The company
David Rolland studied contemporary, jazz and classical dance. Having obtained his national diploma to teach dance, he worked as a dancer with choreographers Odile Duboc, Béatrice Massin, Blanca Li, Mié Coquempot and Laura Scozzi. In 1997 he founded the gallery Ipso Facto with two visual artists, Jean-François Courtilat and Jean-François Guillon. The exhibition space in Nantes shows the work of young contemporary artists and sets up exchanges with similar structures in France and abroad. Enriched by these different experiences, in 1999 David Rolland turns to choreography and founds the Ipso Facto dance Company with dancer and choreographer, Angela Fagnano.
He has developed his work in a more personal manner since 2004 under the name of David Rolland Chorégraphies.
With his piece “The Readers (a collective choreography)” created in 2004, David Rolland devised a system of public participation (via the distribution of booklets/scores) adaptable to different contexts. This piece was created in close collaboration with the compositor Roland Ravard who then went on to sign the original music for all the company’s pieces. Created in 2005 “C'est bien d'être ailleurs aussi” (It’s Good to Be Somewhere Else As Well) was created with the same procedure of public participation, inviting the spectator to travel to different cinematic worlds. It also enabled a team to emerge outlining the company : for the choreography, Valeria Giuga (already present in previous pieces) and Vincent Druguet, Olivier Heinry for the video programming (with Emmanuel Debare for this piece), Sylvie Debare lighting designer and Cathy Royer stage manager.
In collaboration with the artist Anne de Sterk in 2006 the public was once again invited to actively take part using the aid of “texts to read aloud” and “gestures to make” in a new piece, “Pa Villon”.
In 2008 a new procedure begins with “Etes-vous donc ?” (Are you, therefore…?). On stage the spectators watch 10 to 16 non-dancers and two professional dancers evolve. For this particular type of choreography David Rolland works with Claire Pollet (assistant in “Pa Villon”) and Stéphane Pauvret for stage designing.
To support/ the company’s artistic development, the administrative team is made up of Coralie Bougier, Administration and Communication and Julie Teyssou, Tour Management. As they’re both loud mouths (and that’s how we like it!) they are our first, very critical spectators.
And so that we don’t contemplate our bellybuttons too much, the company has been part of Pépinières Européennes pour Jeunes Artistes since 2009 implying us to host an artist (k.g. Guttman in may 2009, Uri Turkenich in 2010).
Everything is choreographed!
Valeria Giuga : dancer
She was trained at the Academy of Dance in Naples and then joined the company Aterballetto, in Italy. She also worked for various lyrical productions at the Opera in Paris. She’s worked with the ipso facto dance company since the beginning in 2000. She does the contemporary dance training program ex..e.r.ce directed by Mathilde Monnier at the Centre Chorégraphique National de Montpellier. Between 2006 and 2007 she works on the production of "Napoli express" for Benoit Bradel’s company, Zabraka, she lends her voice to "Questio de Dido", Anne-James Chaton’s radio phonic piece and meets Geisha Fontaine and Pierre Cottreau for the production of "Je ne suis pas un artiste".
Sylvie Debare : light and lighting design
Has 15 years professional experience with several companies. Dance: Christian Bourigault, Régis Obadia, Catherine Berbessou, Quatuor Albrecht Knust. Music: Kasper T. Toeplitz, Arthur H, Printemps de Bourges. She also assisted Jacques Chatelet in lighting design and Marc Domage in photography. She’s been working with the company since 2005.
Olivier Heinry : video programming
Studied at the ERBA in Rennes and at HfbK in Hamburg. Creates web sites audio and video programs, sound tracks and broadcasting systems. Collaborates with the National school of Arts in Nancy, the International Association of Art Critics, Hartmann Architektur...For the stage he collaborates with the choreographers Isabelle Schad & Bruno Pocheron (Berlin), Nabih Amaraoui & Mathieu Burner (Berlin/Bourges), David Rolland (Nantes), the Cie Notoire/Thierry Bédard (Paris), Julie Depaule (Paris). He joined the company in 2006.
http://olivier.heinry.fr/
Roland Ravard : sound and sound design
Self-taught compositor from Nantes; has been working on the sound design for David Rolland Chorégraphies for 6 years as well as with Quidam/François Grippeau et Nathalie Rinaldi, a company from Nantes. For a long time he composed with musical instruments, the guitar or keyboards then little by little digital/computer generated sounds took over.
He now uses mainly digital sounds that enable him to explore an infinite number of sounds and noises.
