The new solo created and performed by Jan Martens will be a danced portrait of the Polish-born Elisabeth Chojnacka (1939–2017), an exceptionally talented and passionate musician who contributed to the revival of harpsichord music in the middle of the twentieth century.

While in 1968 the Paris student revolt challenged old ideals, Chojnacka discovered avant-garde composers such as François-Bernard Mâche and began to play more regularly the few contemporary works for harpsichord, in addition to the classical pieces that were always part of her repertoire. In part thanks to her talent and perseverance, a number of composers (Ligeti, Xenakis, Ferrari, Berio, Halffter, etc.) wrote new work for the harpsichord in the 1970s and 1980s. These were often dedicated to Chojnacka.

ELISABETH GETS HER WAY wants to pay tribute to this exceptional woman. The solo will be a danced portrait with a wide-ranging soundtrack, consisting of a selection of the music she recorded in her fifty-year career: from Nyman to Montague via Ligeti, all performed by Chojnacka. The objective is to keep the dance close to the sometimes complex scores. Martens ‘plays’ his body like Chojnacka played the harpsichord. Different styles of movement are brought together, just as she effortlessly wound her way between registers and genres with a few centuries of musical history in her fingers. The dance pieces in the solo will be complemented by a documentary layer in which Chojnacka’s work and life are discussed narratively, among others through interviews with people who were close to her.

Martens set to work earlier with a performance by Chojnacka in any attempt will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones (premiere on February 4, 2021), a work for 17 dancers. The concerto for harpsichord and strings by Polish composer Henryk Gorecki, which she performed with the London Sinfonietta, plays an important role in that production. In 2021 it will be fifty years exactly since Chojnacka released her first album: Clavecin 2000. An ideal moment to pay homage to this remarkable woman with a solo in which she is given the time and space she deserves.

CREDITS
CHOREOGRAPHY AND DANCE: Jan Martens
SOUND DESIGN DOCUMENTARY: Yanna Soentjens
LIGHTING DESIGN: Elke Verachtert
COSTUME DESIGN: Cédric Charlier
VIDEO EXCERPTS: © Archives INA
MUSIC: “Tango for Tim” Réf Im: 164578 Musique de Michael Nyman © Chester Music Ltd représentés par Première Music Group; “Phrygian Tucket” by Stephen Montague. Copyright © 2000, Stephen Montague, used by permission of UNITED MUSIC PUBLISHING LTD, England.; “Continuum” by György Ligeti. Het werk wordt gepresenteerd onder toezicht van Auteursbureau ALMO te Antwerpen namens Schott Music.; “Commencement” by Zygmunt Krauze. Copyright © 1982, Sonora Music for Zygmunt Krauze.; “Profil Sonore” by Graciane Finzi. Copyright © 1970, Graciane Finzi.; “Concerto pour Clavecin” by Manuel de Falla (1926).; “Uppon La Mi Re” by Anonymous (16th Century).
TECHNICIAN: Michel Spang/Elke Verachtert
OUTSIDE EYE: Marc Vanrunxt, Anne-Lise Brevers and Rudi Meulemans
PRODUCTION: GRIP
COPRODUCTION: DE SINGEL (Antwerp, BE), Les Hivernales – CDCN d’Avignon (FR), Julidans (Amsterdam, NL), C-TAKT (Limburg, BE) and Perpodium (BE)
INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION: A Propic – Line Rousseau and Marion Gauvent
RESIDENCIES: DE SINGEL (Antwerp, BE), Les Hivernales – CDCN d’Avignon (FR), Toneelhuis (Antwerp, BE), ccBe (Antwerp, BE), C-TAKT (Limburg, BE) and CN D – Centre national de la danse (Paris, FR)
WITH THE FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF: the Flemish Government, Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government and Cronos Invest
THANKS TO: 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

AGENDA
under construction

Previous dates
2023
February 2023
10 Elisabeth gets her way -Théâtre de Liège, Liège (BE)
11 Elisabeth gets her way -Théâtre de Liège, Liège (BE) double bill

March 2023
7 Elisabeth gets her way – deSingel, Antwerp (BE)
8 Elisabeth gets her way – deSingel, Antwerp (BE)
9 Elisabeth gets her way – deSingel, Antwerp (BE)
10 Elisabeth gets her way – Le Gymnase CDCN, Roubaix (FR)

