night Time Guest, dir. by Stanisław Różewicz (choreography)
