THIERRY DE MEY

film / 2000 / 6'

This film is a true technical feat since the dancers (and camera) defy the laws of gravity by moving along the sheer cliff face thanks to a rigging system holding them by the waist. The choreography turns the spectator’s points of reference upside down, supported in this vertiginous enterprise by the choice of viewpoints. But very quickly, the rapid editing leaves the acrobatic performance and attaches itself to the movements of a choreography as rigorous as it is inventive.

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Updating: may 2014

The choreographer, teacher and dancer Iztok Kovač in 1990s virtually out  of nothing established the notion of the Slovene contemporary dance in  the cultural space of Europe and beyond. In 1993 he established the  international dance company En-Knap in Leuven, Belgium, under the wings  of Klapstuk Festival; a year later the group moved its headquarters to  Ljubljana, where he established EN-KNAP Productions. After 14 years of  project-based work, in 2007 Kovač founded the international dance  company EnKnapGroup, the first permanent ensemble for contemporary dance  in Slovenia, thus beginning working on a repertory basis. Two years  later EN-KNAP Productions was entrusted the management of the Španski  Borci Cultural Centre in Ljubljana, where Iztok Kovač is the artistic  director, and programmer of the domestic and international programme. In  addition to 34 own projects, artistic direction and pedagogical work,  his opus includes also six dance films. In 25 years, his EN-KNAP has  introduced and established its own esthetics inside the European space  and formed its trademark, into which many acclaimed coproducers have  invested from the outset. For his work, Iztok Kovač has received  prominent domestic and international awards.

Thierry De Mey, born in 1956, is a composer and filmmaker. An instinctive feel for movement guides his entire work, allowing him to tackle and integrate a variety of disciplines. The premise behind his musical and filmic writing is the desire for rhythm to be experienced in the body or bodies, revealing the musical meaning for the author, performer and audience. He has developed a system of musical writing for movement used in pieces where the visual and choreographic aspects are just as important as the gesture producing the sound, such as in "Musique de tables" (1987), "Silence must be!" (2002) and "Light Music", which premiered at Lyon's Musiques en Scène biennial festival in 2004.

A large part of his music production is intended for dance and cinema. He has often been more than a composer for the choreographers Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Wim Vandekeybus and his sister Michèle Anne De Mey, offering his precious collaboration in the invention of "formal strategies" – to use a favourite expression of his. Among his main work let us mention "Rosas danst Rosas", "Amor constante", "April me", "Kinok" (choreographies by A. T. De Keersmaeker), "What the body does not remember", "Les porteuses de mauvaises nouvelles", "Le poids de la main" (choreographies by W. Vandekeybus), "Dantons Töd" (dir. Bob Wilson), "Musique de table", "Frisking" pour percussions, un quatuor à cordes, "Counter Phrases", etc.

He participated in the foundation of Maximalist! and the Ictus ensemble which created several of his pieces (dir. G E Octors). His music has been performed by major ensembles such as the Arditti Quartet, the Hilliard Ensemble, London Sinfonietta, Ensemble Modern, Muzikfabrik and the Orchestre Symphonique de Lille. Thierry De Mey's installations, in which music, dance, video and interactive processes work together, have been presented in events such as the Venice and Lyon biennials as well as in many museums. His work has received national and international awards (Bessie Awards, Eve du Spectacle, Forum des compositeurs de l'Unesco, FIPA, etc). The film/installation "Deep in the wood" (2002-2004) involved more than 70 dancers/choreographers. For the film "Counter Phrases" (2003-2004), nine composers answered his dance/film invitation : S. Reich, F. Romitelli, M. Lindberg, T. Hosokawa, G. Aperghis, J. Harvey, L. Francesconi, R. De Raaf and S. Van Eycken. In 2003, the working process with ATDK for "April me" was the subject of a documentary entitled "Corps accord", produced by ARTE which has also broadcast and co-produced most of his films.

Since July 2005, Thierry De Mey is artistic director of Charleroi/Danses along with Pierre Droulers, Michele Anne De Mey and Vincent Thirion.

In 2006, he realised an installation adapted from Perrault's tale, "Barbe Bleue" (Bluebeard), plus a film, "One Flat Thing, reproduced" based on the choreography by William Forsythe and broadcast by Arte in October. In 2007 he made From Inside for the Charleroi/Danses Biennale, an interactive installation in the form of a triptych. For the 2009 Charleroi/Danses Biennale, he created "Equi Voci", a polyptych of dance films accompanied by orchestral music and which includes "Prélude à la mer", a film based on one of Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker's most beautiful choreographies which he shot by the Aral Sea in October 2009. His latest film – "La Valse", choreographed by Thomas Hauert and the ZOO dance company – completes and close this project.

Source : Charleroi/danses

More information : www.charleroi-danses.be