Choreographer: Bertrand d'At

In 1978 he joined Béjart's Ballets du XX° siècle as a dancer and performed in ballets like The Rite of Spring, Petrouchka, Firebird, Dichterliebe, The Magic Flute, Illuminations, 1rst and 10th symphonies (J. Neumeier), Wien, Wien nur du allein, Dionysos,(1984). For this last work, he became Maurice Béjart's assistant. From 1984 to 1991, he worked as ballet master for the Ballet du XX° siècle, and then for the Ballet Béjart Lausanne. He also was and still is in charge of re-staging Maurice Béjart's works for leading international dance companies: Berlin (Staatsoper and Deutsche Oper), Paris Opera ballet, Kirov Ballet and Australian Ballet among others. He has worked with such leading dancers as Jorge Donn, Jean Babilée, Marcia Haydée, Richard Cragun, Jean-Claude Gil, Marie-Claude Pietragala, Eric Vu-An or Laurent Hilaire.

In 1993, he was appointed as co-artistic director to the Cullberg Ballet in Sweden together with Carolyn Carlson before founding his own company called Ballet Est in 1996.

In May 1997, he was called to the position of Dance Director in the Opéra national du Rhin and Artistic Director of its dance company, one of the leading French repertory dance company.

Bertrand d’At started to choreograph as soon as 1984. His works include Am Rande der Nacht, (Ballet du XXème Siècle- 1984), Jours tranquilles (Les Nouveaux Ballets de Monte Carlo - 1985), Le boeuf sur le toit (Ballet de l'Opéra de Nantes -1986), Autour d'elle (Ballet du XXème Siècle - 1986), Les élémens (Ballet national de Nancy - 1987), Mourir étonne (Soloists of the Ballet Béjart Lausanne - 1989), Prokofiev's Roméo and Juliet (Ballet du Rhin - 1990), Ein Tanzpoem (Zürich Opera Ballet - 1991), Die Nacht (Lyon Superior Dance Conservatory - 1991), Dichterliebe (Les Nouveaux Ballets de Monte Carlo - 1994), Andréas oder die Vereinigten and Mémoires perdues ( Ballet Est - 1997), Swan Lake (Ballet de l'Opéra national du Rhin - 1998), In Arcadia ego (Ballet de l'Opéra national du Rhin - 2000) and The Prince of the Pagodas (Ballet de l’Opéra national du Rhin – 2002) The song of the earth (Ballet de l’Opéra national du Rhin – 2005).

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After studying classical and contemporary dance for ten years in Bordeaux (France) she started her career as a professional dancer in 1977. She worked four years in Rennes and Dijon before joining the Ballet du Rhin under Jean Sarelli in 1981.

She worked there with a great number of choreographers in different styles, including Serge Lifar’s Suite en blanc, Phèdre, Daphnis et Chloé, as well as Princess Florine in Sleeping beauty, the colibri in Rara Avis and the cupids in Primavera, all works by Alberto Mendès, the peasant pas de deux In Giselle, the small swans in Swan Lake, George Balanchine’s Four temperaments, Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Coppelia, Petroushka and Renard, or John Butler’s Carmina Burana…
In 1986, she was chosen by the Director of the Kirov Ballet of Saint-Petersburg (Leningrad at the time) to dance the part of Lise in La Fille mal gardée.
In May 1988, she was nominated as first soloist after her performance in the role of Kitri in Don Quixotte .
From 1990, she worked under the direction of Jean-Paul Gravier and performed Juliet in Bertrand d’At’s Romeo and Juliet, Emilia in Jose Limon’s the Moor’s Pavane, Creuse in Ivo Cramer’s Jason et Médée, Caroline in Anthony Tudor’s Lilac Garden, the Maid and the Mother in Kurt Jooss’ The Big City and The Green Table. She also danced in William Forsythe’s Herman Schmerman, Claude Brumachon’s La Complainte du Gerfaut, Carolyn Carlson’s Slow Heavy and Blue, and Peter Schaufuss’ version of La Sylphide.
During that period she also took part in a great many creations including Primum Saltare by Odile Duboc, Sarabande pour Jean-Philippe by Beatrice Massin, Le Manteau d’Arlequin, Fébrile, Debout immobile sur trois pieds by Ivan Favier and a new production of the Nutcracker by Pilobolus.

