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Home > Hancher > Lyon Opera Ballet

Playbill - Lyon Opera Ballet (Wednesday, October 13, 2004 - 8:00 p.m.)

Contents

  1. Introduction, Cast and Crew
  2. Tonight's Program
  3. About the Artists

Introduction, Cast and Crew

This performance supported by Roger and Gayle Klouda, Darlene and Michael McNulty, and Carl and Julie Schweser

Lyon Opera Ballet

Dancers

Iratxe Ansa Santesteban, Andrew Boddington, Emmanuelle Broncin, Fernando Carrion Caballero, Maïté Cebrian Abad, Ashley Chen, Eva Dewaele, Amandine François, Cristina Gallofré, Peggy Grelat Dupont, Julie Guibert, Yang Jiang, Dana Johanikova, Caelyn Knight, Misha Kostrzewski, Sora Lee, Hongjun Li, Corba Mathieu, Yu Otagaki, Jérémie Perroud, Marketa Plzakova, Ana Presta, Mikaël Pulcini, Nicolas Robillard, Martin Roehrich, Jaime Roque De la Cruz, Antonio Ruz, Julie Tardy Dupeyron, Pavel Trush, Thierry Véziès, Michael Walters

Crew

Lyon Opera

www.opera-lyon.com

The national Opera of Lyon is funded by the ministry of culture and communication, with the town of Lyon, with the regional counsel of Rhône-Alpes and with the general counsel of the Rhône.

This performance funded in part by the National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts, with lead funding from National Endowment for the Arts and Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Additional funding provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and The Ford Foundation.

Exclusive North American Management:
IMG Artists
Carnegie Hall Tower
152 West 57th Street, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10019
Phone: 212-994-3531, Fax: 212-994-3550, www.imgartists.com

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Tonight's Program

Second Detail

Created with the National Ballet of Canada, in Toronto in 1991.

Entered the repertory of the Lyon Opera Ballet on November 7, 1995.

Created in Toronto by the National Ballet of Canada in 1991, this work was integrated into the Loss of Small Detail, choreographed for and by Ballett Frankfurt, in the same year. This is a pure dance work, on pointe for the women, with a classical line reminiscent of Balanchine, where one can see a theme and variations on the one hand-or possibly the stripping down to the basics of a machine, examined minutely wheel by wheel. The music, deliberately grating on ears and teeth, sounds like a hurdygurdy and creates a mechanical momentum, but with a humorous approach.

Intermission

twelvetwentyone

World Premiere by the Lyon Opera Ballet on September 12, 2004.

Before he was a choreographer, Russell Maliphant was a performer with the top British companies, in particular DV8. It might seem trite to state that one is generally a performer before becoming a choreographer. But there is one subtle yet significant difference: he was a performer, not just a dancer. The concept of a performer involves the meeting and merging of the gestures of one with the body of the other. Classical dance approached this by making the choreographer subordinate to the dancer, but contemporary dance views it as an exchange between author and performer. Russell Maliphant's dance is therefore an author-performer's dance, and consequently a dance of intimacy, feeling and listening.

- Stéphane Lebard

Intermission

Symphony of Psalms

Created on November 24, 1976, Circustheater, Scheveningen, by the Nederlands Dans Theater.

Entered the repertory of the Lyon Opera Ballet on November 6, 2002.

The Symphony of Psalms by Jirí Kylián is a magnificent celebration of the human spirit. Its influences are lyrical and classical and its 16 dancers glide over the stage in one huge mass, expressing suffering, regret and sadness, but they also express much tenderness and hopefulness, with tangled duos symbolizing the passions and desires of human beings.

The ballet is based on the prodigious musical work of devotion of the same name by Stravinsky. They combine arabesques expressing ardent desire with daring leaps accompanied by the flexing of limbs and intensive movement of the torso.

Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms is "a compassionate celebration of the spiritual tenacity of Man." It is a dramatic choral work inspired by the music of the Russian Orthodox church.

The backdrop consists of a collage of oriental carpets over which the dancers move. Prayer-stools flank the corners of the stage-refined décor, yet instilling a certain dramatic tone. The costumes are elegant: the women wear graceful, flowing robes in pastel shades, and the men wear fitted black trousers and loose-fitting grey T-shirts.

