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 Michle Anne de Mey Michle 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 / Michle Anne De Mey and Jaco Van Dormael In collective creation with / Grgory Grosjean, Thomas Gunzig, Julien Lambert, Sylvie Oliv, and Nicolas Olivier, with the participation of Thomas Beni, Gladys Brookfield-Hampson, Boris Cekevda, Gabriella Iacono, Aurlie Leporcq, Bruno Olivier, and Stefano Serra CREATIVE TEAM Mise en scne / Jaco Van Dormael and Michle Anne De Mey
Texts / Thomas Gunzig Screenplay / Thomas Gunzig, Jaco Van Dormael, and Michle Anne De Mey Cinematography / Jaco Van Dormael and Julien Lambert Choreography / Michle Anne De Mey and Grgory Grosjean Dancers / Michle Anne De Mey, Grgory Grosjean, and Gabriella Iacono Cameraman / Julien Lambert, assisted by Aurlie Leporcq Set Designer / Sylvie Oliv, assisted by Franois Roux, Juliette Fassin, Thodore Brisset, and Brigitte Baudet Lighting Designer / Nicolas Olivier, assisted by Bruno Olivier Sound Designer / Boris Cekevda Performers / Michle Anne De Mey, Grgory Grosjean, Gabriella Iacono, Julien Lambert, Aurlie Leporcq, Bruno Olivier, Stefano Serra, and Jaco Van Dormael Photographer / Julien Lambert TOUR TEAM Director / Harry Cleven
Dancers / Frauke Marin, Gabriella Iacono, and Gregory Grosjean
Camera / Tristan Galand, assisted by Aurlie Leporcq Lighting / Nicolas Olivier
Sound / Boris Cekevda Sets and Manipulations / Ivan Fox and Stefano Serra Interpreters / Harry Cleven, Frauke Marin, Grgory Grosjean, Gabriella Iacono, Tristan Galand, Aurlie Leporcq, and Nicolas Olivier Narrators / Toby Regbo
Translations / Gladys Brookfield-Hampson
Technical Coordinator / Thomas Dobruszks/Astragales asbl Production / Hlne 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, Michle Anne De Mey (creator) studied at Mudra, Maurice BjartÕs dance school from 1976Ð1979. Her early works include Pass Simple (1981), Ballatum duets (1984), and Face 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 Eroca, 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 Eroca, 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 Hros, 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 Csar 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 Michle 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 Csar 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 ralisateurs, and won four Magrittes (Belgian Academy Awards) including awards for ÒBest MovieÓ and ÒBest Director.Ó Producer / Mars, Mons Arts de la Scne (BE) Executive Producer / Astragalesasbl (BE) Associate Producer / Thtre de Namur (BE) Co-producers / Charleroi Danses (BE), La Fondation Mons 2015 (BE), KVS (BE), Les Thtres de la Ville de Luxembourg (LUX), Le Printemps des comdiens (FR), Torino Danza (IT), Canadian Stage (CA), Thtre de Carouge (CH), Thtre des Clestins (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 Michle 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.
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Subjects
University Musical Society
Music