Claire Pollet : video assistance
After an audiovisual diploma she edited several artistic projects (Mohamed Elbaz, Yvan le Bozec...), continuing her training at the School of Fine Arts in Nantes. At the same times she works as an editor, a script, or a computer graphic designer. She joins David Rolland Chorégraphies in 2006 for the production of “Pa Villon” designing the typography for the videos. She is training at the Fresnoy, national studio for contemporary arts in Tourcoing.
http://clairepollet.free.fr
Cathy Royer
Born in Marseille in 1966 she has lived and worked in Paris since 1989. Trained as a photographer at Louis Lumières’s school she has worked as a stage manager and a photographer for Damien Odoul, on the piece “En attendant le deluge”, taken care of Catherine Corringer’s short films, worked as assistant director of photography for a car manufacturer in advertising. She’s behind the camera at the moment for a documentary by Catherine Feunteun. She’s accompanied David Rolland since 2004 on the piece “L'humour des chiennes de garde” (Watchdog Humour) and since the production of “C'est bien d'être ailleurs aussi” (It’s Good to Be Somewhere Else As Well) in 2005 at le lieu unique where she was stage manager.
Pierre Peronnet
A multi-tasking technician and a lighting technician for le lieu unique, La Fleuriaye (Nantes)
Sound manager for various companies: Dromesko (« l'Utopie fatigue les escargots ») and Dorénavant («L'amour d'un brave type » de Jean Paul Wenzel), for the Théâtre des Racines Nées, in Aurillac, « Telaranas » d'Eduardo Pavlvsky, at St Georges theater in Paris, pour « Alarmes etc... » by Stefan Meldeg, for « Les Fédérés » and « Le Festin », Montluçon.
Sound design for Murielle Charbonnier, Celle-ci ou les voleurs de nuits.
Sound manager, lighting technician and driver for two of Footsbarn Traveling Theatre’s tours.
Lighting technician and HGV driver Tréteaux de France, spring tour 2004
Technician at Firkin Crane Dance Center, Cork, Irlande, Colmcille, Adrianne Brown, at Séminaire International « Atravès das arte » Porto, Portugal, Projet International Youthstart, Copenhagen
Head setter, HGV driver and rigger for 18 months at Transit, Clermont Fd
2004 technician for Scénic Ouest
Rigger for RIG’UP, Nantes
Stéphane Pauvret : set design
Visual artist, set designer and filmmaker. Collaborated with stage directors Bérangère Jannelle, Eléonore Weber, choreographers Yves-Noël Genod, François Grippeau, the CCN , Caen (Fattoumi/Lamoureux).
Produced several exhibitions and received grants from AFAA, the prize for visual arts from the town of Nantes, and Villa Medicis’s off site prize for his projects. He’s also a member of Contrechamp a collective, broadcasting artist’s films. In 2008 he co-directed with Bérangère Jannelle in Brasil,, the documentary “Sans-terre”. He joined the company in 2008 for the production of “Etes-vous donc ?”
Anne de Sterk
Born in 1971 she trained in visual arts at university and at the Academy of Fine Arts. She now works in Nantes increasing her collaborations and technical expression.
She designs sonic pieces, unidentified flying language pieces and nodules.
She organises semi theatrical events: les “Textes à dire” (texts to say) at le lieu unique in Nantes and at the TNT in Bordeaux; “Les Sonoguidés” (Nuit Blanche de l'art Contemporain and at Soirées Nomades in Paris, Mettre en Scène in Rennes), takes part in exhibitions (“Le burlesque” at the Jeu de Paume 2005), draws, films and made a CD with prisoners in N antes. At the moment she’s working on new sonic experiences for a theatrical production. She collaborates with David Rolland for the production of “Pa Villon”.
http://2sterk.free.fr
Julie Teyssou : tour management
She studies foreign languages and obtained a Master in cultural exchanges at the Institute of European Studies in Paris University. She first worked for the CNC for the regulatory functions of film and broadcasting in schools before joining the contemporary dance milieu. She then worked for five years
in the dance department at Arcadi where she developed a program of artistic actions and co-organised the distribution. She joined David Rolland Chorégraphies in September 2008.
Coralie Bougier : administration /communication
After obtaining a Master in the performing arts with a dance option at Paris University, she was an assistant in charge of information on the companies at the National Centre of Dance and an archivist/ researcher at the national Centre of Theater. In 2007 she was contracted as an administrator for the dance companies Le 26 (D. Dobbels, C. Sagna, E. Vo-Dinh, A. Richard). She joined David Rolland Chorégraphies in February 2008.
Have also collaborated with the company
Vincent Druguet, dancer
Myriam Berlande, dancer
Anthony Cazaux, dancer
Roberta di Pasquale, musician
Jean-François Garcia, costume designer