Challenging taboos, robust but delicate humor, radical, prejudice-free studies of the body – these are the main characteristics of performances by HODWORKS, the multiple award winning and internationally-renowned contemporary dance company led by Adrienn Hód. One of their previous creations, Dawn, has been presented at Trafó since 2013.
Their new creation, SUNDAY, takes the fundamental theoretical questions of contemporary dance as its starting point and reflects them through the practice of dance itself, in a fiercely intense display of physicality. The five performers transform the components of theatre and dance into an essential bodily experience, which inevitably also has an effect on the audience. SUNDAY a gloomy day of rest, but a high performance trip.
“SUNDAY contains Adrienn Hód, and some Bosch and Pasolini, as well (...) It's a kind of experience that the audience can't stay indifferent to. (...) To Hód, the audience are just as important, if not more important, than her dancers. She teases us, working on us until our thick shells open up, and we stand there waiting for the unknown, just like the performers in SUNDAY themselves. The visceral bodily experience, which arises from the self-disclosure and explosions of energy from the dancers, sweeps away all false illusions and ideas.” (Csaba Králl)
“We find ourselves in an uncertain, unknown place where we don't know our way around (...) Hód clears away the glaze from everything. (...) She does, in a relentlessly systematic way, exactly what her dancers have done for years: reaching for areas that are inappropriate, touching parts that are sometimes uncomfortable. But we have to see them. Because it's intriguing. Because it doesn't let us sit back. Because it helps us to know ourselves better.” (Ágnes Maul)
“The company HODWORKS, after Grace and Solos, continues to think about the genre of dance, about its role, its future, the duality of performer and role, and last but not least about the process of reception. (…) SUNDAY is a theatrical self-reflection that doesn’t leave anything or anyone without a question.” (Klaudia Antal)
Self-reflection. Dance and us. What is the role of dance? How does it affect the outside world? And how does it affect dancers themselves? What does it mean to be a dancer today? How does a dancer view a choreographer, and vice versa? What kinds of creativity exist? How does the work shape one’s personality, and on the other hand, how do personalities shape the work? Opinions on dance. Moral judgements on dance. Is dance dangerous? The legitimacy and comprehension of different cultural norms and value systems. What is immoral and what is not? Today it seems as if we have moved beyond such categorization, or have we… (?) Everything is permitted. But is everything really permitted? What is the future of dance? Utopian ideas. What is the point of dance?
Ábris Gryllus about the music of the piece:
The idea behind the score of SUNDAY was to create a musical atmosphere which is sacral, but disturbing and bitter. Clublike, but also relentless and pitiless towards the dancers and the audience. Therefore, at some point the whole musical progress started to gravitate towards the aesthetics of gabber. Not techno, gabber. Aggressive, street, ruthless and uplifting, visceral and sublime. Just like a football anthem. Part of the process was to analyze and deconstruct the genre. Then use significant elements of it on their own, as repetitive, almost meditative, but still uneasy skeletal patterns. The score is performed live in synergy with the dancing.
Performers and co-creators: Emese Cuhorka, Csaba Molnár, Marin Lemić, Jessica Simet, Zoltán Vakulya.
Lights: Miklós Mervel
Music: Ábris Gryllus
Costume and props: Csenge Vass
Dramaturge: Ármin Szabó-Székely
Management: Lilla Eredics
Choreographer: Adrienn Hód
Special thanks: Lívia Fuchs, Péter Tóvay, László Kürti, PIM-OSZMI (The Hungarian Theatre Museum and Institute) - Dance Archive
Co-producer: Trafó House of Contemporary Arts
Photo: Márton Mónus
"Mi marad a megfogalmazhatón túl? Mi kerüljön leírásra? Egyáltalán mi a kritika műfajának a lényege, a szerepe, a jövője? A SUNDAY olyan színházi önreflexió, mely senkit és semmit nem hagy kérdés nélkül."
"Hód Adrienn is pont azt csinálja szívós módszerességgel évek óta, amit táncosai: olyan helyekre nyúlkál, ahova nem illik, olyan területekre tapint, ami sokszor kellemetlen. De mégis muszáj nézni. Mert érdekes. Mert nem enged hátradőlni. Mert magamat is jobban megismerem általa."
Tabukkal szembemenő, vaskos, mégis finom, érzékeny humorú játék, előítéletmentes, szabad, radikális testkutatás.
Rather, it is a grim discovery burning into your retina, leaving you no way out.
"A Sunday sötét világa azonban messzebb megy annál, minthogy pusztán megsértse az Úr napjának szentségét. Adódik a kérdés, vajon miből ered a tánc felforgató ereje, ami miatt oly sok évszázadon át bizonyos körökben irtóztak tőle? És milyen következtetéseket vonhatunk le mindebből a jelenre? A következő gondolatmenettel azt szeretném érzékeltetni, hogy erejéből mit sem vesztve a tánc a mai napig problematikus lehet a fennálló rend(szerek) számára."