Fascinating medley called dance
MEERA MOHANTY
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It will be a happy combo of theatre, dance and circus as Joseph Nadj's troupe takes the stage at the Kalakshetra auditorium tomorrow.
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NEW STYLES: Dancer-choreographer Joseph Nadj with Cecile Thieblemont.
It's been called `Kafka-esque, surreal, existentialist, Theatre of the Absurd' but Joseph Nadj disowns all these intellectual labels and quite simply calls the widely appreciated style, "Dance-theatre." Born in Yugoslavia, Nadj took classes in wrestling, martial arts, and theatre even while studying Art and Music History at Art School, Budapest. At 23, he moved to France for professional training at "Ecole Internationale de Mimodrame de Marcel Marceau" followed by the School of Etienne Decroux," and under Yves Cassati and Larri Leong.
Own company
Having performed with many choreographers, Nadj founded his own company, Théâtre JEL in 1986. He has been Director of the `Centre Chorégraphique National d'Orléans' one of France's 18 National Choreographic Centres, for the past ten years. "The French tradition is quite open about artistic experiments, and even its cultural policies encourage research in new styles," says Nadj.
Nadj who also trained in the Japanese style, Butoh, says he's familiar with Kathak and Bharatanatyam. "I really enjoy traditional Indian music, and contemporary dancers like Akram Khan," he says.
The dancer-choreographer brings his quirky and fascinating combination of theatre, dance and circus that the French seem to get at with such flair, to the city. "Le Temps du Repli is the result of a 20-year association," says Joseph Nadj, "an expression of the understanding between Cecile Thieblemont and myself." Lithuanian percussionist Vladimir Tarasov will accompany them.
Trained in contemporary dance, Cécile has been working with Nadj since 1989, and has also performed with choreographers Odile Duboc and Pierre Doussaint. Cecile is also an actress. Vladimir Tarasov who was part of the Lithuanian Symphony Orchestra for many years, has played across Europe and the United States and as a member of the jazz trio GTC — Viatcheslav Ganelin, Vladimir Tarasov, Vladimir Chekasin — has several recordings too.
Catch the performance tomorrow (November 19, 7 p.m. at Kalakshetra Auditorium, Thiruvanmiyur.
Passes are available at the Kalakshetra Foundation and Alliance Francaise, College Road (Ph: 28279803/ 28271477).
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