UMS Concert Program, July 8, 1985: Ann Arbor Summer '85 Festival --

Power Center For The Performing Arts Ann Arbor, Michigan

THE UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
presents
Ballet Eddy Toussaint de Montreal
EDDY TOUSSAINT
Founder and Artistic Director
JeanMarc Lebeau, Assistant Artistic Director
Camilla Malashenko, Ballet Mistress
Kathryn Greenaway, Rehearsal Mistress
Eleonora Matilevskaya, Piano Accompanist Principal Dancers
Anik Bissonnette Susan Bennet Brigitte Valette
Louis Robitaille JeanHugues Rochette Denis Dulude
Soloists
Sophie Bissonnette
Kathryn Greenaway
Mario Thibodeau The Company
Yvon Brault France Deslauriers Dominique Dulude Marc Forest
Nathalie Grosshenny Natasha Herman Gaetan Laroche Sylvie Oleachea
Miguel Rodrigue Alexandre Seillier Michel Sigouin Anne Sprincis
Rene'e Hebert, Administrative Director Christian Thibault, Director of Operations Suzanne Dugas, Administrative Assistant
Josee Kleinbaum, General Stage Manager
Guy Savard, Tour Director
Peter Georgiev, Technical Director
Monday Evening, July 8, 1985, at 8:00
Power Center for the Performing Arts
Ann Arbor, Michigan
The Ballet Eddy Toussaint de Montreal wishes to acknowledge The Quebec Ministry of Cultural Affairs for its constant support, the Quebec Ministries of Communications and International Affairs, and The Montreal Urban Community Arts Council.
MISSA CREOLE (1980)
"An homage to my origins.
Eddy Toussaint
Choreography: Eddy Toussaint Set design: Hugo Wuethrich
Music: Los Calchakis Costumes: Sylvain Labelle
Denis Dulude
Brigitte Valette
and The Company
Pause
A SIMPLE MOMENT (1979)
Choreography: Eddy Toussaint
Music: Tomaso.Albinoni
Costumes: Sylvain Labelle
Anik Bissonnette
Louis Robitaille
This pas dc deux was created especially for Anik Bissonnette and Louis Robitaille and was part of the selection of works which they performed at the First International Ballet Competition in Helsinki a year ago this month. For this performance they proudly brought back to their artistic director, Eddy Toussaint, the gold medal for best contemporary choreography.
INTERMISSION
SOUVENANCE (1982)
Choreography: Eddy Toussaint
Music: Diane Juster
Costumes: Sylvain Labelle
Sophie Bissonnette
Denis Dulude
Mario Thibodeau
This pas de trois was created by Eddy Toussaint on the original score of the Quebec composer Diane Juster.
Pause
CANTATES (1978)
Choreography: Eddy Toussaint
Music: J. S. Bach
Costumes: Sylvain Labelle
JeanHugues Rochette
Denis Dulude
Yvon Brault Miguel Rodrigue
Marc Forest Michel Sigouin
Gaetan Laroche Mario Thibodeau
"I have always been fascinated by the religious music of Bach. His cantatas are masterpieces. Motivated by this marvelous music and by the modern movement that it inspired in me, I wanted to bring them together. . ."
