Dates

17.3. 2018 / 20:00

Information

Just what is this number? A new mobile phone model? I googled it. Beta 1.7 Minecraft 1.7 update…? Couldn’t it be the latest version of Pygmalion instead? I clicked through all the links but found no content that relates to the female body. For me, 1.7 relates to nature, to what is natural and what is artificial, things related to gender, giving birth and abortion – all sorts of up-to-date and trendy topics. Even immigration.

“Stereotypes of beauty and femininity and sexual taboos, are discussed with refreshing candidness, sarcastic humour and thick (self-)irony in the (lecture) performance 1.7 by Zsuzsa Rozsavolgyi, which would be a great choice for introducing adolescents into the world of theatre. 1.7 is the current birth rate among European women, barely enough to sustain our society and culture. Some people use this figure as justification for trying to tell women what to do with their bodies. Her frankness stings at times, and packs a powerful punch at others, and meanwhile she creates an open and equal space on stage, in which unlimited freedom is given to thinking differently and encouraging autonomy.” Orsolya Bálint, critic

Zsuzsa Rózsavölgyi investigates the female body, its role in today’s society, its aspects of successfulness or unsuccessfulness.
Revealing taboos and personal confessions about living in a female body in a lecture-performance solo piece.

‘The starting point of my solo piece is that my very being is communication in and of itself. All I need to do is to barely exist in order to communicate meaning. The size, colour, smell, state of my body and above all its gender will communicate a context in which I exist, a character, a role that I take. What do you see when you see a female body on stage? What is that a female body communicates? How could we transform the meaning of this female body?’ (Zs.R.)

Zsuzsa Rózsavölgyi’s playful and humourous handmade solo piece, featuring video inserts on various social aspects of the female body and roles, investigates society’s restraining and castrating effect on female nature through advertisements, media manipulation, tradition or just mere tomfoolery. The performanced is conducted in a simple, personal voice, through movement and dance bare of any fabrication, which makes us feel that we could be there on stage with her with our imperfect bodies, with her thoughts. By presenting the roles of modern woman we get to the ultimate problem: shall we offer our biological capacities to the service of society and improve the current European birth-rate – 1.7 – or shall we leave the future of Europe to be solved by immigration?

Concept and choreography: Zsuzsa Rózsavölgyi
Music: Ryan Seaton
Animation: Viktor Vicsek
Light: Zoltán Nagy
Production manager: Dóra Trifonov
Producer: SÍN Culture Centre

Trailer: vimeo.com/194012352

Supporters: National Cultural Fund of Hungary, MU Theatre, Budapest Municipality, Baryshnikov Arts Centre, Staféta, Füge Production, BVA
The production was realised within the framework of Staféta, a programme by the Budapest Municipality.

Zsuzsa Rózsavölgyi studied at SEAD and P.A.R.T.S., she has been making her own choreography for 10 years now. She was a member of Rosas in 2004-2009 and has worked with a great many choreographers and various artists, David Zambrano, Thomas Hauert, Thierry de Mey amongst others. In her works she is interested in working with visual artists, applying digital technology. She is an active teacher. Based on her studies at the School of Creative Coaching she integrates coaching techniques with her experience as a dance artist in her teaching work.