Léonard Engel:
How to get a rid of a body. A Magic Manual
How to get a rid of a body. A Magic Manual
In his former ballet career, contemporary choreographer and dancer Léonard Engel has learned to hide his body behind movement, grace and formations. In a solo, he dares to reveal the body behind the illusion. He precisely and humorously works his way through a series of experiments doomed to fail: Despite all strategies of deception, the impossibility to leave one’s own body behind brings its limitations into the center of attention. In the end remain both fascination and discomfort for those transformations experienced by a body reminded of its material existence and its own mortality.
CHOREOGRAPHY, PERFORMANCE Léonard Engel COMPOSITION, LIVE ELECTRONICS Korhan Erel DRAMATURGY Maja Zimmermann OUTSIDE EYE Tamara Saphir COSTUMES, STAGE DESIGN Theresa Scheitzenhammer LIGHT DESIGN Charlotte Marr TECHNICAL SUPPORT, LIGHT Wolfgang Eibert PRODUCTION, PRESS Miria Wurm/Tanzbüro München PRODUCTION SUPPORT Veronika Heinrich PUBLIC RELATIONS Miria Wurm,Veronika Heinrich/Tanzbüro München THANKS TO Isa Köhler, Christian Binder, Josy Friebel, Diana Port, Ricardo Pereira
A production by Léonard Engel in coproduction with PACT Zollverein, HochX Theater and Live Art. The project is sponsored by the Cultural Department of the City of Munich and is supported by the NATIONAL PERFORMANCE NETWORK (NPN) Co-Production Support Dance, sponsored by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, made possible by the Bavarian State Association for Contemporary Dance (BLZT) with funds from the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and Art and supported by the Kulturstiftung Stadtsparkasse München. Supported by Tanzfabrik Berlin and Tanzbüro München. Media partner: taz.die tageszeitung
LÉONARD ENGEL, born in France, is a Berlin and Munich based performer and choreographer. He started his career as a ballet dancer at the Bavarian State Ballet, before becoming a freelance artist. He has worked with Laurent Chétouane, Meg Stuart, Moriah Evans, Paula Rosolen, Gintersdorfer/Klaßen and the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch among others. His choreographic work focuses on the body and the alteration of its perception through movement, costumes and states of being. His first piece, Pavane, premiered in 2019 as part of the Tanztage Berlin at Sophiensaele, followed the same year by How to get rid of a body. A magic manual. Parotia, his first group piece, was created in November 2021. He’s currently working on the subject of masculinity in dance, and the “depatriarcalisation” of the representation of the male body on stage. Léonard’s pieces have been invited to Hybrid Festival (Berlin), Soundance Festival (Berlin) and the Rodeo Festival (Munich). For his choreographic work, he’s been granted residencies in Tanzfabrik Berlin and in PACT Zollverein (Essen, GE).