Bożna Wydrowska (she/they) – a graduate of the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts, a visual artist, performer, and choreographer, known as the mother of Warsaw’s ballroom scene. She was awarded the Elle Style Award for Discovery of the Year 2022 and the Ballantine’s True Music Fund. A pioneer of ballroom culture in Poland, she has been active since 2012. From 2014 to 2021, she was a member of the international family, the Royal House of Milan, founded in 1989 in New York. Since 2016, she has been the curator of the “Ball at Bożena’s” – a performative dance event in Warsaw that combines ballroom with the local music scene. Since 2021, she has held the title of Polish Mother of the International House of Elle. In addition to her ballroom work, she is interested in experimental choreographic practices related to movement and voice. Her artistic practice explores body positivity and queer identity, using dance as a tool for social and political change.
Photograph: The colourful photograph shows the artist (Bożna Wydrowska) gazing mysteriously into the lens. The left side of her face is partially obscured by a flowing, dark fabric. She has long, dark, curly hair.