Gounouj

‘Gounouj’ means frog in Creole, particularly in certain regions of Guadeloupe. For Gounouj, Léo Lérus was inspired by the site of Gros Morne/Grande-Anse, an area in Guadeloupe that finds itself in a ‘climax phase’: it is an environment in which fauna, flora, and atmospheric conditions are at a point of perfect balance. The preservation of this stability is now greatly threatened under the influence of human activity and climate change. 

The question of preserving our environments brings a complex mix of emotions with it: sadness, discouragement, disappointment, anger, and hopelessness contrast with a hunger for hope and a positive future. Their contradiction resonates in concepts such as saudade and bouysè. Saudade [sodadʒi], a Portuguese word without an English or Dutch equivalent, refers to a complex emotional state between nostalgia, sweet sadness, and hope in relation to the passing of time. Bousyè [bu:sjɛ] is a Guadalupean Creole word that literally describes the state of a crustacean during moulting: its shell softens and weakens to create a new, larger shell. Figuratively speaking, it is an acceptance of one’s own vulnerability in order to welcome a necessary development. Gounouj also incorporates recorded sounds of birds, a rough sea, and a symphony of frogs that capture the awakening on site characteristically: somewhere in the twilight zone between day and night. 

Saudade and bousyè fuel the dancers’ movements as a ‘tension between opposites’: a conduit between polarizing states. The result is an energetic and dynamic performance, propelled by an uncompromising, physical enjoyment of dance. 

• Léo Lérus (Les Abymes, Guadeloupe, 1980) first learned the traditional Guadeloupean dance ‘Gwoka’, as well as contemporary and classical dance, with choreographer and teacher Léna Blou. On her advice, he went to study at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP) at the age of fourteen to train as a contemporary dancer. In 1999, he began his professional career with various international dance companies, including the Random Dance Company (Wayne McGregor), the Batsheva Dance Company (Ohad Naharin), the WinterGuests (Alan Lucien Oyen) and the L-E-V Dance Company (Sharon Eyal/Gai Behar). From 2010 onwards, he started his first creations, presented at various international venues and festivals: Festival Sur les Frontières in Chaillot - Théâtre national de la Danse, Paris.