St. Petersburg International FIlm Festival "KINODANCE"

Opening Program Installation Program 1 Program 2-3 Program 4-5 Program 6 Program 7 Program 8 Program 9 Program 10 Program 11 Program 12 Program 13 Program 14 Closing Ceremony

Program 9: From the Festivals Around the World I
(St. Petersburg)

Hunt (4min, 2005, Canada)
Directors: Marlene Millar and Philip Szporer; Choreographer: Sharon Moore

Produced with the assistance of a Bravo!Fact grant, and the National Film Board of Canada. The intensity of an internal struggle manifests itself externally, as revealed through an intimate, fragmented view of dancer Peter Trosztmer. “The Hunt” explores the anatomy of the hunter and the transformation that occurs inside - calmness, pressure, extreme tension, consequence of the hunt, calling up/manufacturing the condition of enemy in order to justify killing, delirium and gleefulness that denotes insanity, and enjoyment of such experience. This ultimately returns to calm and cascading back into the pleasure moments, attempts to return to sanity.

Marlene and Philip met in 1986 dancing in the work of New York choreographer Charles Dennis. Subsequently a friendship developed and their professional talents merged once more ten years later when they embarked on the first sketch of what was later to become the video series “Moments in Motion”. They shared a Fellowship for the Dance/Media Project at the University of California, Los Angeles, developing new ideas, and producing work in the United States. Their return to Canada saw the creation of “Mouvement Perpétuel” (a video production company) in 2001 that they run to this day.

Blush (52min, 2005, Belgium)
Director/Choreographer: Wim Vandekeybus

Adapted from Vadekeybus’ original stage choreography, carried by the music of David Eugene Edwards and Woven Hand and with texts by the Flemish author Peter Verhelst, “Blush” is a dazzling voyage swinging between the heavenly landscapes of Corsica and the slummiest depths of Brussels. It is an exploration of the savage subconscious, of mythical forests, of conflicting instincts, of imagination, where the body has reasons unknown to the mind. In dance sequences of attraction, confrontation and repulsion the performers take on animal metamorphoses… “Blush” saw its French premiere at the Cannes Film Festival 2005.

After having discovered the medium of film during the registration of his first performances (for the dance videos Roseland and La Mentira – both directed by Wim Vandekeybus, Walter Verdin and Octavio Iturbe), the acclaimed choreographer Wim Vandekeybus directed his first short film Elba and Federico in 1993. This film became the basis for the production Her Body doesn’t fit her soul. From this moment onwards film became a constant value in Wim’s work; an extra outlet for his wild imagination, an important and essential element in his performances. Wim Vandekeybus barely makes performances without integrating the medium of film. More recent short-films such as The Last Words and Inasmuch… were not only inherent parts of the performances; they also lead their life the art and short film circuit. Besides the short films and film and video fragments that are part of the performances, Wim Vandekeybus has directed several video adaptations of his dance productions. By putting elements of his performances in other contexts and locations, Wim Vandekeybus gives them a totally new dynamic and rhythm.

One Flat Thing Reproduced (26min, 2006, France)
Director: Thierry De Mey; Choreographer: William Forsythe

Forsythe's ONE FLAT THING, unanimously acclaimed by the press, gives rise today to a new work: ONE FLAT THING REPRODUCED. The theatrical disposition was studied especially for this shooting; two cameras (in high definition) are catching the action from different standpoints. The result is intense: esthetical beauty of shapes, intensity of the movements and closeness to the dancers. This new experience offers to the audience the possibility of receiving this creation in a completely different way, outside of a theatre.

Thierry De Mey, born in 1956, is a film director and composer. The incorporation of movement and rebound are the common thread at the core of his work: "the rebuttal of the idea of rhythm as a simple series of durations in a time frame, but rather as a generative system for impulses, falls and new developments” constitutes the preliminary overture for his musical and cinematic endeavours. For the choreographers Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Wim Vandekeybus and his sister Michele Anne De Mey, Thierry continues to be an invaluable collaborator in the invention of "formal strategies" - to employ a term which holds great importance for him. The installations of Thierry De Mey, which include music, dance, videos and interactive processes, have been presented in exhibitions such as the Biennials of Venice, Lyon and in many museums. His work has been rewarded with many national and international prizes including the Bessie Awards, Eve du Spectacle, Composers Forum of UNESCO to name a few. He is currently working on the composition of an original score for the project between the choreographer Akram Khan (London/India) and Sylvie Guillem (Paris).

Born in 1949 in New York, William Forsythe is one of the most acclaimed choreographers of our time. During his ballet career with Joffrey Ballet and Stuttgart Ballet, Forsythe discovered Pina Bausch and Jiri Kylian and soon after in 1980 left Stuttgart Ballet to pursue an independent career making work that often intrigued and scandalized audiences (like “Gange” and “Say Bye-Bye” for the Netherlands Dans Theatre). In 1983, Rudolf Nureyev invited Forsythe to choreograph “France/Dance” for the Paris Opera Ballet that featured the young Sylvie Guillem. For over 20 years, he choreographed for Frankfurt Ballet while his works are danced by companies all over the world, including the Royal Swedish Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet, Finnish National Ballet, Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, Ballet de l`Opera national de Lyon, Ballet du Rhin, Batsheva dance Company, Boston Ballet, Cullberg Ballet, the Australian National Ballet among others.

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