A graduate in choreography from the Hungarian Dance Academy in Budapest, Éva Duda formed her own company in 2009, winning the prestigious Rudolf Lábán Award with debut show, Lunatika. Since then, she has created a substantial repertoire and become one of the pioneers in local contemporary culture.
Friday sees the company’s first new production in two years. Utópia will be showcased for two nights at the Trafó. ‘This long creative break felt right,’ says Duda. ‘It was important that I reflect on my work, myself and the world that surrounds me. I had time to contemplate the present.’
Duda has decided to work with a completely new set of performers this time, all from various backgrounds. ‘They all have very different personalities, she explains, ‘and that is what fascinates me: the diversity of people in this rapidly changing and unsteady world’.
Duda consciously selected dancers of all ages, with different body types and personalities, to celebrate the diverse beauty of human physicality as well as the psyche.
Utópia explores the contradictions of human nature and envisions an ideal Utopian society. The word itself is one of the widest known literary puns, coined by Sir Thomas More from the Greek ou-topos meaning ‘no place’ or ‘nowhere’. The pun stems from the almost identical eu-topos, which translates as ‘good place’.
The essence of the word is both a witty contradiction and dilemma. Can a perfect world be ever realised?
Utopia deals with contemporary issues, set in our world of rapid technological advancements, global warming, a consumer society and migration. Duda approaches the subject with irony and self-deprecating humour to highlight that all of us are part of the issue. Focusing on alienation and people’s intolerance towards otherness, the company investigates why is it so difficult to live together when we’re essentially so similar.
Utópia Trafó House of Contemporary Arts
District IX. Liliom utca 41 7 & 8 December, 8pm Tickets at 1,900 & 2,400 forints available here
