Le titre de RainForest provient des souvenirs d’enfance de Merce Cunningham, du nord-ouest et de la forêt tropicale de la péninsule olympique.
RainForest diffère des autres pièces de Cunningham car, à  l’exception de Cunningham, chacun des six danseurs a joué son propre  rôle, puis a quitté la scène et n’est jamais revenu.

Andy Warhol a accepté de laisser Cunningham utiliser son installation Silver Clouds -  plusieurs ballons Mylar en forme d’oreillers remplis d’hélium, de sorte  qu’ils flottent librement dans l’air. Les danseurs portaient des  justaucorps et collants de couleur chair que Jasper Johns (non crédité)  coupait avec une lame de rasoir, pour donner aux costumes une apparence  rugueuse.

La musique de David Tudor évoque les cris et les bruits d’oiseaux et d’animaux.

Source : Ballet de Lorraine

Born in Centralia, Washington on April 16, 1919, Cunningham began his  career as a modern dancer at the age of 20, dancing for six years with  the Martha Graham Dance Company. He presented his first recital in 1944,  and formed the Merce Cunningham Dance Company in 1953. The company was a  living canvas for his experimentation and the creation of his unusual  pieces.
 Over his long career he  choregraphed more than 150 pieces and more than 800 Events. Many dancers  studied and worked with Cunningham before founding their own companies,  among them Paul Taylor, Trisha Brown, Lucinda Childs and Karole  Armitage ... He collaborated with many artists; his collaboration with  John Cage had the most influence on his practice.
 Together Cunningham and Cage  proposed a series of radical innovations in dance. The most famous and  controversial of these dealt with the relationship between dance and  music, able to co-exist in the same space and time but needing to be  conceived independently of each other.
 Cunningham continued to  experiment and innovate throughout his life, and he was one of the first  to use new technologies in his own art form. He choreographed and  taught almost until the day he died, July 26, 2009, and received many  awards and accolades. Cunningham’s life and work have inspired the  publication of four books and three important exhibitions; several of  his pieces have been presented by other prestigious companies such as  American Ballet Theatre, the Ballet de Lorraine, the New York City  Ballet, the Paris Opera Ballet, the Rambert Dance Company in London and  the White Oak Dance Project.

Source: CCN-Ballet de Lorraine

More information: www.mercecunningham.org

Née en 1979, je grandis dans un petit village de Seine-et-Marne, loin de  tout mais proche de la nature. La culture arrive avec les études en  cinéma à Paris 8. Arrêter les études, reprendre les études, sociologie,  ethnologie, retour au documentaire. Un chemin biscornu entrecoupé  d’expériences professionnelles et autres petits boulots. Quelques  voyages aussi et la photographie et l’écriture. Se perdre, mais  s’enrichir aussi beaucoup. Apprécier les petites choses. Ma première  fille née en 2007. En 2012, je crée les films du point de vue qui me  permettent d’exercer mes différents métiers de cadreuse, monteuse,  réalisatrice. Là aussi des expériences qui permettent de s’enrichir  auprès de publics jeune ou adulte au travers d’ateliers. Des rencontres  autour de projets musicaux, et puis filmer la danse ce qui me ravit.  J’aime la poésie de la vie, j’aime aussi les silences, j’aime faire la  fête et danser, j’aime faire les films sans attendre, j’aime assister à  la vie, j’aime rencontrer des personnes au travers des films, j’aime  qu’elles me racontent leurs histoires. Je suis une amoureuse.

Source : Bérangère Goossens

Since acquiring the CCN title in 1999, the Centre Chorégraphique National - Ballet de Lorraine has dedicated itself to supporting contemporary choreographic creation. As of July 2011 the organization is under the general and artistic direction of Petter Jacobsson.
The CCN – Ballet de Lorraine and its company of 26 dancers is one of the most important companies working in Europe, performing contemporary creations while retaining and programming a rich and extensive repertory, spanning our modern history, made up of works by some of our generations most highly regarded choreographers.
The CCN functions as an art center and venue for multiple possibilities in the fields of research, experimentation and artistic creation. It is a platform open to many different disciplines, a space where the many visions of dance of today may meet. 

More information : http://ballet-de-lorraine.eu