Playlist #1 by Ballet Preljocaj

9 & 10 May

WED & THU, 8PM

SOTA Drama Theatre 1h 25m, no intermission

PL AY

T LIS #

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BALLET PRELJOCAJ

(FRANCE)

PHOTOS BY JEAN-CLAUDE CARBONNE

MESSAGE FROM THE FESTIVAL DIRECTOR I grew up looking forward to the Singapore Arts Festival every year.

Watching shows across different genres from around the world played a big part in shaping my artistic sensibilities. Shows such as Ninagawa’s Macbeth (1992), for example, entirely changed my perception of how Shakespeare could be performed.

In 1996, I acted in Singapore Repertory Theatre’s Sing To The Dawn; it was the first time a Singaporean musical opened the Singapore Arts Festival. Given this history, I was delighted and honoured to be asked to helm the Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) for the next three years.

What is SIFA’s role? Where does it fit in the cultural landscape, both at home and internationally? Who does it serve?

Where would I like it to be in three years?

As I was thinking of how to shape the festival, what I did know was that I wanted to programme a festival that would inspire young people in the same way that I was impacted 25 years ago.

With the support of the phenomenal team at SIFA, I aspired to curate a season that would showcase different art forms and perspectives from Singapore and around the world. We also strove to programme a spectrum of shows that would appeal to a variety of audiences, from the first-time festival-goer to the seasoned art lover.

We believe we have programmed artists who are game-changers in their fields.

In parallel, discussions commenced with several of the game-changers in the Singapore arts scene. One of SIFA’s roles is to commission and facilitate the creation of new Singaporean work – giving artists the time and resources to develop shows over a two- or three-year horizon. We look forward to presenting the culmination of this process in SIFA 2019 and 2020.

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Two memorable experiences from arts festivals I have attended around the world have been the free outdoor performances, and a festival ‘village’ — a place where artists and audiences can meet after a show and discuss what they’ve just seen. Both these elements can be found in SIFA 2018. The free outdoor programmes on the opening and closing weekends have some sensational performances to be enjoyed with family and friends. Over these three weeks, The Arts House will become Festival House.

It will be the heartbeat of SIFA with performances, lectures, readings, music salons and, of course, a place to just hang out and chat. Artists will give talks, conduct masterclasses or host Q&As, and hopefully we will build relationships with them that last beyond the festival.

A key initiative that I introduced this year is the $10 front-row student ticket. I want the next generation of Singaporeans to know that they matter to SIFA. My hope is that they will fall in love with the arts in the same way I did at their age.

I would like to thank Sarah Martin and the incredible team of people I work with at SIFA and at Arts House Limited. Despite the tight six-month runway to programme this festival, they have been nothing short of amazing and have worked tirelessly to produce a festival that we hope resonates with you as much as it does with us.

Most of all, thank you for your support. The scope, breadth and reach of shows in SIFA will continue to grow over the next three years. We look forward to taking you on this exciting journey with us.

Gaurav Kripalani Festival Director

MESSAGE FROM THE CEO

Festivals bring people together to celebrate causes or to mark momentous occasions. Arts festivals allow us to not only appreciate the arts, they allow us to experience and form lasting and transformative memories. It is through shared experiences that we come to form communities.

The inaugural Singapore Festival of Arts began in 1977 as a national showcase of the vibrant art forms found within Singapore’s diverse communities. In its many evolutions over the last four decades, the Festival has touched countless hearts, created invaluable experiences for many, and inspired even more to embrace the arts. From a time when Singapore was widely perceived as a cultural desert, the Festival has played an instrumental role in developing Singapore’s arts landscape and shaped the city-state into one of Asia’s leading cultural capitals.

This year, SIFA 2018 marks the 41st year and kicks off a new era with Gaurav Kripalani at the helm as Festival Director for 2018 – 2020. Condensed into 17 days of artistic adventures, it is our hope that

this exhilarating three-week format will create robust artistic engagement for a spectrum of diverse audiences. The Arts House will be transformed into the Festival House, and within its intimate spaces, there will be meaningful discourses on the various themes presented in the festival.

Built upon the foundation and achievements of those who came before, SIFA is the sum of many parts made possible by a team of many talents who has worked tirelessly and passionately to deliver the Festival Director’s vision.

I thank everyone who has had a hand in shaping the Singapore International Festival of Arts into a tradition for both new and existing audiences and making it the stalwart of Singapore’s dedication to artistic excellence.