Eddy Toussaint
INTERMISSION
CONCERTO EN MOUVEMENT (1984)
Choreography: Eddy Toussaint Set design: Hugo Wuethrich
Music: Max Bruch Costumes: Sylvain Labelle
First movement Louis RobitaiUe and The Company
Second movement
Anik Bissonnette
Louis Robitaille
Denis Dulude Sylvie Oleacheia
Sophie Bissonnette Anne Sprincis
France Deslauriers Brigitte Valette
Third movement
Anik Bissonnette
Louis Robitaille and The Company
Denis Dulude
Violin Concerto No. 1
About the Artists
Eddy Toussaint, founder and artistic director of the company which bears his name, was born in Haiti thirtynine years ago. He started his classical training at the age of six at the Academie de Ballet of PortauPrince with Lavinia Williams, a black American dancer who was associated with dancers such as Catherine Dunham and Alvin Ailey. Through these classes, which he and his siblings had been obliged to study as part of their early education, Toussaint acquired his great love of dance. After arriving in Montreal with his family, he found, much to his surprise, that ballet was considered to be a woman's art, without a place in it for men. After taking a few classes with Les Grands Ballets, he put dance aside until he was at Mon?treal's University of Quebec, where he specialized in physical education. By this time he had gathered a little group of university students into an informal amateur company. With rekin?dled enthusiasm, Toussaint joined a group headed by Eva von Genscy, which expanded in 1972 to become Les Ballets Jazz. In 1974 he formed his own company, Ballet Eddy Toussaint de Montreal, with the aim of developing dancers who would be very versatile, technically strong, capable of acting and performing in jazz rhythms -in short, artists geared to a new form of expression which he called the "danse."
To achieve his aims, Eddy Toussaint founded his own dance school as well, offering training in classical, jazz, and modern ballet. Most of his company's dancers are products of this school, which now has over 400 students and provides an important financial base for the company. Like Louis Robitaille, a product of the school and now the company's leading male dancer, many agree that "dancing for Eddy" is like no other experience.
In 1983 Toussaint was honored as a Great Montrealer, one of a small group of notables singled out for their personal contributions to the city. Another honor came from last sum?mer's First International Ballet Competition in Helsinki, when Anik Bissonnette and Louis Robitaille returned to Canada with a gold medal for best contemporary choreography, perfor?ming Toussaint's A Simple Moment to music by Albinoni. He has created a diversified seventypiece repertoire for his dancers, which includes works by Oscar Araiz, Salvatore Aiello, Domy ReiterSoffer, and, most recently Vassili Sulich, but twothirds of the ballets are by Tous?saint. Although he seems to prefer making pas de deux, which are often sandwiched into dramatic pieces of social comment, Toussaint has also made comic ballets, has celebrated his Haitian heritage with Missa Creole, and incorporated FrenchCanadian folk legends such as Alexis le trotteur into his creations. Several of his ballets, including Alexis le trotteur, have been filmed for television. With his reputation now soundly established, Toussaint has his ballets appear?ing in the repertoires of other companies on the American continent and in Europe.
In Montreal, the heart of Frenchspeaking Quebec, Ballet Eddy Toussaint de Montreal is unofficially known as the province's cultural ambassador. Like other Canadian dance com?panies that use French as a primary language, its ties have been more transAtlantic than transAmerican. The company has often appeared abroad, representing Quebec itself as much as Canada. The company is, however, gaining an expanded international reputation. The Ballet has performed for more than two million spectators, encompassing twelve regular seasons at Place des Arts in Montreal, ten Quebec tours, four tours across Canada, four tours in Central and South America, and one European tour. The Ballet has made many guest performances for French opera houses and festivals, made numerous national and internationally televised performances, and performed at several official theater inaugurations throughout the western world. Toussaint and his dancers have recently completed a featurelength film, Night Magic, wirtten by Canadian poet Leonard Cohen, with composer Lewis Furey.
In 1985, the company has performed at the prestigious Sadler's Wells Theatre in London, the Theatre de Paris in France, and very recently had its first major United States engagement at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina. Next fall the Ballet launches its 198586 season with a twomonth tour through the United States, culminating in a week of performances in New York City. Beyond that, tours of Europe, Asia, and South America are planned for upcoming seasons. Eddy Toussaint, with his dauntless "Latin" spirit and his belief in his dancers and works, will be bringing his "new fresh air of dance" to dance aficionados around the world.
Tomorrow Night
These same artists will perform the following program in this auditorium at 8:00:
Alexis le irotteur (1978) Souvenance (repeated)
Cantates (repeated) Facades (1982)
Tickets available at Power Center box office, open 11 a.m. until concert time.