Jeremy Nedd
Shooting to fame around the world
Swiss Performing Arts Award 2023
Jeremy Nedd was born in 1985 and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He is a dancer, choreographer and sound designer. His work with the Pantsula artists of South Africa is a model of diverse, international collaboration. After studying dance at SUNY Purchase College in New York, he worked with a wide range of choreographers in New York City, notably the Afro-American Kyle Abraham, who combines hip-hop, street dance and expressive dance. Nedd moved to Europe in 2010, dancing at the Semperoper in Dresden from 2010 to 2012 and the Ballett Basel from 2012 to 2016. Still based in Basel, he is a guest performer at the Schauspielhaus Zurich and the Theater Neumarkt. He received a New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Award for his performance in The Radio Show by Kyle Abrahams. In 2017, he was a finalist in the PREMIO, a key award for young performing artists in Switzerland. Nedd recently completed a Master’s degree in expanded theatre at the Bern University of the Arts.
As a dancer, Nedd has performed works by William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, Stephan Thoss, Alexander Ekman and others. He has presented his own choreographic works in junior formats in Dresden and Basel. His latest productions feature a blend of different styles and are showcased at the ROXY Birsfelden, Kaserne Basel, Tanzhaus Zurich, Arsenic in Lausanne and venues outside Switzerland such as the Münchner Kammerspiele, the Sophiensæle in Berlin and the Palais de Tokyo in Paris. Following on from the success of The Ecstatic (2019), the Pantsula artists of Impilo Mapantsula are working with Nedd a second time on How a falling star lit up the purple sky (2023), which explores the Western movie genre and reassesses the clichéd notion of the hero. The global network of Impilo Mapantsula specialises in Pantsula, a form of urban dance and subculture from South Africa that is known for its fast footwork and gave a whole generation a voice during the apartheid years.
Jeremy Nedd has navigated seamlessly between countries, styles and roles to construct an already impressive career before reaching his forties. He has been inspiring audiences as a ballet dancer at Ballett Basel. With a Master’s in Expanded Theater, his recent works break down boundaries, and as a creator alone or in collaboration with the South African dance company Impilo Mapantsula he has excelled in each and every field he has touched. His work questions racial and communal concerns, asking how to build a community in a social and political climate of animosity and silencing. The path that Jeremy Nedd opens is inspiring and sows the seeds for other artists to keep on exploring their artistry and heritage.
Gabriel Schenker & Winston Ricardo Arnon, jury members
