Josef Nadj - Penzum

(c) Pascal Seixas

Penzum: the amount of work to be completed in one day and which one has to account for. This term appears in an untranslated poem by Attila József (1905-1937), the iconic Hungarian poet who influenced generations of writers and artists. Josef Nadj, choreographer, dancer and visual artist, and double-bass player and composer Joëlle Léandre, conceived Penzum as a tribute to the great poet. Both wearing masks, the two performers stage their duo in a mixture of choreography, music, drawing and free improvisation. It is an “open” piece constantly written on the spot as a result of a total communion between the performers. It shows the work done to express the intensity of Attila JózsefΆs words. His poetry never ceases to operate on the heart and mind of both performers. It guides them, inspires them.

(…) Soon IΆll have to leave. I have to show myself that I am somebody except I donΆt exist. Only others see me.
For now, I still have my neck. The train has not cut it yet.
My tongue has not been cut either.
But who can I talk to…?
This is a fixed point.

Attila József, “Free ideas”
(raw translation by Josef Nadj)

 

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Conception-Performance: Josef Nadj, Joëlle Léandre
Lights-Technical Direction: Sylvain Blocquaux
Construction: Julien Fleureau
Mask: Jacqueline Bosson
Costumes: Aleksandra Pešić
Text: Attila József
Production/Touring: Bureau Platô (Céline Chouffot / Emilia Petrakis)
Coproduction: Centre chorégraphique national dΆOrléans, Atelier 3+1
Atelier 3+1 / Josef Nadj receives the support of the French Ministry of Culture (DGCA)

With the support of the French Institute

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Joëlle Léandre

French double bass player, improviser and composer, Joëlle Léandre is one of the dominant figures of the new European music. Trained in orchestral as well as contemporary music, she has played with lΆItinéraire, 2e2m and Pierre BoulezΆs Ensemble Intercontemporain. Joëlle Léandre has also worked with Merce Cunningham and with John Cage, who has composed especially for her – as have Scelsi, Fénelon, Hersant, Lacy, Campana, Jolas,

Clementi and about 40 composers.

As well as working in contemporary music, Léandre has played with some of the great names in jazz and improvisation, such as Derek Bailey, Anthony Braxton, George Lewis, Evan Parker, Irene Schweizer, William Parker, Barre Phillips, Pascal Contet, Steve Lacy, Lauren Newton, Peter Kowald, Urs Leimgruber, Mat Maneri, Roy Campbell, Fred Frith, John Zorn,

Mark Naussef, Marilyn Crispell, India Cooke and so many others…

She has written extensively for dance and theatre, and has staged a number of multidisciplinary performances. She got the DAAD at Berlin, is welcomed as artist resident at Villa Kujiyama (Kyoto). In 2002, 2004 and 2006, she is Visiting Professor at Mills College, Oakland, CA (Darius Milhaud Chair), for improvisation and composition. Her work as a composer and a performer, both in solo recitals and a part of ensembles, has put her under

the lights of the most prestigious stages of Europe, the Americas and Asia. There are more than 150 recordings to her credit since she began recording in 1981.

Josef Nadj

Understanding dance above all as a site for encounter – this is how Josef Nadj defines his work.

Beyond his role as choreographer and director of the Centre chorégraphique national dΆOrléans, the man is in fact an artist without borders and without barriers.

Dancer, but also visual artist and photographer, his vision of humanity is poetic and passionate. Constantly in search of new forms. Ceaselessly willing to explore humanity as close as possible to human truth.

Across his career, from Canard pékinois (1987) to Penzum (2017), Josef Nadj has relentlessly pursued exigent and passionate choreography where gravity and compassion take turns, where depth and humour alternate. Whether he is visiting atypical authors (Beckett, Kafka, Michaux) or bringing painting along on stage with him (in performance with Miquel Barceló), Josef Nadj flourishes in complete corporal freedom.

Oscillating between reality and fantasy, tradition and modernity, he explores the essential: manΆs relationship with himself. Because for Nadj, dance is fundamentally a humanist act.

Over the years, the works of Josef Nadj have become references in contemporary dance. Beyond his national influence (Carte Blanche at the Grande Halle de La Villette in Paris, 2014; Associated Artist at the 2006 Avignon Festival that officially designated him as “creator without borders”), his work is recognized and celebrated around the globe. Enthusiastically received in nearly 50 countries, more than 400,000 audience members across five continents have appreciated his works in the most important international venues.

Drawing his inspiration from the depths of the great myths of humanity, passionately intertwining both artistic disciplines and cultural references, Josef Nadj is elaborating a universal language.