UMS Concert Program, April 19, 2018 - April 21, 2018 - Cold Blood

Thursday Evening, April 19, 2018 at 7:30 Friday Evening, April 20, 2018 at 8:00 Saturday Evening, April 21, 2018 at 8:00
Power Center
Ann Arbor COLD BLOOD A production of
Compagnie Michle Anne de Mey Michle Anne De Mey, Jaco Van Dormael, and the Collectif Kiss & Cry Creators Thomas Gunzig Texts 88th, 89th, and 90th Performances of the 139th Annual Season
Theater Series This weekÕs performances are supported by Altarum Institute, the Herbert S. and Carol L. Amster Endowment Fund, the Ilene H. Forsyth Theater Endowment Fund, Carl and Charlene Herstein, and David and Phyllis Herzig. Funded in part by the Wallace Foundation and by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Media partnership provided by Metro Times and WDET 101.9 FM. The lobby installation of Leith CampbellÕs Slendotron is made possible by a grant from the Wallace Foundation. Cold Blood appears by arrangement with Menno Plukker Theatre Agent, Inc. In consideration of the artists and the audience, please refrain from the use of electronic devices during the performance. The photography, sound recording, or videotaping of this performance is prohibited. COLD BLOOD Original idea / Michle Anne De Mey and Jaco Van Dormael In collective creation with / GrŽgory Grosjean, Thomas Gunzig, Julien Lambert, Sylvie OlivŽ, and Nicolas Olivier, with the participation of Thomas Beni, Gladys Brookfield-Hampson, Boris Cekevda, Gabriella Iacono, AurŽlie Leporcq, Bruno Olivier, and Stefano Serra CREATIVE TEAM Mise en scne / Jaco Van Dormael and Michle Anne De Mey
Texts / Thomas Gunzig Screenplay / Thomas Gunzig, Jaco Van Dormael, and Michle Anne De Mey Cinematography / Jaco Van Dormael and Julien Lambert Choreography / Michle Anne De Mey and GrŽgory Grosjean Dancers / Michle Anne De Mey, GrŽgory Grosjean, and Gabriella Iacono Cameraman / Julien Lambert, assisted by AurŽlie Leporcq Set Designer / Sylvie OlivŽ, assisted by Franois Roux, Juliette Fassin, ThŽodore Brisset, and Brigitte Baudet Lighting Designer / Nicolas Olivier, assisted by Bruno Olivier Sound Designer / Boris Cekevda Performers / Michle Anne De Mey, GrŽgory Grosjean, Gabriella Iacono, Julien Lambert, AurŽlie Leporcq, Bruno Olivier, Stefano Serra, and Jaco Van Dormael Photographer / Julien Lambert TOUR TEAM Director / Harry Cleven 
Dancers / Frauke Mari‘n, Gabriella Iacono, and Gregory Grosjean
Camera / Tristan Galand, assisted by AurŽlie Leporcq Lighting / Nicolas Olivier
Sound / Boris Cekevda Sets and Manipulations / Ivan Fox and Stefano Serra Interpreters / Harry Cleven, Frauke Mari‘n, GrŽgory Grosjean, Gabriella Iacono, Tristan Galand, AurŽlie Leporcq, and Nicolas Olivier Narrators / Toby Regbo 
Translations / Gladys Brookfield-Hampson 
Technical Coordinator / Thomas Dobruszks/Astragales asbl Production / HŽlne Dubois/Astragales asbl
Tour Manager / Thomas Van Cottom/MoDul cie Cold Blood is approximately 75 minutes in duration and is performed without intermission. Following Thursday eveningÕs performance, please feel free to remain in your seats and join us for a post-performance Q&A with members of the company. ARTISTS Born in Brussels in 1959, Michle Anne De Mey (creator) studied at Mudra, Maurice BŽjartÕs dance school from 1976Ð1979. Her early works include PassŽ Simple (1981), Ballatum duets (1984), and Face ˆ Face (1986). She collaborated with Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker in the famous Fase (1982), Rosas danst Rosas (1983), and ElenaÕs Aria (1986). In 1989, she founded the company Astragale, to be able to create, produce, and distribute choreographic works around the world. In 1990, she created Sinfonia Ero•ca, a major piece in her career, which received numerous awards and international success. Thanks to that piece, Astragale became a production center where residencies, workshops, and creations happen. More than 30 original works have been generated by Astragale, where several young artists have had the opportunity to think, share, and work. Over 15 years, Ms. De Mey has developed a polymorphic dance universe taking its roots in the special space between the dancer and the audience. Intimacy, storytelling, emotion, and deconstruction are at the basis of her choreographic research. The strong and unbreakable link between music and body pushed her to