Fase, Four Movements to the Music of Steve Reich

About the Show

Fase, Four Movements to the Music of Steve Reich, choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s very first performance, premiered in 1982. Fase comprises three duets and one solo, choreographed to four repetitive compositions by the American minimalist Steve Reich. De Keersmaeker uses the structure of Reich’s music to develop an independent movement idiom that doesn’t merely illustrate the music but also adds a new dimension to it. Both the music and the dance start from the principle of phase shifting through tiny variations: movements that are initially perfectly synchronous gradually start slipping and sliding, resulting in an ingenious play of continuously changing forms and patterns.

Having always danced Fase herself, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, for the first time in the work’s history, now passes it on to two new dancers.

Creative and Production Team

Choreography by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker Created with Michèle Anne De Mey  Danced by Laura Bachman, Soa Ratsifandrihana Music by Steve Reich [Piano Phase (1967), Come Out (1966), Violin Phase (1967), Clapping Music (1972)] Light Design by Remon Fromont Costumes by Martine André, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker Rehearsal Direction Fumiyo Ikeda Artistic Coordination and Planning Anne Van Aerschot Technical Director  Joris De Bolle Costumes Coordinator Heide Vanderieck Sewing Maria Eva Rodrigues-Reyes en Charles Gisèle Technician Max Adams

About the Artists

In 1980, after studying dance at Mudra School in Brussels and Tisch School of the Arts in New York, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker (b. 1960) created Asch, her first choreographic work. Two years later came the premiere of Fase, Four Movements to the Music of Steve Reich. De Keersmaeker established the dance company Rosas in Brussels in 1983, while creating the work Rosas danst Rosas. Since these breakthrough pieces, her choreography has been grounded in a rigorous and prolific exploration of the relationship between dance and music. She has created with Rosas a wide-ranging body of work engaging the musical structures and scores of several periods, from early music to contemporary and popular idioms. Her choreographic practice also draws formal principles from geometry, numerical patterns, the natural world, and social structures to offer a unique perspective on the body’s articulation in space and time. In 1995 De Keersmaeker established the school P.A.R.T.S. (Performing Arts Research and Training Studios) in Brussels in association with De Munt/La Monnaie.

Laura Bachman (France, 1994) studied ballet at the Paris Opera ballet school from 2005 to 2011, before becoming a member of the Paris Opera Ballet in August 2011. With the Opera’s company, she performed in classical ballet productions such as La Bayadère, Giselle or Sleeping Beauty and worked with many choreographers, performing in pieces from Wayne Mcgregor, Benjamin Millepied, John Neumeier, Pina Bausch and more. She also toured with the company around the world dancing in Moscow (notably at the Bolshoi theatre) or in Japan and Australia. Laura has worked with LA Dance Project, Benjamin Millepied’s company, for a few month in 2016. From AnneTeresa de Keersmaeker oeuvre, Laura performed in Rain and Bartók / Beethoven / Schoenberg with the Paris Opera Ballet, before joining Rosas in August 2016 for the revival of Rain.

Soa Ratsifandrihana (France, 1994) studied at the National Conservatory of Music and Dance of Paris. She pursued further training in the Junior Ballet with which she danced works of Nathalie Pubellier and Cristiana Morganti. After finishing her studies in 2014, she travelled to Japan to perform Le Baiser from the repertoire of Thomas Lebrun. She met the stage director Caleb Hammond in New York for whom she danced Helen, at the Brick Theater in Brooklyn. In the same year, Soa joined the Compagnie du Hanneton directed by James Thierrée. She participated in the creation of Tabac Rouge which received the Molière 2014 for best visual creation. An international tour follows with stops at the Sydney Festival in Australia, the Chekhov Festival in Russia (Moscow, Saint-Petersburg and Yekaterinburg) and the BAM Next Wave Festival in New York, US. In 2015, she collaborated with Salia Sanou in his creation called Du Désir d’Horizons, a piece inspired by dance workshops conducted in African refugee camps. The première took place in Théâtre de Chaillot in Paris. In 2016, she started working with Rosas for the revival of Rain.

Nerd Out

Read an interview with Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker about the relationship between the past and present of Fase on the FringeArts Blog.

Supporters

World Premiere: March 18, 1982 Beursschouwburg (Brussels)

Production 1982: Schaamte vzw (Brussels), Avila vzw (Brussels)

Coproduction: De Munt / La Monnaie, Sadler’s Wells (London), Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, Théâtre de la Ville (Paris)

Special thanks to Ella De Vos and Stefano Scoli.