Gaurav and the team have put together a festival of multiple layers allowing you to make up your own artistic adventures.

It is my hope that you will walk away with unique memories of the Festival.

Sarah Martin CEO, Arts House Limited

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PROGRAMME NOTES Playlist #1 is not one dance but a long choreographic repertoire of excerpts from ten of Angelin Preljocaj’s most beautiful solos, duos and ensembles from 1994 to the present day, all presented in a single show. The performance expresses the entire breadth of Angelin’s choreographic vocabulary, his predilection for written texts, his taste for the introspection of human beings and the virtue of symbols. It is a pure concentration of virtuoso dance that plunges the audience into a state of grace or ecstatic contemplation. It is haute couture made-to-measure to fit the skin and flesh of the dancers who give life to his inspiration.

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EXCERPTS Return to Berratham (2015):

1st excerpt – Five dancers / 2nd excerpt – Seven dancers Margaux Coucharrière, Mirea Delogu, Clara Freschel, Verity Jacobsen, Florette Jager, Anna Tatarova, Cecilia Torres Morillo In this piece, which was created for the Avignon Festival, Angelin places text

by Laurent Mauvignier at the heart of his dance. Actors and dancers play out the bewitching tragedy against a scene created by contemporary artist Adel Abdessemed.

The Nights (2013):

1st excerpt – Solo / 2nd excerpt – Duet / 3rd excerpt – Duet Cecilia Torres Morillo / Margaux Coucharrière, Simon Ripert / Anna Tatarova, Marius Delcourt Angelin offers his vision of The Thousand and One Nights in this evocative performance that incorporates the calligraphy of the moods and emotions inspired by the character of Scheherazade as a way of approaching the place of women in society.

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And Then, A Thousand Years of Peace (2010) Excerpt – Duet Verity Jacobsen, Florette Jager

What hides behind our contemporary rituals, in the folds of our lives? This duet touches lightly on a blind drift of bodies, swept along by ideals and beliefs, a little lost among the lines of the Book of Revelation.

Spectral Evidence (2013)

1st excerpt – Duet / 2nd excerpt – Duet / 3rd excerpt – Solo Simon Ripert, Jean-Charles Jousni / Simon Ripert, Verity Jacobsen / Simon Ripert Inspired by the Salem witch trials of 1692, this piece puts four couples on stage to the music of John Cage. Angelin transposes into movement, what he perceives in a breath, the only phoneme of a recorded extract by the American composer.

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Le Parc (1994)

Excerpt – Duet Mirea Delogu, Redi Shtylla Exploring the condition of love, caught in the confusion of crisis, Le Parc is a sensual piece that questions how the journey of feelings and the acts of passions are manifested. If the capacity for resistance tends to exacerbate desire, it also seems that this desire to hold back the progress of passion can exalt love further.

Paysage Après la Bataille (1997)

Excerpt – Five dancers Margaux Coucharrière, Marius Delcourt, Igli Mezini, Simon Ripert, Redi Shtylla, Cecilia Torres Morillo Paysage Après la Bataille sees itself as the result of imaginary jousts carried out by two antinomian characters from the art world – Joseph Conrad, a writer, and Marcel Duchamp, a painter – each representing an opposite side of the approach to creation.

La Stravaganza (1997)

Excerpt – Duet Jean-Charles Jousni, Fran Sanchez

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Created in 1997 for the New York City Ballet, this dance bears witness to an encounter between two eras in which characters who have emerged from the dust bring something new. The irruption of the past into the future, as if time were a loop, an eternity.

Snow White (2008) Excerpt – Duet Cecilia Torres Morillo, Verity Jacobsen

A dark duet in which the Queen, jealous of the beauty of Snow White, forces the latter to eat the poisoned apple, this piece is performed to Mahler symphonies where dancers create movements of strength and intensity, with slow and implacable gestures.

Romeo and Juliet (1996)

1st excerpt – Duet / 2nd excerpt – Duet Clara Freschel, Jean-Charles Jousni This universal love story is re-imagined in the context of the totalitarian regimes of the Eastern Bloc. It is not about a struggle between clans, but a confrontation between a militia charged with the task of ensuring social order in a world of the homeless.

