Petit psaume du matin

D. Mercy, J. Nadj: hymn to the friendship and narrative of a meeting arisen from the confrontation between the both men, fed by the dialogue established between them, the topic of “Small morning psalm” is about “the double” and the experience of sharing.

“My mind thinks of my mind. My history is foreign to me. My name surprises me and my body is idea. What I was is with all the others. And I am not even what I am going to be.” 

Paul Valéry

Intimate, imprinted with gentleness and complicity, Petit psaume du matin carries the traces of the circumstances surrounding its creation. First conceived as a solo, the piece in fact stems from Dominique Mercy (the exceptional dancer and travelling companion to Pina Bausch) commissioning a piece from Josef Nadj. But during the course of rehearsing, Nadj rapidly felt the desire to abandon the strict role of choreographer that had been attributed to him, to dance along beside his “sponsor”… And so the initial solo became a duet.

Born from the confrontation between the two men, nourished by the dialogue established between them, it is precisely the image of the double and the experience of sharing that Petit psaume du matin treats. Resemblances are evoked, possible points of identification between Dominique Mercy and Josef Nadj, for example their experiences as dancers, their shared taste for travel and Oriental theatre. But even beyond this, the piece evokes the foundation of their relationship – their complementarity – manifest in the physicality of each one and in their respective ways of dancing,flowing and airbound for one, more earthy and rooted for the other –and their reciprocal intelligence, their capacity to listen and exchange, even beyond their differences – their mutual understanding playfully put into practice by way of a surprising dialogue in twenty-four languages.

Hymn to friendship as well as the story of an encounter, of a budding friendship, this duet takes up the question of mastery acquired through practice, and so also evokes the aging of a dancer’s body. In this sense, Petit psaume du matin is a mature piece.

                                          Myriam Bloedé

Credits

Chorégraphie : Josef Nadj Musiques traditionnelles : Cambodge, Macédoine, Roumanie, Egypte, Hongrie, Michel Montanaro : extrait de « Maria », Igor Stravinsky « Tango » – Editions Alphonse Leduc et Compagnie Création lumières: Rémi Nicolas assité de Xavier Lazarini Costumes : Bjanka Ursulov Equipe technique en tournée Direction technique, régie générale et son : Steven Le Corre Régie lumières : Thierry Bouilhet Danseurs : Dominique Mercy et Josef Nadj Production et diffusion : Martine Dionisio