Rosas is supported by the Flemish Community and by the BNP Paribas Foundation.

Steve Reich’s Piano Phase, Come Out, Violin Phase, and Clapping Music used by arrangement with Hendon Music, Inc., a Boosey & Hawkes company, publisher, and copyright owner.

Festival Co-Producers: Bill & Joyce Kunkle; Lynne and Bert Strieb; Judith Tannenbaum

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The Fringe Festival is sponsored by The Durst Organization, the University of Pennsylvania, M&T Bank, Getaround, and Parx Casino.

Learn more about our Fringe Festival Neighborhood Partners here.

About FringeArts

FringeArts is Philadelphia’s home for contemporary performance, presenting progressive, world-class art that expands the imagination and boldly defies expectation. Our programming exposes audiences to genre-defying dance, theater, and music performances by accomplished and emerging innovators who push the boundaries of art-making and redefine the artistic landscape worldwide.

Now in its 23rd year, the Fringe Festival is a three-week, Philadelphia-wide celebration of innovation and creativity through performance, visual, and digital art. With more than 1,000 artistically daring performances, the Fringe Festival explodes into every nook and cranny of neighborhoods across Philadelphia. See the full lineup of events here.

Support independent artists participating in the 2019 Fringe Festival by donating to the Independent Artist FestiFund of CultureTrust. This scholarship fund will become grants for artists who need our support to continue their important work! More information on how to donate at: FringeArts.com/festifund.

The Independent Artist FestiFund is a project of CultureTrust Greater Philadelphia

FringeArts Staff + Board

FRINGEARTS STAFF

Nick Stuccio, President + Producing Director
Carolyn Schlecker, Senior Adviser Operations
Amy Kurzban, General Manager

Zach Blackwood, Artistic Producer
Melissa Bridge, Director of Finance
Katherine Borden, Finance Associate
Tenara Calem, Audience Engagement Coordinator
Katy Dammers, Artistic Producer
Patrick Derrickson, Institutional Giving Coordinator
Claire Frisbie, Director of Marketing + Communications
Keighty McLallen, Director of Production
Mary Menchel, Client Services Manager
Porsche Murray, Office Manager + HR Assistant
Christopher Munden, Information Manager + Guide Editor
Kelly Orenshaw, Associate Production Manager
Rachel Swartz Robinson, Director of Development
April Rose, Fringe Festival Coordinator
Georgia Schlessman, Technical Director
Raina Searles, Marketing Manager
Jennifer Shorstein, Development Manager
Evelyn Swift Shuker, Master Electrician

FRINGE FESTIVAL STAFF

Marissa Both, Festival Box Office Manager
Rebecca Hartman, Front of House Coordinator
Kevin Hoover, Festival Technical Director
Sydney Justice, Superterranean
Jacks Katz, Venue Manager, Cartography, Un Poyo Rojo
Megan Schumacher, Festival Volunteer Coordinator
Eddie Smith, FringeArts Head of Audio
Row Walters, Venue Manager, Pursuit of Happiness

INTERNS

Sean Andrade, Graphic Design
Seth Boyce, Marketing Information Management
Carolyn Carrier, Development
Greer Cohen, Programming
Charisse De Los Santos, Patron Services
Sophie Don, Programming
Faith Flynn, Programming
Madena Kusi, Development
Jordan Landy, Finance
Bria Lee, Marketing and Communications
Laura Lizcano, Marketing and Communications
Calder McNeil, Marketing/Programming
Ellie Moonan, Production
Corinne Mastrella Presti, Production
Jacqueline Pothier, Programming
Emma Rogers, Programming
Stephanie Seymour, Podcast
Jack Yang, Finance
Julienne Jordan, Development
Laura Storck, Communications
Helly Manson, Programming

BOARD

Richard Vague, Chair
Jennifer Bohnenberger, Vice Chair/Secretary
Lisa P. Young, Treasurer
Emily L. Bittenbender
Mark Dichter
Denise DiSimone
Anthony P. Forte
David Grasso
David R. Hoffman
Kevin Kleinschmidt
Kathy Lentini
David Lipson
Tom Lussenhop
Clement D. Pappas
Salem Shuchman
Michael Solomonov
Stephen Starr
Nick Stuccio
Audrey Claire Taichman
Max Tuttleman
Paul Wright