May 2023
9 Elisabeth gets her way – Concertgebouw Brugge, Bruges (BE)
19 Elisabeth gets her way – CCAM/ Scène Nationale de Vandœuvre, Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy (FR)

2022
February 2022
9 Elisabeth gets her way – Les Hivernales, Avignon (FR)

March 2022
16 Elisabeth gets her way- Mercat del Flores, Barcelona (ES)
17 Elisabeth gets her way- Mercat del Flores, Barcelona (ES)
22 Elisabeth gets her way- Le Grand Bain, Roubaix (FR)
24 Elisabeth gets her way – Les Brigittines, Bruxelles (BE)
25 Elisabeth gets her way – Les Brigittines, Bruxelles (BE)
26 Elisabeth gets her way – Les Brigittines, Bruxelles (BE)

April 2022
9 Elisabeth gets her way – L’Escale en partenariat avec la Place de la Danse à Toulouse, Tournefeuille (FR)

July 2022
4 Elisabeth gets her way – Théâtre de la Ville / Les Abbesses, Paris (FR)
5 Elisabeth gets her way – Théâtre de la Ville / Les Abbesses, Paris (FR)
6 Elisabeth gets her way – Théâtre de la Ville / Les Abbesses, Paris (FR)
8 Elisabeth gets her way – Théâtre de la Ville / Les Abbesses, Paris (FR)
9 Elisabeth gets her way – Théâtre de la Ville / Les Abbesses, Paris (FR)
10 Elisabeth gets her way – Théâtre de la Ville / Les Abbesses, Paris (FR)

September 2022
3 Elisabeth gets her way – Nederlands Theaterfestival ITA, Amsterdam (NL)
10 Elisabeth gets her way – Het Theaterfestival, Kunstencentrum VIERNULVIER, Gent (BE)
11 Elisabeth gets her way – Het Theaterfestival, Kunstencentrum VIERNULVIER, Gent (BE)
18 Elisabeth gets her way – Gender Bender Festival, Bologna (IT)
19 Elisabeth gets her way – Gender Bender Festival, Bologna (IT)

October 2022
28 Elisabeth gets her way – Belfast International Arts Festival, Belfast (IRL)
29 Elisabeth gets her way – Belfast International Arts Festival, Belfast (IRL)

November 2022
23 Elisabeth gets her way – C Mine, Genk (BE)
24 Elisabeth gets her way – Cc De Schakel, Waregem (BE)
26 Elisabeth gets her way – cc Het Gasthuis, Aarschot (BE)
30 Elisabeth gets her way – gc De Kluize, Oosterzele (BE)

December 2022
2 Elisabeth gets her way – Leietheater, Deinze (BE)
8 Elisabeth gets her way – Westrand, Dilbeek (BE)
9 Elisabeth gets her way – De Kleine Post Oostende (BE)
13 Elisabeth gets her way – cc Beveren, Beveren (BE)
16 Elisabeth gets her way – cc De Werf, Aalst (BE)

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2021
July 2021
12 Elisabeth gets her way- Julidans, Amsterdam (NL)
13 Elisabeth gets her way- Julidans, Amsterdam (NL)
14 Elisabeth gets her way- Julidans, Amsterdam (NL)

August 2021
12 Elisabeth gets her way- Theaterfestival Boulevard. S’-Hertogenbosch (NL)
13 Elisabeth gets her way- Theaterfestival Boulevard. S’-Hertogenbosch (NL)
14 Elisabeth gets her way- Theaterfestival Boulevard. S’-Hertogenbosch (NL)
15 Elisabeth gets her way- Theaterfestival Boulevard. S’-Hertogenbosch (NL)

September 2021
21 Elisabeth gets her way- NONA, Mechelen (BE)
22 Elisabeth gets her way- NONA, Mechelen (BE)
28 Elisabeth gets her way & DATADREAM by Steven Michel, Festival Actoral, Marseille (FR)
29 Elisabeth gets her way & DATADREAM by Steven Michel, Festival Actoral, Marseille (FR)

October 2021
6 Elisabeth gets her way-Fabrik Potsdam, Potsdam (DE)
7 Elisabeth gets her way-Fabrik Potsdam, Potsdam (DE)

November 2021
9 Elisabeth gets her way – Campo, Gent (BE)
10 Elisabeth gets her way – Campo, Gent (BE)
11 Elisabeth gets her way – Campo, Gent (BE)
13 Elisabeth gets her way – Bourla, Antwerpen (BE)