"I don't think I've created a language," Kylián has said. "It's a process which lasts a lifetime. I would never create one, since it's something in a state of perpetual development, in movement...I don't believe in style...When I think about the fabulous instrument that is our body, I find it so rich that it surpasses all the languages of the world. I love to explore extremes...In this way, I try to explore the nooks and crannies of the human soul, my soul. I suggest to my dancers-and my public-that they should follow me on this journey."

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About the Artists

WILLIAM FORSYTHE (choreographer) was born in New York City in 1949. He studied dance at Jacksonville University, Florida, and later at the Joffrey Ballet School. In 1973 Forsythe joined Germany's Stuttgart Ballet as a dancer and later began choreographing works for the company. It was there that he made his first piece, Urlicht, a duet to the music of Gustav Mahler. Over the next years Forsythe made numerous ballets for the Stuttgart Ballet and for other leading companies, including the Basel Ballet, Munich Ballet, the Deutsche Opera Ballet in Berlin, the Joffrey Ballet and Netherlands Dans Theater. In 1984 Forsythe became artistic director of Ballett Frankfurt, a year after creating his full-length work for the company, Gänge. With his new company, he set out to create works which were removed from conventional ballet and to build a new audience.

Forsythe's key works over the last 20 years include Gänge (1982), Artifact (1984), Impressing the Czar (1988), Limb's Theorem (1991), The Loss of Small Detail (1991), "A L I E/N A(C)TION" (1992), "Eidos: Telos" (1995), "Endless House" (1999) and Kammer/Kammer (2000). Forsythe continues to stage pieces for companies around the globe, and his work is in the repertoire of the New York City Ballet, the National Ballet of Canada, the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden and the Paris Opéra Ballet, among others. Ballett Frankfurt performs at the Oper and Schauspiel in Frankfurt and tours internationally. Since 1999 the company has also performed at the Bockenheimer Depot (TAT) in Frankfurt, a performance space housed in a converted tramway depot, where Forsythe continues to develop site-specific work like Endless House. In January 1999 Forsythe became director of both Ballett Frankfurt and TAT.

RUSSELL MALIPHANT (choreographer), an award winning dancer / choreographer, studied at the Royal Ballet School before working with Sadlers Wells Royal Ballet, DV8 Physical Theatre, Michael Clark and Company, Laurie Booth, Rosemary Butcher, Kirsty Simson and Peter Boneham (as choreographic mentor).

He has explored a diverse range of techniques including classical ballet, contact improvisation, yoga, capoeira and tai chi, and began creating and performing in his own works in 1991, choreographing 14 works to date. He has also created works for Ricochet Dance Company, the Batsheva Dance Ensemble in Israel and George Piper Dances (creators of channel 4's "Ballet Boyz").

Maliphant has developed a highly individual movement vocabulary receiving a Dance Umbrella / Time Out Award for Dance Performance in 1991 for "raising improvisational dance to new heights." In 2002, he won a Time Out Live Outstanding Collaboration award for the work Sheer. He teaches regularly in the U.K. and abroad and maintains a private practice in the Rolfing Method of Structural Integration.

JIRÍ KYLIÁN (choreographer) joined the Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) in The Hague in 1973 as a guest choreographer. Here he made a successful debut with Viewers, the first of almost 50 works he created for NDT, including Stoolgame (1974), La Cathedrale Engloutie (1975) and Return to a Strange Land (1975). In 1975, he left the Stuttgart Ballet in Germany, where he was a member for several years, to work exclusively for the NDT.

In 1978, Kylián created Sinfonietta, set to music by Leos Janácek, for the Spoleto Festival in the United States, the same year he was appointed artistic director of the NDT. In the following years he created Symphony of Psalms (1978), Forgotten Land (1981), Svadebka (1982), Stamping Ground (1983) and L'Enfant et les Sortileges (1984). In 1994, the NDT toured the United States and Canada with several of Kylián's abstract and surrealistic ballets including No More Play (1988), Falling Angels (1989), Sarabande (1990) and Petite Mort (1991). As artistic director of the NDT, Kylián instituted both NDT II, an experimental company of dancers between the ages of 17 and 22, and NDT III, a troupe of dancers aged 40 and older who work on a project basis.

