JAN MARTENS & GRIP

Mercat audiences have another opportunity to watch this hypnotic solo in which Jan Martens immerses himself in the world of Elisabeth Chojnacka, one of the world’s most prominent harpsichordists, who contributed to the instrument’s revival and died in 2017. This is a danced portrait of the musician with an expansive soundtrack featuring a selection of the music Chojnacka recorded over the course of her fifty-year career, from Nyman to Montague to Ligeti, all performed by the artist herself. The aim is for the dance to remain true to the often complex scores. Martens “plays” his body in the same way Chojnacka played the harpsichord. The solo’s dance pieces are complemented by documentary fragments chronicling Chojnacka’s life and work, which draw, among other records, on interviews with those close to her.

Belgian choreographer and dancer Jan Martens believes that any body can communicate and has something to say. With each new work he tries to reimagine the relationship between audience and performer. Martens followed his debut creation I Can Ride a Horse Whilst Juggling So Marry Me in 2010 with numerous solos, duets and group performances, going on to develop his first big stage production, Any Attempt Will End in Crushed Bodies and Shattered Bones, for 17 dancers, which he showcased at the Festival d’Avinyó and brought to the Mercat in 2022. Martens is an associate artist at DE SINGEL in Antwerp (Belgium), La Comédie de Clermont-Ferrand, scène nationale, Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Maison de la Danse in Lyon and the Lyon Biennale de la Danse. The choreographic platform GRIP, founded by Jan Martens and business director Klaartje Oerlemans, produces and supports its own work.

Choreography and dance Jan Martens / Documentary sound engineer Yanna Soentjens / Lighting design Elke Verachtert / Costume design Cédric Charlier / External look Marc Vanrunxt, Anne-Lise Brevers,Rudi Meulemans / Video and music complete list of video clips (© Archives INA) and musical pieces via www.grip.house / Technical director Michel Spang- Elke Verachtert. He is an associate artist of DE SINGEL in Anvers (Belgium). The GRIP choreographic platform, founded by Jan Martens and business manager Klaartje Oerlemans, produces and supports its own work.
Production GRIP / International distribution A Propic – Line Rousseau and Marion Gauvent / Co-production deSingel (Antwerp, BE), Les Hivernales – CDCN d’Avignon (FR), Julidans (Amsterdam, NL), C-TAKT (Limburg, BE) I Perpodium (BE) / Residences deSingel (Antwerp, BE), Les Hivernales – CDCN d’Avignon (FR), Toneelhuis (Antwerp, BE), ccBe (Antwerp, BE), C- TAKT (Limburg, BE) y CN D – Centre national de la danse (Paris, FR) / With financial support the Flemish Government, Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government and Cronos Invest / Acknowledgments INA – l’Institut National de l’Audiovisuel, Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo sous la Présidence de S.A.R. la Princesse de Hanovre – Direction: Jean-Christophe Maillot, Graciane Finzi, Régis Mitonneau, Anne Montaron, Emmanuelle Tat, François-Bernard Mâche, Zygmunt Krauze, Stephen Montague, Raphaël de Gubernatis, Claire Verlet, Ty Boomershine, Joris van Oosterwijk, Liselotte Sels and Kinga Jaczewska