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ABOUT ANGELIN PRELJOCAJ Angelin Preljocaj was born in Paris and began studying classical ballet before turning to contemporary dance. He has studied with influential choreographers such as Karin Waehner, Zena Rommett, Merce Cunningham, and later Viola Farber and Quentin Rouillier.

He then joined Dominique Bagouet before founding his own company, Ballet Preljocaj, in December 1984.

Angelin has created more than 50 choreographic works ranging from solo to larger formations. He works regularly with other artists across various fields, including Goran Vejvoda, Air, Subodh Gupta, Constance Guisset, Jean Paul Gautier, Azzedine AlaĂŻa, Enki Bilal and Laurent Mauvignier. His productions are now part of the repertoire of many companies, many of which also commission original productions from him.

These include the New York City Ballet, Staatsoper Berlin and Paris Opera Ballet.

Angelin has directed and collaborated on several films of his choreographic work.

Throughout his career, he has received numerous awards, including the Grand Prix de la Danse awarded by the French Ministry of Culture, the Besse Award, the Globe de Cristal and the Samuel H. Scripps/ American Dance Award for Lifetime Achievement.

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PHOTO BY JOERG LETZ

THE COMPANY MARGAUX COUCHARRIÈRE Margaux was born in France in 1988. She studied classical dance in Biarritz. In 2008, she entered Epsedanse, a professional training centre in Montpellier and worked with choreographers such as Gil Roman, Isabelle Sissmann, Bruno Agati, Claude Brumachon and Benjamin Lamarche. She joined Ballet Preljocaj in 2009.

MARIUS DELCOURT Marius was born in France in 1992. He began his classical training in 2002 at the Dance School of the Opéra de Paris. In 2006, he joined the National Music and Dance Conservatory of Paris, and in 2009, the Conservatoire of Lyon. In 2010, he performed in the Junior Ballet in Lyon and simultaneously created a duo for the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon. In 2011, he entered the Ballet Actual, and in 2012, he joined Ballet Preljocaj.

MIREA DELOGU Mirea was born in Italy in 1997. She began dancing at the age of six in Sardinia and joined the Rosella Hightower Dance School in Cannes in 2014. In February 2016, she interned at companies such as the Aalto Ballet Theater Essen, the Rhine Ballet and the Dortmund Ballet in Germany. She joined Ballet Preljocaj Junior in 2016, and Ballet Preljocaj in 2017.

CLARA FRESCHEL Clara was born in France in 1993. She trained at the Studio Ballet Colette Armand in Marseille. She also graduated from the conservatory in opera singing. In 2013, she worked with Ballet Preljocaj as well as the National Dance Center in Angers under the direction of Robert Swinston, with whom she learned Merce Cunningham’s repertory and worked with on several creations. She joined Ballet Preljocaj in 2015.

VERITY JACOBSEN Verity was born in Sydney, Australia. She studied at the New Zealand School of Dance and graduated with a National Diploma in Dance Performance. She has worked with Daniel Belton and Good Company Arts and with the Royal New Zealand Ballet as a movement coach. She has also worked with Dean Walsh, Vicki Van Hout, Fiona Malone and Malia Johnson. She toured with Empire of the Sun and danced in The Nights by Angelin Preljocaj. She joined Ballet Preljocaj in 2015.

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FLORETTE JAGER Florette was born in France in 1995. She began her classical and contemporary training at the school Entrechats with Mireille Marin.

In 2012 she entered the National Dance School in Marseille and a year later she joined the Rudra-Béjart School in Lausanne. She began her professional career in 2014 at the Teatrul of the Balet Sibiu in Romania where she performed in great classical ballets.

She joined Ballet Preljocaj in 2018.

JEAN-CHARLES JOUSNI Jean-Charles was born in France in 1986. From 2004 to 2006, he studied classical and contemporary dance at the National Music and Dance School of Brest. He entered the Rosella Hightower Dance School in Cannes in 2006. He joined Ballet Preljocaj within the G.U.I.D, a local awareness dance programme, in 2007. There, he performed choreographic extracts from Angelin Preljocaj’s repertoire. He joined Ballet Preljocaj in July 2008.

IGLI MEZINI Igli was born in Albania in 1993. He studied classical dance from 2004 to 2011 at the National Dance School of Albania. In 2011 he joined the Rosella Hightower Dance School in Cannes where he performed works created by Jean-Christophe Maillot, Jiří Kylián, Marco Cantalupo and Fréderic Flamand. In 2014, Igli joined the Hessisches Staats Ballet in Germany as a soloist dancer. He joined Ballet Preljocaj in 2018.

