Mgr. Art. MgA. Pavol Juráš Ph.D. / *1982/
Po štúdiu na klasickom gymnáziu vyštudoval opernú réžiu (Doc. Alena Vaňáková) na Hudobnej fakulte Janáčkovej akadémie múzických umení v Brne. Absolvoval diplomovou prácou „Moderné operné koncepcie klasického repertoáru“. Počas štúdia navštevoval aj predmety z odboru Tanečná pedagogika. Študoval semester na Hochschule für Musik und Theater v Hamburgu (prof. Florian Malte Leibrecht) a bol hospitantom v Balete Johna Neumeiera. Divadelné vzdelanie si doplnil na Divadelnej fakulte Vysokej školy múzických umení v Bratislave v magisterskom odbore činoherná réžia (prof. Ľubomír Vajdička). Aj v Bratislave sa venoval tanečným predmetom hlavne v triede Ireny Čiernikovej. Na Janáčkovej akadémii múzických umení
v Brne obhájil dizertačnú prácu „Vznik nového hudobnodramatického diela“ v doktoranskom študijnom odbore Interpretace a teorie interpretace u prof. JindřiškyBártovej. Ako hosť prednášal napríklad na konferencii Dobrovoľníci v kultúre, ktorú usporiadal Divadelný ústav Praha. Vedľa profesionálnej divadelnej dráhy spolupracoval ako redaktor najprv s webovými stránkami balet.cz, kultura.sk, teatro.sk, umenie.sk, a posledné roky s operaplus.cz. Od roku 2017 píše recenzie na predstavenia z celej Európy výhradne pre svoju profilovú internetovú stránku.
Pavol Juráš (Slovakia) studied theatrical directing at the Performing Arts Academy under professor Ľubomír Vajdička. At the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno, he studied opera directing and completed a doctoral study on interpretation and the theory of interpretation.
Pavol Juráš also studied acting privately with Doctor Maria Mrázkova, and scenography with professor Milan Čorba. He continued his studies at the Musiktheater Regie at Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, and he was a trainee at the John Neumeier Ballett in Hamburg.
In the Czech republic, he has worked as a director for many theatres. These include: The Prague National Theatre; The Brno National Theatre; The Janacek Opera: The Mahen Theatre, and many more. Selected opera stagings include: The Magic Flute (Mozart), Pimpinone (Teleman), Clothes Make The Man (Hasse), the Waterman melodrama, Fibich). Drama productions include: Sarah Bernhardt – Memoir (Murrell); Masterclass(McNally); Miss Julie (Strindberg); Don Carlos (Schiller); Oldrich and Bozena (Hrubín); and many others.Juráš has created many events, exhibitions, set installations, compositional concerts, fashion shows and performances, staging some of hisprojects in external environments where he has combined the non-traditional venues of theatre, drama, opera and ballet. Among these are: Uspud (Czech premiere, E. Satie), The Little Prince, Metamorphoses and the Diary of One Who Disappeared (Janacek).In his plays, he is also the set designer and costume designer. Juráš designed a collection of masks for the Brno Theatre World Festival (2009 – 2012). He wrote and staged three classic fairy tales for the Brno National Theatre with Martin Dohnal: The Sleeping Beauty(2010), Cinderella (2011) and The Devil and Kate (2012). He was invited to stage his Cinderella in other theatres, and he won the Best Production award in 2011. He is the writer of a theatre piece about Vaclav Nizinski.(Vaslav Nijinsky). Working together with Daniel Dvorák, Juráš started the traditional Brno Opera Ball – writing the script, designing the costumes and overall directing. The success of the Brno Ball brought him an invitation to coolaborate on the State Opera Ball in Prague (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016) – alongside well-known Czech and Slovak artists such as Jiří Bubeníček, Barbora Kohoutková, Nina Poláková, Peter Berger, Veronika Hajnová and others. Also invited were major international artists such as Julia Makhalina, Vasily Medvedev, Elena Vostrotina.
Juráš works as a photographer and graphic designer and is known as a theorist, journalist and, in particular, as an opera and ballet critic. He has collaborated with personalities such as Alois Mikulka, Peter Dvorský, Paul Potts, Emília Vášáryová, Eliška Balzerová, Marek Eben, Jitka Molavcová and many others.
Working with the renowned Russian choreographer Vasily Medvedev, he designed the sets for the National Ballet of Panama’s production of Coppelia. He was awarded the Pushkin Legacy Foundation Award for his set design for Medvedev’s ballet Onegin in the Teatr Wielki in Lodz, He staged his ballet, Lady of the Camellias for the Macedonian Ballet in Skopje. He also worked with Medvedev as set and costume designer for his great production of the classical ballet Le Corsair at the Slovak National Theatre. Other collaborations with Medvedev have been his staged reconstruction of the Grand Pas de Deux Electrique from Petipa ́s lost ballet Bluebeard, and performed by Kristina Kretova and Artem Ovcharenko, stars of the Bolshoi Ballet, Russia. The performance was recorded on national television. In 2016, Juráš worked as set and costumes designer for the world premiere Cleopatra with Macedonian Ballet in Skopje. The performance celebrated the 25th anniversary of Macedonian Ballet’s prima ballerina, Aleksadra Mijalkova.
In Year Anniversary Marius Petipa 2018 Juráš worked as set and costumes designer for Vasily Medvedev and Stanislav Fečo production Sleeping Beauty for Opera Nationala Bucuresti.
With choreographer Eno Peci staged for Vienna State Ballet after direction Manuel Legris new version Petruschka with extraordinery cast; in leading part with Davide Dato and Jakob Feyferlik. (2017)
Juráš has also worked with another Russian choreographer Kirill Simonov on a new version of the ballet Spartacus. First version staged for National State Theatre in Slowak Republic (2016) and second version for Theatre Wielki in Poland. (2017) With Simonov has also worked on new version ballet Coppelia in National Music Theatre of Republic Karelia in Russia Federation. (2018)
British journalist Margaret Willis wrote: „Pavol Juras is a young man with a huge talent. His costumes rivalled those of the Ballets Russes for colour and detail impact, and his sets were charming, giving the feeling.“ – „Pavol Juras is one of the brightest and most talented set designers in Europe’s (Slovakia’s) colour ande world today. Lavish with his creations, he fills his stages with colour and the finest detailed design. He has created sets and costumes for drama, opera and ballet productions for which he has received much acclaim. Juras also has other artistic talents which have been seen in various theatres in Europe.“