In April 1995, Kylián celebrated 20 years with the NDT by mounting the large-scale dance production Arcimboldo, which involved all of the dancers of NDT I, II and III. On that occasion, he received one of the Netherlands' highest honors, becoming Officier in de Orde van Oranje Nassau. In 1996, NDT I was awarded the Edinburgh Festival Critics' Award for Dance, while the following year Kylián won the Edinburgh Festival Critics' Award for NDT III's Tears of Laughter. On November 27, 1998, he was presented with the 1997 Joost van den Vondel Award, awarded to individuals and organizations active in Dutch, Flemish or Low German culture and art.

Dancers

IRATXE ANSA SANTESTEBAN, born in 1976 in San Sebastian (Spain), began dancing at the age of ten at the Higher Academy of Dance in San Sebastian, then joined John Cranko School (Stuttgart / Germany). Professional career: 1994, Basel Ballet (direction: Youri Vamos). 1997, Gulbenkian Ballet (direction: Iracity Cardoso). 1998, Compañía Nacional de Danza (direction: Nacho Duato). 2000, 1st Prize in the Stuttgart Choreographic Competition. Since 2002: Lyon Opera Ballet.

ANDREW BODDINGTON, born in 1973 in Australia, began dancing at the age of seven, then joined the Victorian College of the Arts (Melbourne), then joined the Australian Ballet School. Professional career: 1993, West Australian Ballet (direction: Barry Moreland). 1995, Australian Ballet (direction: Maïna Gielgud). 1999, Birmingham Royal Ballet (direction: David Bintley), then Ballet du Rhin (direction: Bertrand d'At). Since 2000: Lyon Opera Ballet.

EMMANUELLE BRONCIN, born in 1969 in Paris, began dancing at the age of nine in Brasil, then joined in 1985 the Paris Higher National Academy of Dance (first prize). Professional career: 1987, Hamburg Ballet (direction: John Neumeier). Appointed Soloist in 1991. 1994, principal guest dancer at Compañía Nacional de Danza (direction: Nacho Duato). Since 2002: Lyon Opera Ballet.

FERNANDO CARRION CABALLERO, born in 1976 in Madrid (Spain), began dancing at the age of eight at the School of Maria de Avila. Professional career: 1992, Ballet de la Comunidad / Madrid (direction: Victor Ullate). Since 2003: Lyon Opera Ballet.

MAÏTÉ CEBRIAN ABAD, born in 1973 in Valencia (Spain), began dancing at the age of nine in Valencia, then joined the Madrid National Ballet School (direction: Maïa Plissetskaïa), then the Royal Academy in The Hague (Netherlands). Professional career: 1991, Scapino Ballet / Rotterdam (direction: Ed Wubbe). Since 1997: Lyon Opera Ballet.

ASHLEY CHEN, born in 1979, in Caen (France), began dancing at the age of eight at the Conservatoire in Caen, then joined the Paris Higher National Academy. Professional career: 1999, Compagnie Thomas Duchatelet. 2000, Merce Cunningham Dance Company. Since January 2004: Lyon Opera Ballet.

EVA DEWAELE, born in 1974, in Ghent (Belgium), began dancing at the age of 11 at the Ballet Institut in Antwerp. She also attended summer courses at the School of American Ballet (New York), in 1990. Professional career: 1992, Hessisches Staatstheater / Wiesbaden Ballet (direction: Ben Van Cauwenbergh). 1998, Lucern Ballet / Switzerland (direction: Richard Wherlock). 1999, Gothenburg Ballet / Sweden (direction: Anders Hellström). 2002, Cullberg Ballet (direction: Lena Wennergren and Margareta Lidström, then Johan Inger). Since July 2004: Lyon Opera Ballet.

AMANDINE FRANÇOIS, born in 1979 in Nice (France), began dancing at the age of five at the Lucia Petrova School in Lyon. Since 1997: Lyon Opera Ballet.

CRISTINA GALLOFRÉ, born in 1978 in Barcelona (Spain), began dancing at the age of 11 at the Institut del Teatre of Barcelona (Spain), then at the Royal Academy in The Hague (Netherlands). Professional career: 1997, IT Danza Jove Companjia (direction: Catherine Allard). 1999, Nederlands Dans Theater II (direction: Jirí Kylián). Since 2002: Lyon Opera Ballet.

