Title: We Will Meet Again in Petersburg
Premiere: Presented by the University Dance Company, February 2, 3, 4 & 5 2004, Power Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan., as one of the works in the evening of dances entitled “Dances for Petersburg.” Live music (Shostakovitch quintet) performed by School of Music students under the direction of Jonathan Shames, director of Contemporary Directions Ensemble. The dance was also presented at University Commons, Ann Arbor, in lecture demonstration form; and in the Betty Pease Studio Theater; and in lecture form at the Congress for Research in Dance “Dance and Human Rights” conference in Montreal, Canada, 2005.
Duration: 22 minutes
Lighting Design: Mary Cole
Scenic and Costume Design: Jeff Bauer
Dancers: Shawn T. Bible, Alexandra Burley, Daytona Frey, Natalie Griffith, Matthew Hakim, Kyle Marie Herrala, Leah Ives, Roche Janken, Lizzie Leopold, Mudhillun K. MuQaribu, Jordan Newmark, Ross Oliver, Jessica Sachs, Kristen Sague, Molly M. Schneider, Jennifer Seguin, Christy L. Thomas, Melanie Anastacia Van Allen
Narrator/Poet: Leigh Woods
Poems: by Osip Mandelstam
English translations: Ephim Fogel
Recording of poems in Russian: Oleg Redkin
Video Editor: Jennifer Seguin
Photoshop Editor: Shawn T. Bible
I. Brother to water and sky
Poem: “The Admiralty” (1913) Music: “Piano Quintet in G Minor, Op. 57 (Scherzo)” by Dmitri Shostakovich
Musicians: Angela Yun-Yin Wu (piano), Martha Walvoord (violin), Bethany Mennemeyer (violin), Daniel McCarthy (viola), Christopher Wild (cello),
II. At a terrible height
Poem: #101 (1918)
Music: “Warlich, ich sage dir: Heute wirst du mit mir im Paradiese sein”
(Verily I say unto thee: Today thou shalt be with me in Paradise) from Seven Words by Sofia Gubaidulina
III. Again
Poem: #118 (1920, revised 1928)
Music Collage: “Vieni a’ regni del riposto” from Orfeo ed Euridice by Christoph Willibald Gluck
Collage engineers: Brendan Kirwin, Greg Laman, Christian Matjias
Description: We Will Meet Again in Petersburg is based on three poems written by Osip Mandelstam in the turbulent years 1913-1920. Translations of the poems are by my father, Ephim Fogel. Osip Mandelstam (1891-1938) is one of Russia’s greatest and most influential poets. The dance is set both to the spoken word, and to music by Dmitri Shostakovitch, Sofia Gubaidulina, and Christoph Gluck. It was performed by a cast of 18 dancers who were joined on stage by actor Leigh Woods, UM Professor of Theater, playing the role of narrator/poet.
The dance begins with Mandelstam's 1913 poem, "The Admiralty," which celebrates the creative spirit of man as manifest in The Admiralty Building. This building, revered by the residents St. Petersburg as part of their rich architectural and historical heritage, was built in 1703 during the reign of Peter the Great to celebrate the strength of the Russian navy. In the second movement, the dance evokes a poem written in 1918, (#101, "At a terrible height".) This poem is a dark twin of "The Admiralty” and reflects the disintegration of the city and Mandelstam’s sense of despair during the revolution. The final section of the dance is based on Mandelstam's 1920 poem #118, "We will meet again in Petersburg." This poem reflects a hope for the rebirth of old world culture, and the ascendancy of love, art and culture over war, chaos and totalitarianism. The dance was presented as part of “Dances for Petersburg” at the Power Center for the Performing Arts February 5 – 8, 2004. The evening featured choreography by guest artist Alonzo King and faculty members Delanghe, Fogel, Leney-Midkff and Sparling. Dances for Petersburg was an evening of modern dance set to music of Russian composers as part of the University wide “Celebrating St. Petersburg” festival. The concert featured live music by a variety of School of Music student performers under the musical direction of Professor Jonathan Shames. A detailed description of the choreographic process for We Will Meet Again in Petersburg can be found below. The invited lecture was presented at the Congress on Research in Dance conference on Dance and Human Rights, held in Montreal in 2005 and was published in the conference proceedings.
PowerPoint that accompanied CORD presentation
Program
Flyer
Choreographic journal
