Csaba Molnár

Born in 1986, Csaba Molnár began his professional training at the Budapest Contemporary Dance Academy, after which he completed a two year programme at P.A.R.T.S in Brussels. Soon afterwards he joined the Italian dance company Compagnia Virgilio Sieni, and in 2010 became member of the Hungarian company Hodworks. He began working as a co-creator in the five-member collective Bloom! (City, Tame Game, The End is Near), and later on pursued a similar creative collaboration in the formation Dányi-Molnár-Vadas (Skin Me). As an independent choreographer he had worked in association with Trafó House of Contemporary Arts and SÍN Cultural Centre in Budapest or Départs European network project. He produced two pieces (KITTY2012, Deacameron). As an artist in residence he worked with the students of the Budapest Contemporary Dance Academy (Merriment) and created a piece for the EN-KNAP Group (68). He participated in ‘HOM’ at TanzMainz and the Studio Alta. Also together with Marcio Kerber Canabarro, under the name of Sildenafilfairy, he had been creating several performances (Tropical escape, EYE Candy, Winter Journey).

He is co-creator of four pieces that had been granted the annual Rudolf Lábán Prize for the best contemporary dance performance of the season: With Bloom!: City (2011), with Hodworks: Basse Danse (2012), with Dányi-Molnár-Vadas: Skin Me (2014), with Hodworks: Dawn (2014). The pieces City, KITTY2012, Skin Me, Dawn and The Conditions of Being a Mortal had all been chosen by the Aerowaves European dance network for their annual showcase of the 20 priority contemporary dance performances. In his work he strives for reconciling radical extremes. His main interest is to explore how different ways of expression, when juxtaposed, may transform the most private phenomena of human life into a universal and liberating theatrical experience.

Csaba Molnár – Nicole Clore: Open Day

LLB Co-Production 2024

"If you still believe in the transformative power of the world and dream of becoming a dancer, an artist or something even greater, you've come to the right place. I'm offering you an arts education that is unparalleled-believable, bold, and stems from the essence of creation. This is the education you've dreamed of, even if life has made you forget.

What I possess is not mere knowledge, but a living, breathing heritage-fresh, vibrant, and woven from the threads of past, present, and future. It transcends the drabness of the ordinary and opens the way to the extraordinary.

If my words have touched a part of your soul and you believe in the limitless possibilities of art, then this is the place for you. Be present at my dance school's Open Day, showcasing its ground-breaking four-year programme starting in December 2025.

Step forward. Believe in the arts. Believe in yourself. Let this be the beginning of your journey."

The Open Day is the second chapter of the trilogy that began with the first part, The Show Must Go On / The Graduation, in June in Budapest at the Under500 festival. In this work, Molnár collaborated with one of his alter egos, Nicole Clore, a multidisciplinary artist, dancer, choreographer, teacher, play and character designer, singer, playwright, actress, and more.

"As a working method, I am interested in how to split myself in two (Csaba and Nicole) and create and make artistic choices from these two perspectives. Developing Nicole's character and working with her over the past two years has become a tool and vehicle for me to reconnect with my own true artistic source – the place from which I now need to create.

Nicole Clore originally appeared as part of an educational project of mine, where I led dance workshops using her character and proposed a platform based on role-playing and collective world-building in the context of dance classes. I was interested in how I could further develop the character and place it in the context of a traditional dance performance. This led to the creation of the first part of the trilogy, which held up a mirror to stereotypical and problematic aspects of institutionalised dance education – phenomena that are still present in the contemporary dance world - in the context of a fictional dance exam/exam."

Lágymagány / Softloneliness

at Nextfeszt in Budapest

Freeing bodies and minds trapped and tortured by professional dance training, Nicole Clore proudly presents the most promising graduates of its dance school at the opening event of Nextfest.

Nicole Clore has opened its workshop to the public once a year since 1986. Visitors will be able to get an insight into the workings of the world-famous choreographer, dance artist, singer-songwriter, theatre and film director, art writer, critic, psychotherapist, play and character designer and, last but not least, mother, who has created a highly sophisticated dance laboratory. The academy, which has played a significant role in the history of dance over the last four decades, has graduated renowned artists such as Milenka Vucic, Carlotta Stromboli, Niki Van Dyke, Isabelle Mézes, Eszter Salamon and Donna Gandalf. As in previous years, this year's exam concert is not without excitement.

For years, Csaba Molnár has been a key figure at Nextfest, but he has now outgrown the title of emerging artist and is a pillar of the middle generation. He returns as his alter-ego Nicole Clore to present the graduates of its dance school and to address the issue of generational change. Nicole Clore - Csaba Molnár defines the complex and often problematic phenomenon of (dance) education as a conceptual art project and says: "In professional dance education, bodies and minds have been captured, tortured and institutionalised. (...) The field of contemporary dance is plagued by a kind of vampire syndrome, constantly sucking the vitality out of 'virgin' bodies in an endless cycle of exploitation."

At Nextfeszt, we believe it is important to highlight the burning and topical issues that (also) arise in relation to performing arts education, and this is what Nicole Clore and its students will be doing in the opening event of the festival.

The Show Must Go On / The Graduation
by Csaba Molnár / Nicole Clore
5 March 2025, 19:00
Nextfeszt Trafo Budapest

Find details & tickets here.