PEGGY GRELAT DUPONT, born in 1975, began dancing at the Paris Opera Ballet School (direction: Claude Bessy). Professional career: 1992, Paris Opera Ballet (direction: Brigitte Lefèvre). 2000, Ballett Frankfurt (direction: William Forsythe). Since August 2004: Lyon Opera Ballet.

JULIE GUIBERT, born in 1974 in La Roche-sur-Yon (France), began dancing at the age of ten at the Lucia Petrova School in Lyon. Professional career: 1991, Compagnie Maryse Delente. 1998, Cullberg Ballet (direction: Lena Wennergren and Margareta Lidström,). Since 2003: Lyon Opera Ballet.

YANG JIANG, born in 1979 in Heilongjiang (China), studied classical dance, modern dance, traditional Chinese dance, jazz and choreography at the Beijing Academy. Professional career: 1998, Guangdong Modern Dance Company. 1999-2002, principal dancer / actor in several shows of contemporary dance. 2003, working with Philippe Decouflé. Since August 2004: Lyon Opera Ballet.

DANA JOHANÍKOVÁ, born in 1979 in Brno (Czechoslovakia), began dancing at the Academy of Brno. Professional career: 1997, Ballet of the Moravian Theater in Olomouc (Czech Republic). 1999, Prague Chamber Ballet (direction: Libor Vaculík). 2001, Nederlands Dans Theater II (direction Jirí Kylián). Since July 2004: Lyon Opera Ballet.

CAELYN KNIGHT, born in 1978 in Cape Town (South Africa), began dancing at the age of 12 at the University of Cape Town Ballet School, then joined the Central School of Ballet of London, and from 1997 to 2001, the Princess Grace Academy in Monte-Carlo (direction: Marika Besobrasova). Professional career: 2001, Europadanse (direction: Jean-Albert Cartier). Since 2002: Lyon Opera Ballet.

MISHA KOSTRZEWSKI, born in 1973 in Warsaw (Poland), began dancing at the Warsaw Opera School, then joined the Youth Ballet of France / JBF (direction: Robert Berthier). Professional career: 1993, Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo (direction: Jean-Christophe Maillot). Since 1998: Lyon Opera Ballet.

SORA LEE, born in 1975 in Seoul (South Korea), began dancing at the age of nine, then joined the Vaganova Academy of St. Petersburg. Professional career: 1992, Russian Ballet in St. Petersburg (direction: Alexander Bruskin). 2000, Contemporary Dance Theater Iguana Company (direction: Michail Ivanov). 2003, Komische Oper Ballet in Berlin (direction: Adolphe Binder). Since July 2004: Lyon Opera Ballet.

HONGJUN LI, born in 1973 in Liaoning (China), began dancing in 1998 at the Shenyang Art School. Professional career: 1992, Shenyang Dance Company (direction: Shao Dong Li). 1996, Guangdong Modern Dance Company (direction: Chengming Gao). 1998, First Prize in the French International Dance Competition in Paris. 2000, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (direction: Susan Street). 2004, Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Dance Company. Since July 2004: Lyon Opera Ballet.

CORBA MATHIEU, born in 1977 in Castres (France), began dancing at the age of 9 at the Paris Opera Ballet School (direction: Claude Bessy). Professional career: 1996, Bordeaux Opera Ballet (direction: Charles Jude). 2002, Victor Ullate Ballet / Madrid. Since 2003: Lyon Opera Ballet.

YU OTAGAKI, born in 1982 in Kanagawa (Japan), began dancing at the age of ten at a Ballet school in Tokyo, then joined the Rosella Hightower Centre in Cannes (1998) and studied at the Lyon Higher National Academy of Music and Dance. Since 2003: Lyon Opera Ballet.

JÉRÉMIE PERROUD, born in 1978 in Saint-Martin-d'Hères (France), began dancing at the age of eight at the Regional Conservatory in Grenoble, then attended La Rochelle Dance School, entered the Professional Scheme Group at the Ballet du Rhin (direction: Jean-Paul Gravier), and joined the Youth Ballet of France / JBF (direction: Robert Berthier). Since 1997: Lyon Opera Ballet.

MARKETA PLZAKOVA, born in 1972 in Prague (Czechoslovakia), began dancing at the age of ten at the Prague National Academy. Professional career: 1990, Prague Chamber Ballet (direction: Pavel Smok). Since 1997: Lyon Opera Ballet.