SIMON RIPERT Simon was born in France in 1988. He trained at the National Ballet School of Marseille from 2001 to 2006. He then joined the Conservatoire National Supérieur of Lyon and the Lyon Jeune Ballet in 2008. From 2009 to 2012, he danced within Ballet de Chemnitz under the direction of Lode Devos. In 2013, he created his own dance and art festival in the Lubéron region. Simon joined Ballet Preljocaj in 2013.

FRAN SANCHEZ Fran was born in Spain in 1988. He began studying jazz dance in 2004 in a private school in Madrid. He attended ballet classes at the Victor Ullate Dance Center for two years. He then worked with Juan Carlos Santamaria’s company, Santamaria Compañia de Danza, for two years and with Thomas Noone’s company, Thomas Noone Dance, for the creation Bound. He joined Ballet Preljocaj in 2009.

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REDI SHTYLLA Redi was born in Albania in 1994. He joined the Albanian National Ballet School in 2004 and danced within the Albanian Opera Ballet. After a pass through in Athens in 2012, he joined the Rosella Hightower Superior Dance School in Cannes in 2013. He has danced for Jiří Kylián, Jean-Christophe Maillot, Davide Bombana, Hervé Koubi, Jean-Claude Gallotta and Jean-Charles Gil. He joined Ballet Preljocaj in 2015.

ANNA TATAROVA Anna was born in Russia in 1986. She was awarded a Tatiana Galtseva High School Diploma with highest honours from the Moscow Dance School. She joined the Bolshoi Theatre in 2003. Trained by Svetlana Adyrkhaeva, she has performed in most of the Bolshoi Ballet’s productions, including Coppélia, Giselle and Cinderella. In 2009, she participated in a production created by Angelin Preljocaj with the Bolshoi Theatre. She joined Ballet Preljocaj in 2011.

CECILIA TORRES MORILLO Cecilia was born in Spain in 1990. She studied classical dance at the Conservatory of Córdoba. In 2008, she joined the Andaluz Dance Center led by Blanca Li specialising in contemporary dance.

In 2010, she joined Company La Imperdible. In 2011, she entered the Conservatoire of Madrid and worked with caraBdanza Dance Company. She joined Ballet Preljocaj in 2013.

THE CREATIVE TEAM Choreographer: Angelin Preljocaj Assistant, Deputy to the Artistic Director: Youri Aharon Van den Bosch Rehearsal Assistant: Cécile Médour Choreologist: Dany Lévêque Dancers: Margaux Coucharrière, Marius Delcourt, Mirea Delogu, Clara Freschel, Verity Jacobsen, Florette Jager, Jean-Charles Jousni, Igli Mezini, Simon Ripert, Fran Sanchez, Redi Shtylla, Anna Tatarova, Cecilia Torres Morillo Technical Director: Luc Corazza General Production and Sound Manager: Martin Lecarme Lighting Manager: Sébastien Dué Stage Manager: Rémy Leblond This is a production of Ballet Preljocaj.

The Ballet Preljocaj, National Choreographic Centre subsidised by Ministry of Culture and Communication – DRAC PACA, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Region, Bouches-du-Rhône Department, Aix-Marseille Provence Metropolis / Aix Regional Territory, City of Aix-en-Provence, supported by Groupe Partouche – Casino Municipal d’Aix-Thermal, Individuals and companies sponsors, and private partners.

SUPPORTER

SINGAPOUR

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For more festival deals, please visit sifa.sg Terms & Conditions: Unless otherwise stated, all promotions are valid till 13 May, Sun. Not applicable with other promotions, discounts, vouchers and offers by credit or privilege cards. Ticket stubs presented must be in its original condition. Management reserves the right to amend any promotional terms and conditions without prior notice. Merchants’ terms and conditions apply.

ABOUT SIFA Into its 41st year, Singapore International Festival of Arts 2018 presents diverse and distinctive work from Singapore and around the world that ignites the imagination, inspires myriad audiences, and provokes reflection and dialogue.

Get ready for a plethora of theatre, music, dance, literary and visual arts at the pinnacle national arts festival that will happen over three weeks from 26 April to 12 May, and across ten performance spaces, including the Festival House, located at The Arts House.

