Michael Lazic

director/choreographer

At the age of seven, Michael Lazic started with Thai chi and martial arts, then switched to Olympic gymnastics and became an electronics engineer. In private schools he qualified in classical and modern dance. He became a professional dancer in companies in Brussels, Charleroi, Germany and France.

- 1996-2002: Start of dance career in various companies at home and abroad: like Schwerin
Staatstheater and Malaika Kusumi dans theater Frankfurt
-2003 co-choreographer with Marc Bogaerts for Ballet of Flanders
-2004 guest dancer Ballet of Flanders
-2005 guest dancer Tokio Ballet for Maurice Bejarts Kabuki
-2007 start choreographic career
-2007 dance short film 'Cocoon' directed by Jeroen Bogaerts, 1st prizes won in Uthah, Sydney
and Hollywood
-2008 debut production a Body in Translation, première ccBerchem voor het Amperdansfestival
-2009 Staging Reality with Hans Op de Beeck, tour for Dance Week festival Zagreb
-2010-2013 short productions like Pi, Sound extensions, Roses, Swan
-2009-2013 curator arts festival Verni'cage - Oude Badhuis Antwerp
- 2013-2017 organiser Dance aan de Stroom festival (best Flemish amateur dance company)
-2013-2022 artistic director dance theatre company cieMESS
-2013-2016 Artist in residency Theater aan de Stroom choreoprpahed: Black Swan, Soletude
with Jef Neve
, BAch&Brel, Stervende Zwaan
-2018 dance&music production Halleluja with. 6 dancers and Peter Verheslt music ensemble
with vocals by Kris Dane
-2019 dance&music production The 2 Fridas with. 4 dancers and Peter Verheslt music ensemble
-2020 shortt dance film Fallen
-2021-now Artistic leader art site Berkenrijs-Wilrijk
-2021 dance&music production Dancing a Prayer: 70 minutes dancesolo with live music
-2022 creation SkIN

Elles Grzybek

assistant/co-choreographer

Elles Grzybek only started learning classical dance at the age of 17. Two years later she was admitted to a professional ballet academy in Cologne / Germany for professional training. Her path led to Belgium where she danced both classical and neoclassical repertoire and later evolved to dance theatre.

In 2011 she debuted as a choreographer with a first solo short piece choreography, ‘Pi = 3.1415….’. This production was later developed by Michael Lazic in Theater aan de Stroom into a fully-fledged evening-filling performance with 3 dancers. Together with Lazic, they created successful dance performances at Theater aan de Stroom and formed a perfect opposite in their choreographic oeuvre.

Since 2016 she follows Jinen butoh dance with Atsushi Takenouchi in Italy.

Between 2013 and 2016, cie M.E.S.S. was the permanent dance company in Theater aan de Stroom. Lazic and co-choreographer Elles Grzybek created successful productions such as: Black Swan, Soletude (in collaboration with Jef Neve), Pi, Bach & Brel and ‘de Stervende Zwaan’. After three years, cie M.E.S.S. managed to build up an own audience.

After the theatre closed in 2016, cie M.E.S.S. co-operate for the first time together with composer / guitarist Peter Verhelst on the performance Hallelujah, which successfully premiered in November 2019 in the Sint-Anna church in Antwerp. The audience remained loyal to them. During 3 days more than 1200 people came to see the show.

Bart Van Dessel

Technical director

EDUCATION
University Institute Antwerp, 1987:
Licence in Germanic Philology, now equivalent Master's degree in Dutch-English
Aggregate for Higher Secondary Education
- Thesis topic:Filming as an intermedial and intramedial communication process.

TECHNIQUE and light design for:

- Cassandra ( Cie Nadir, 1996; choreography Caterina Sagna)

- Strong Water ( De Beweeging, 2000; choreography Erik Raeves)

- Hikikomori ( Inti 2007 ; choreography Thomas Devens)

- PI ( Listopadance, 2011; choreography Elles Grzybek/Michael Lazic)

- Lighting design and technique for:

- Esercisi Spirituali ( Cie Nadir, 1998 ; choreography Caterina Sagna)

- Far from Sleeping Dogs ( En-Knap, 1999; choreography Iztók Kovác)

- We'll See ( Alkyonis, 2001; choreography Kosmas Kosmopoulos)

- ONR-I ( ccBerchem & Radical Low, 2006; choreography Chantal Eysermans)

- A Body in Translation 2&3 ( ccBe & Listopadance, 2008; choreography Michael Lazic)

- Staging Reality ( ccBe & Listopadance, 2009; choreography Michael Lazic and Hans Op de
Beeck)

- d'Amour piqué d'une mouche à miel ( Vooruit/Transparant/ Coup Contrecoup vzw, 1995;
choreography Samyrra Bafdel)

- Codes of Cobra ( En-Knap, 1997; choreography Iztók Kovác)

- Kata-Ude ( Vooruit & CoupContrecoup, 1998; choreography Samyrra Bafdel)

- Frôleuse ( Ahead & CoupContrecoup, 1998; choreography Samyrra Bafdel)

- Zero Visibility ( De Beweeging, 2000; choreography Dominique Pollet )

- 2 Speeds ( Kraplak Puur, 2000; choreography Erik Raeves)

- Self-Portrait ( Kraplak Puur, 2000; choreography Erik Raeves)

- A Void Of (Alkyonis, 2001; choreography Anabel Schellekens)

- 2.1 (Alkyonis, 2001; choreography by Anabel Schellekens)

- Lighting design, (co)scenography, sound editing and technique for:

- Transit Zone ( support Dommelhof, 2004; choreography Thomas Devens)

- Kievielaviedekie ( Fabuleus, 2005; choreography Thomas Devens)

- Blanco Spoor ( Inti 2002; choreography Anabel Schellekens/ 2 versions)

- Sound editing and technique for:

- Vous Permettez? ( Inti 2002; choreography Anabel Schellekens)

- Hallelujah (cieMESS production 2018)

- The 2 Fridas (cieMESS production 2019)

- Scream of the Butterfly (cieMESS production 2020-2021)