ANA PRESTA, born in 1970 in Buenos Aires (Argentina), began dancing at the age of nine at the ISA del Teatro Colón. Professional career: 1986, Teatro Colón Ballet / Buenos Aires (direction: Mario Galizi). 1990, La Scala Ballet / Milan (direction: Robert de Warren). 1992, Rome Opera Ballet (direction: Elisabeth Terrabust). 1995, La Scala Ballet / Milan (direction: Elisabeth Terrabust). 1999, Israel Ballet / Tel Aviv (direction: Bertha Yopolsky). 2001, Victor Ullate Ballet / Madrid. Since 2003: Lyon Opera Ballet.

MIKAËL PULCINI, born in 1973 in Lyon (France), began dancing at the age of 14 at the Lucia Petrova School in Lyon, then joined the Youth Ballet of France / JBF (direction: Robert Berthier). Professional career: 1991, Nice Opera Ballet (direction: Jean-Michel Bourson). Since 2000: Lyon Opera Ballet.

NICOLAS ROBILLARD, born in 1975 in Argenteuil (France), began dancing at the age of 14 at the Paris Higher National Conservatory of Dance. Professional career: 1993, Royal Ballet of Flanders / Antwerp (direction: Robert Denvers). 2000, Geneva Ballet (direction: Giorgio Mancini and François Passard). Since 2003: Lyon Opera Ballet.

MARTIN ROEHRICH, born in 1983 in Moudon (Switzerland), began dancing at the age of 12 at the John Cranko School, in Stuttgart, then joined the Hamburg Ballet School (direction: John Neumeier), and studied at the Superior School of Ballet in Zürich (direction: Alex Ursuliak). Professional career: 2001, Ballet Basel (direction: Richard Wherlock). 2002, IT Danza / Barcelona (direction: Catherine Allard). Since 2003: Lyon Opera Ballet.

JAIME ROQUE DE LA CRUZ, born in 1975 in La Havana (Cuba), began dancing at the School of the National Ballet of Cuba (direction: Alicia Alonso). Professional career: 1993, soloist at the National Ballet of Cuba. 1998, Ballet de la Comunidad de Madrid (direction: Victor Ullate). 1999, Hessische Staatstheater Ballet / Wiesbaden (direction: Ben Van Cauwenbergh). 2001, Victor Ullate Ballet. Since July 2004: Lyon Opera Ballet.

ANTONIO RUZ, born in 1976 in Cordoba (Spain), began dancing at the age of seven at the Spanish Dance School, then joined the Academy of Cordoba, and studied at the Victor Ullate School. Professional career: 1994, Ballet de la Comunidad de Madrid (direction: Victor Ullate). 2000, Geneva Ballet (direction: Giorgio Mancini and François Passard). Since July 2004: Lyon Opera Ballet.

JULIE TARDY DUPEYRON, born in 1979 in Villeneuve-sur-Lot (France), began dancing at the age of seven, and, then at the age of 11, studied at the Rosella Hightower School in Cannes and won the Prix de Lausanne in 1997. Since 1997: Lyon Opera Ballet.

PAVEL TRUSH, born in 1978 in Minsk (Belarus), began dancing at the age of ten at the Bolshoï Ballet School in Minsk, then in 1997 joined the Pascale Courdieux and René Bon classical dance School in Lyon. Professional career: 1996, Bolshoï Theatre in Minsk (direction: Valentine Ielisaiev). 1997, Nancy and Lorraine National Ballet (direction: Pierre Lacotte). 1999, Bordeaux Opera Ballet (direction: Charles Jude). Since 2000: Lyon Opera Ballet.

THIERRY VÉZIÈS, born in 1966 in La Réunion, began dancing at the Montpellier Conservatoire. Professional career: 1983, Bordeaux Ballet (direction: Vladimir Skouratoff). 1988, Monte-Carlo Ballets (direction: Jean-Yves Esquerre et Jean-Christophe Maillot). Since 1994, Lyon Opera Ballet.

MICHAEL WALTERS, born in 1979 in Detroit, Michigan, began dancing at the age of 17 at the Interlocken Arts Academy in Detroit, then at the Juilliard School (New York). Professional career: 2001, Nederlands Dans Theater II (direction: Jirí Kylián). 2003, Ballett Frankfurt (direction: William Forsythe). Since July 2004: Lyon Opera Ballet.

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