collaborate with music composers Thierry De Mey, Robert Wyatt, and Jonathan Harvey, and eventually cinema directors, painters, actors, and circus artists to stretch beyond the lines of genres and disciplines. As a teacher, she has developed workshops and taught courses in Brussels, Angers, and Amsterdam that have shaped her students as much as her personal journey as an artist. She was pronounced Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Mons in Belgium in 2014 and Officier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French minister of culture in 2016. In 2005, she became the artistic co-director of Charleroi Danses, the choreographic center of the French-speaking part of Belgium. To celebrate 
this new chapter, she recreated her 
central piece, Sinfonia Ero•ca, for nine young dancers, and toured it around the world for several years. In 2011, with her life partner and filmmaker Jaco Van Dormael, she began working on a collective piece entitled Kiss & Cry, a huge success that has since toured on all continents in nine different languages. The story of Kiss & Cry and its collective of creators continued in 2015 where a second opus was born: Cold Blood. With the same science of balance between genre and disciplines, Ms. De Mey and her collaborators tell a new story that touches audiences profoundly. In 2017, Jaco Van Dormael and Ms. De Mey will present a new original collaboration, Amor, a solo piece where cinema and dance meet lovingly in dreamy and metaphysical ways. After his studies in Paris and Brussels, Jaco Van Dormael (creator) began his career in the early 1980s with short films and documentaries. Among them, E Pericoloso Sporgersi was well-received and won the Grand Prix at the film Festival of Clermont Ferrand. Mr. Van DormaelÕs first full-length film, Toto le HŽros, displays his dreamlike style between humor and innocence. The film won the Camera dÕOr at the Cannes Festival and the award of ÒBest Foreign FilmÓ at the French CŽsar Awards. Six years later, Mr. Van Dormael presented his new piece in Cannes entitled The Eighth Day. The film is a touching story of friendship between two men, one living with Down syndrome. The two leading roles won ÒBest ActorsÓ in Cannes and the film was a huge success in Europe. Mr. Nobody followed, a co-production between Canada, the US, Belgium, and France, and included Mr. Van DormaelÕs favorite themes: childhood, innocence, destiny, and science fiction. The film stared Jared Leto and Diane Kruger and was released in 2010 after being presented at the Festival of Venice in 2009. Soon after, Mr. Van Dormael returned to the stage, his first love. In 2011, with his life partner and dancer Michle Anne De Mey, he developed Kiss & Cry: a collective adventure with 10 creators that straddles dance, theater, and cinema. In 2012, the Royal Opera of Wallonia asked him to direct CŽsar FranckÕs Stradella for its reopening. In 2016, he directed MozartÕs Don Giovanni. In 2015, Mr. Van Dormael returned to the screen with The Brand New Testament. He directed the famous Belgian actor Benoit Poelvoorde and the French icon Catherine Deneuve. The film was presented in Cannes during the Quinzaine des rŽalisateurs, and won four Magrittes (Belgian Academy Awards) including awards for ÒBest MovieÓ and ÒBest Director.Ó Producer / Mars, Mons Arts de la Scne (BE) Executive Producer / Astragalesasbl (BE) Associate Producer / ThŽ‰tre de Namur (BE) Co-producers / Charleroi Danses (BE), La Fondation Mons 2015 (BE), KVS (BE), Les ThŽ‰tres de la Ville de Luxembourg (LUX), Le Printemps des comŽdiens (FR), Torino Danza (IT), Canadian Stage (CA), ThŽ‰tre de Carouge (CH), ThŽ‰tre des CŽlestins (FR) Astragales ASBL receives funding from 
la Federation Wallonie Bruxelles, with the support of WBI (Wallonie-Bruxelles International). UMS ARCHIVES This weekendÕs performances mark the second UMS appearance by 
Compagnie Michle Anne De Mey. The Company most recently appeared under UMS auspices in October 2014 in performances of Kiss & Cry. THIS WEEKÕS VICTORS FOR UMS: Altarum Institute Ñ Herbert S. and Carol L. Amster Endowment Fund Ñ Ilene H. Forsyth Theater Endowment Fund Ñ Carl and Charlene Herstein Ñ David and Phyllis Herzig Ñ The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Ñ The Wallace Foundation Supporters of this weekÕs performances of Cold Blood.