Sunday, October 30, 2011

French Choreographer Julie Bour graces Wayne State University with her Fairy Tale

By: Megan Drabant

Once upon a time, there was a French choreographer who brought her European flair to a lucky school in the United States. That choreographer just so happens to be Julie Bour, artistic director of Compagnie Julie Bour, and the lucky school is our very own Maggie Allesee Department of Dance at Wayne State University (WSU). Bour graduated from the Conservatoire National de Paris and followed her career to work with a variety of renowned choreographers around the world including Angelin Preljocaj, Inbal Pinto and Cave Canem company. As assistant to the French choreographer Angelin Preljocaj, Bour has re-staged his repertory in New York City and Bordeaux, France. Also, she had the pleasure to work with director Julie Taymor on the Opera “Grendel”. She received a Bessie Award for “Best performer of the year” in New York City.

Bour does not feel restricted by a style, a history or a technique. As a choreographer, she is driven by the need to question, mix and share. By exploring the dynamics of contemporary culture through the prism of who she is now, on any particular day, she creates work which resonates in the cultural moment. The key to Bour’s creative process is to work consistently with dancers who are committed to movement invention and to develop a technique and language over time. Bour founded The Flying Mammoth with Loic Noisette in 2006 as a bridge between the different arts, cultures and countries they have encountered over the course of their careers. The unorthodoxy and internationality of both her professional and personal paths are strongly present in her choreographic process.

As the Fall 2011 Allesee Artist in Residence, Bour worked for a week with the talented dancers of WSU through teaching morning modern technique classes and then rehearsing in the evening with the dancers selected to be in her piece. The dancers found Bour’s choreographic process to be quite refreshing and different than any other residencies they have experienced before. Senior, Jordan Holland describes Bour’s movement to be “Deep, visceral, and organic; everything has intention.” The work is very detail oriented; yet Bour’s process of developing movement directly on the spot with the dancers is different for many of the WSU students.

In setting her new work entitled “Rouge,” Bour found inspiration in the classic tale of Little Red Ridding Hood. However, Bour’s rendition of the story is twisted with a modern spin of three different endings. The multiple endings relate to the concepts of defeating, being defeated, and indecision. All three endings can be witnessed at one time during the piece as the whimsical, yet contemporary music strings the story along. Bour pushes the dancers to be strong characters and precision movers with musically, pedestrian movement. Overall, Bour’s new version of Little Red Ridding Hood is pleasantly enthralling with an underlying parallel between real life and fairy tale.

Come see “Rouge” performed at the informance on Monday, October 31, at 12:30pm in the Maggie Allesee Studio Theatre, 3317 Old Main Building, 4841 Cass Detroit, MI 48201.

This is a free event and seating is limited so please arrive fifteen minutes early. Also, “Rouge” will be performed at the December Departmental Dance Concert on December 1-2 at 7:30pm and December 4 at 2:00pm and 7:00pm in the Maggie Allesee Studio Theatre, where other works choreographed by both students and faculty will be premiered.


Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Dance Workshop Sunday Classes

To launch its new outreach program, Wayne State University’s Dance Workshop is pleased to announce weekend master classes that will be held on campus in the Old Main building on the 3rd floor. A wide variety of classes will be offered including ballet, contemporary, improvisation, and more! Classes are on Sundays from 3:00 to 4:30 P.M. The cost of the class is $5.

All proceeds of the master classes help support this student-run dance company’s showcase concerts, costume costs, and travel expenses to the American College Dance Festival. The company is dedicated to creating a professional dance environment at Wayne State University for students to showcase their works on both regional and national levels. Dance Workshop also strives to make educational dance opportunities available to the public.

Please visit http://www.dance.wayne.edu/docs/workshopmasterclassf11.doc for class schedules and guest teacher information.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Julie Bour Residency Schedule

Sunday, 10/23

Monday, 10/24

Tuesday, 10/25

Wednesday, 10/26

Thursday, 10/27

Friday, 10/28

Saturday,10/29

Julie

Arrives

Warm-up –

studio C

10:30-11:30a


AUDITION

Studio B

11:45-1:20p


Rehearsal

4:00-10:00p

DNC 3200/4200

Ballet III & IV

11:45-1:05p






Rehearsal

4:00-10:00p

DNC 1010/2010

Modern I & II

9:35-11:25a


DNC 3010/4010

Modern III & IV 11:45-1:20p


Rehearsal

4:00-10:00p

DNC 3200/4200

Ballet III & IV

11:45-1:05p






Rehearsal

4:30-10:00p

DNC 3010/4010

Modern III & IV 11:45-1:20p






Rehearsal

3:00-9:00p

Warm-up

11-12:00p



Rehearsal

12:00-6p

Sunday, 10/30

Monday, 10/31

Warm-up

11:00-12:00p



Rehearsal

12:00-6:00p

Warm-up and Rehearsal

9:35-11:25a studio B

(Modern I/II in studio A)


Informance

12:30p

WSU Dance Kicks Off Fela! Ticket Sales with Flash Mob

Wayne State University dancers, under the direction of Professor Karen Prall, participated in a Flash Mob on October 1st at the Detroit Public Library. The occasion was the release party for the ticket sales for FELA!, the amazing, Tony-Award winning Broadway show directed by New York choreographer Bill T. Jones. FELA! is coming to the Music Hall February 14 - March 4 in celebration of Black History Month.


Tickets are now on sale at the Music Hall and can also be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com.

Read more about FELA! here.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Ngoma Za Kongo

Ngoma Za Kongo, a high energy African Drum and Dance Company, will be in residence at Wayne State October 14-16th. They will offer classes and a performance during their residency, and they will also work with the African Dance Company at Wayne State, under the direction of Karen Prall.

Ngoma Za Kongo, meaning drums of the Kongo, is composed of several artists in continuous research of new sounds and expressions inspired by Congolese traditions. As a result of this research, the group presentation represents a diversity of sounds and colors from different regions of the Congo. The work is an original fusion of traditional rhythms, ritual dances, and the influence of a contemporary environment.

The artists of Ngoma Za Kongo dance, sing, and play various sounds of the African drums. Their explosion onto the stage drives you into the essence of their mythical rhythms, leaving you between a traditional and modern world. Enriched by the songs and sounds of the African drums, these rhythms and dances make Ngoma Za Kongo an outstanding group beyond the usual. Coming from different ethnic backgrounds, the members of Ngoma Za Kongo also naturally contribute to the diversity of this group from central Africa.

Classes:

African Dance Class Friday, Oct. 14th 5:00-6:30pm
African Drum Class Saturday, Oct. 15th 2:00-3:30pm
African Dance Class Saturday, Oct. 15th 4:00-5:30pm

ALL OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Classes are $10 if reserved before Wed, Oct. 12. $20 at the door.
The Drum class fee: $10.00 (own drum), $15.00 (with drum rental).


Concert

Ngoma Za Kongo in concert Sunday Oct. 16th 2:30-3:30pm
Tickets for the concert are $10 if purchased before Sat. Oct. 15th. $20 at the door.

The Ngoma Za Kongo performance is a musical journey to the republic of the Congo. Throughout this journey, the group draws the audience into an African rhythmical and musical environment, where you discover the different sounds, rhythms, dances, and colors from ten areas of the Republic of the Congo which are: Sangha, Likouala, Cuvette Ouest, Cuvette Centrale, Plateau, Pool, Bouenza, Lekoumou, Niari, and Kouilou.