In 1995, she obtained a state degree in dance teaching.

Since the nomination of Bertrand d’At as Director of the company in 1997, she has carried on her career as a dancer and an interpreter performing in Hans van Manen’s Concertante, George Balanchine’s Agon, Maurice Béjart’s Dyonisos-Suite, Lucinda Childs’ Chamber Symphony and Glen Tetley’s Voluntaries.

From September 1999, she has also worked as ballet mistress and has taken part in that capacity in the creation of Jo Strømgren’s Alexie and the Nutcracker, as well as Claude Brumachon’s Les murailles d’hermine, and Bertrand d’At‘s productions of Swan Lake and the Prince of the Pagodas.

Claude Agrafeil has also been an assistant to:

• Louise Lester for Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco
• Hans van Manen for Grosse füge
• Jean-Claude Gallotta for Pandora and Kouchotte et Kanely
• Jacopo Godani for Les Noces to Stravinsky’s music
• Lucinda Childs for Dance, Chamber Symphony and the Miraculous Mandarin
• Davide Bombana for L’art de la Fugue
• Maina Gielguld for Giselle
• Andonis Foniadakis for the Strasbourg opera production’s of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s les Boréades
• Tony Fabre for the restaging of Nacho Duato’s Por vos muero
• David Nixon for the creation of Ondine to H.W Henze’s music.

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Cao Lu Sheng, Professor of Shanghai Theatre Academy and Ph.D. of Theatre Studies, was an Assistant Professor and editor of Theatre Arts from 1996 to 2004. He is now the Associate Chief Editor of Theatre Arts. His drama play Sun-yat Sen won the award for National Project to the Distillation of the Stage Art in 2005.

In 1977 Cao graduated from the Shanghai Theatre Academy, majored in playwriting in Department of Drama Literature.

In 1989 Cao was awarded M.A. in Theatre Studies from the Shanghai Theatre Academy.

In 1996 Cao was awarded Ph.D. from Department of Performance Studies of New York University, USA.

From 1977 to 1989, Cao was teaching playwriting in Department of Drama Literature at the Shanghai Theatre Academy.

Main Works:

1. Dramas

New Opera: Don Gionanni and Xi Men Qing, staged at San Francisco Arts Centre, USA in 2006.
Drama: Sun-yat Sen, won National Project to the Distillation of the Stage Art (Play) in 2005.
Yong Opera: Beautiful Teacher, performed by Ningbo Yong Opera Company in 2005 China Theatre Art Festival.
Yue Opera: Aunty Yu Qing, performed by Shanghai Yue Opera Company in 2004 and 2005 Shanghai International Arts Festival.
Drama: 93 (2003), performed by National Theatre Company in May 2004.
Gan Opera: Peony Pavilion, performed at Performing Arts Centre of Jiangxi Normal University in 2003 and 2005 Shanghai International Arts Festival.
Drama: Dust On the Ground (2003), published on New Plays, 3rd Issue of 2006, Beijing.
Drama: A Prostitute and Buddhist Monk (2002), performed by Modern Troup Theatre at 2005 Shanghai Asian Contemporary Drama Season.
Drama: The Gadfly, performed at Shanghai Theatre Academy in 2001.
Drama: Tea Man, created in 2001.
Poetic Drama: Don Gionanni, performed by Beijing Central Experimental Theatre Company in 1999
Drama: To Be Or Not To Be, performed at Shanghai Theatre Academy in1998 Shanghai International Experimental Theatre Festival; performed in 1999 Hong Kong and Taipei ASIA Pacific Little Theatre Festival and 2000 Italian Dublin International Arts Festival.
Musical Drama: Wandering in Lhasa created in 1997.
Yue Opera: Story of Chun Qin, created in 1994 and performed by Zhe Jiang Little Bai Hua Yue Opera Company in Oct. 2005.
Drama: Dream of Butterfly, first presented at Shanghai Theatre Academy in 1992 and 1992 Tiny Alice Festival in Japan; it has also toured to six universities in the United Kingdom in 1997, five cities in Germany in 2000 and four universities in USA in 2001, and performed at TaiPei ASIA Pacific Little Theatre Festival.
Drama: White Snake Legend, performed at Shanghai Theatre Academy in 1989 and Singapore International Arts Festival in 1992.