ABOUT ARTS HOUSE LIMITED Arts House Limited (AHL) is a not-for-profit organisation committed to enriching lives through the arts.

AHL manages two key landmarks located in the heart of Singapore’s Civic District – The Arts House, a multi-disciplinary arts centre with a focus on literary programming, and the Victoria Theatre & Victoria Concert Hall, a heritage building that is home to the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. It also runs the Goodman Arts Centre and Aliwal Arts Centre, two creative enclaves for artists, arts groups and creative businesses, and performing arts space Drama Centre. AHL presents the Singapore International Festival of Arts, the annual pinnacle celebration of performance and interdisciplinary arts in Singapore commissioned by the National Arts Council.

AHL was set up in 11 Dec 2002 as a company limited by guarantee (CLG) under the National Arts Council and was formerly known as The Old Parliament House Limited. It was officially renamed Arts House Limited on 19 Mar 2014.

AHL BOARD Chairperson: Christine Ong Members: Chong Yuan Chien, Deborah Ho, Kelvin Ang, Lynette Pang, Madeleine Lee, Maniza Jumabhoy, Mok Wei Wei, Ong Chao Choon, Ong Choon Fah, Paul Tan, Sarah Martin (Ex-Officio)

SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ARTS THE SIFA TEAM Chief Executive Officer: Sarah Martin Festival Director: Gaurav Kripalani Chief Financial Officer: Yong Yuet Mei Advisor: J P Nathan Head, Programming: Jobina Tan Head, Production: Cindy Yeong Head, Marketing: Jasmine Gan Head, Communications: Carolyn Tay Head, Partnership Development: Payal Michelle Parekhji Assistant Head, Event Services Management: Emma Izzabella Tagoe PROGRAMMING Producers: Sara Joan Fang, Rydwan Anwar, Ye Junmin Senior Manager: Lisa Marie Lip Senior Manager, Place Making: Natalie Tan Managers: Kong Yen Lin, Shridar Mani, Pang Su Li Assistant Manager: Alicia Chong PRODUCTION Production Managers: Christopher Chua, Natalie Lim Production Co-ordinators: Celestine Wong, Melissa Chin Technical Co-ordinators: Huang Xiangbin, David Li Production Assistant: Chong Wee Nee MARKETING Senior Managers: Elizabeth Wong, Winnie Chan Assistant Manager: Koay Yi Ling Senior Designers: Muhammad Hakim bin Rahim, Md Firdaus bin Wari Executives: Diana Othman, Juliana Tan Interns: Clara Janssen, Lim Yi Shuen, Michelle Chia COMMUNICATIONS Assistant Manager: Willy Beh Wei Hong Intern: Rifdi Jaffar TICKETING Executive: Nor Limah binte Ja’ffar PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT Manager: Norita Senin Executive: Tan Yanru EVENT SERVICES MANAGEMENT Frontof-house Hospitality Manager: Dorothy Neo Front-of-House Manager: Mohd Afham bin Abbas Back-of-House Hospitality Manager: Nursheehana binte Akbal Ahmad Event Services Manager: Johnson Kee Secretariat Manager: Carine Lee Transport Manager: Syafiq Zulkepli FINANCE Manager: Vivian Gan Executives: Mandy Choo, Lai Zhi Ying, Priyasini D/O Balachandran HUMAN RESOURCE Manager: Noraliza Ramli Senior Executive: Elaine Neo ADMINISTRATION Manager, Arts: Liza Mustapha Executive: Norhanim binte Mohamed Tayib 14

DON’T MISS

THESE OTHER PRODUCTIONS IN THE FESTIVAL

Screening Room, Festival House (The Arts House)

28 Apr – 11 May

BY SCHAUBÜHNE

11 & 12 May, Fri & Sat

BERLIN (DE) Esplanade Theatre

Photo by Arno Declair

SOTA Drama Theatre

12 May, Sat

Photo by Ana Cuba

FREE PROGRAMMES AND MORE

BY GEOFF COBHAM (AU)

26 Apr – 12 May, daily, 10am – 10pm Gallery I, Festival House

BY INTER—MISSION (SG)

26 Apr - 12 May, daily, 10am - 10pm Gallery II, Festival House

BY FERRY (SG)

Duke Ellington Orchestra (US) 10 - 12 May, Thu - Sat , 10am – 5pm Play Den, Festival House

12 May, Sat Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage, Singapore Botanic Gardens

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