2. Translation Works

Theatre Experience, 1989
Environmental Theatre, 2000, China Theatre Publishing House

3. Writing

Foreign Post-modern Dramas, 2002, Jiangsu Fine Arts Publishing House

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Born in Paris in 1964, Jérôme Kaplan developed a passion early on his life for the plastic arts. He studied at the Ecole de la Rue Blanche, in the stage decoration department until 1987. After that he has been designing costumes and decor for a number of theatrical productions, including Rossini’s «Barber of Seville», Massenet’s «Don Quichotte», and Vivaldi’s «Montezuma» (all three operas directed by Ariel Garcia Valdes). Jérôme Kaplan also designed the costumes for «L’arche de Noé» by Benjamin Britten and «Journal d’un usager de l’espace» written by Georges Perec, with music by Didier Lockwood, both pieces directed by Charlotte Nessi and produced at the Bastille Paris Opera.

Since 1991, he has created sets and costumes for numerous ballets with Jean-Christophe Maillot and les Ballets de Monte Carlo: «L’enfant et les Sortilèges», «Romeo and Juliet», «Cendrillon», «Casse-Noisette Circus» and «Œil pour Œil»; with Jean-François Duroure «L’inaccessible chronique» and with Robyn Orlin «Rock my tutu» for the Ballet de Nancy; with Zhang Yimou and Xin Peng Wang «Raise The Red Lantern» for the National Ballet of China in Beijing; with Bertrand d’At «The Prince of Pagodas» and «Le chant de la terre» for Strasbourg Opera; with Karine Saporta «Les Guerriers de la brume» and «Feu le music hall» »; with National Ballet of Korea in Seoul «La fille mal gardée».

At the same time, he continues an Opera and theatrical career. Recently, he has designed costumes for Bizet’s «Carmen Arabo-andalou» and Mozart’s «L’enlèvement au sérail» directed by Olivier Desbordes and Britten’s «The turn of the screw» directed by Sandrine Anglade for Angers Nantes Opera. For La Comédie-Française Musset’s «L’âne et le ruisseau» directed by Nicolas Lormeau. For National Theater of Chaillot Hanif Kureishi’s «When the night begins» directed by Garance.

His creation has more than once been related to and expressed oriental art elements. Through making costumes for Raise the Red Lantern, he has more understanding about Chinese traditioanl culture and their way of expression and especially known about how to use cheongsam in ballet.

                        

Born in Melun in the outer suburbs of PARIS (France) in 1965

Graduation :
1987: Bachelor’s degree in Drama Studies at Sorbonne Nouvelle - University Paris III (France)
1988/89: Training course «Régisseurs du Spectacle» (Light specialisation) at ISTS ( High Institute of Tecnic Show) in AVIGNON (France)

Main Productions:

• The True Story of the Périchole (2005/2006)
• Undine(2005/2006)
• Le Révizor (2004/2005)
• The travels of Ziyara (2004/2005)
• Don Quichotte (2003/2004)
• Antoine and Cleopatra (2003/2004)
• Foi, amour, espérance (2002/2003)
• Oncle Vani (2002/2003)
• Le Quatuor d’Alexandrie(2001/2002)
• Amphitryon(2001/2002)
• Le Gardien (2000/2001)
• Baglady (2000/2001)
• Terres Promises(1999/2000) etc.

Light Designer Assistant:

1. of Patrice TROTTIER
• NIJINSKI’s Diary
• La Servante
• Dialogue des Carmélites, etc.

2. of Joël HOURBEIGT
• Dalva
• Britannicus

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