Dominique Mercy
Dominique Mercy has been a dancer at the Tanztheater Wuppertal for 45 years. He is involved in the creation of 32 pieces by Pina Bausch. Pina Bausch dies in 2009. Dominique Mercy takes over the artistic direction of Tanztheater Wuppertal for four years, together with Robert Sturm.
Information
1973 to 2018 | member (with some breaks) of the Tanztheater Wuppertal |
2009 to 2020 | member of the Advisory Board of the Pina Bausch Foundation |
2009 to 2013 | Artistic Director of Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, together with Robert Sturm |
Biography
Dominique Mercy
was born in 1950 in Mauzac, France, and received his first dance lessons from the age of six from Mme Dupradeau in Talence. For three further years he studied with Mme Germaine Lalande and in 1965 joined the Grand-Théâtre de Bordeaux. In 1968 he switched to Amiens to the newly formed Ballet Théâtre Contemporain under the direction of Jean-Albert Cartier and Françoise Adret, who were interested in collaboration between choreographers, painters and composers. Mercy danced in pieces by choreographers including Adret, Félix Blaska, Jean Bailée, John Butler, Michel Descombey and George Skibine. Manuel Alum from the Paul Sanasardo Dance Company in New York came as a guest teacher and in 1972 invited him to the Saratoga Summer Festival. Here he met Pina Bausch, who was showing her choreography Philips 836885 D.S.Y. and teaching in Saratoga. He identified with her movements and had the feeling he’d finally found his artistic home. He was therefore delighted when she invited him to Wuppertal to join her new company in 1973 along with Malou Airaudo.
Wuppertal: coming and going
Pina Bausch worked on the principle that things which are not yet art are at least as important as things which already are – if not more so. When Mercy was unable to stop a coughing fit during rehearsals for her first Wuppertal choreography Fritz, together with him she developed it into an outlandish coughing dance. He soon became one of the most important protagonists in the new dance theatre company, taking leading roles in the two Gluck operas Iphigenia on Tauris and Orpheus and Eurydice. When Pina Bausch began to alter her working methods, asking her dancers questions, he went with her as a matter of course. Nevertheless he left the company in 1975 and 1978, founding the Ensemble La Main with Malou Airaudo, Héléna Pikon, Jacques Patarozzi and Dana Sapiro, and working with Carolyn Carlson at the Paris Opera on the productions Wind-Water-Sand and The Architects. And yet every time he returned to Wuppertal with more conviction than ever.
Ideal Collaboration
Over time Pina Bausch and Dominique Mercy developed an ideal form of collaboration. Both loved small, rapid disturbances. Anyone who has seen his floundering Kaspar in Two Cigarettes In The Dark has encountered not just a comic figure but also a human being in profound distress. His solos were almost always ambivalent, knife-edge performances. He especially rated figures with a slight kink or defect. ‘Sad little fellows,’ as he himself said, and worryingly strange oddballs, were his speciality – and repeated roles en travestie. In this way he rose to be one of the most outstanding soloists in the company. Despite this he still found time for other activities. From 1988 to 2009 he taught at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen. In 1999 he created the duo Petit psaume du Matin with Jodef Nadj. In 2003 Régis Obadia made a documentary film about him, Dominique Mercy danse Pina Bausch.
When Pina Bausch died in 2009 he took over the artistic direction of the Tanztheater Wuppertal till 2013, together with Robert Sturm, thus securing the continuation of her artistic legacy. To this day he still works on revivals and new productions of repertory pieces. For his work he has been awarded prizes such as the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, the Bessie Award, the Légion d‘honneur and since 2022 Officier des Arts et des Lettres.
Text by Norbert Servos
Translated by Steph Morris
Gallery
Premieres
Piece | Fritz |
Date | 5 January 1974 |
Venue | Opernhaus Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany |
Choreografische Assistenz | Hans Pop |
Dance | Carlos Orta |
Catherine Denisot | |
Charlotte Butler | |
Dominique Mercy | |
Ed Kortlandt | |
Gabriel Sala | |
Heinz Samm | |
Jan Minařík | |
John Giffin | |
João Penalva | |
Malou Airaudo | |
Marlis Alt | |
Monika Sagon | |
Monika Wacker | |
Riitta Laurikainen | |
Tjitske Broersma | |
Vivienne Newport | |
Wolf-Werner Wolf | |
Stagehand | Helmut Kühne |
Lighting | Hans-Joachim Deinert |
Make-up | Heinz Dildey |
Sound | Horst Kersten |
Artistic director | Pina Bausch |
Ballet master | Hans-Dieter Klos |
Repetition | Werner Precht |
Technical direction | Rolf Bachmann |
Stage manager | Werner Hartkopf |
Source of cast | Evening leaflet for “Fritz” by Pina Bausch, “Rodeo” by Agnes de Mille and “The green Table” by Kurt Jooss in in Wuppertal, Jan. 5, 1974 |
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Piece | Iphigenie auf Tauris |
Date | 21 April 1974 |
Venue | Opernhaus Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany |
Dance | Barbara Passow-Diekamp |
Barry Wilkinson | |
Colleen Finneran-Meessmann | |
Dominique Mercy | |
Ed Kortlandt | |
Hans Pop | |
Hiltrud Blanck | |
Jan Minařík | |
Josephine Ann Endicott | |
Lajos Horvath | |
Malou Airaudo | |
Margaret Huggenberger | |
Marlis Alt | |
Matthias Schmidt | |
Monika Wacker | |
Stephanie Macoun | |
Sue Cooper | |
Vivienne Newport | |
Yolanda Meier | |
Singer | Bozena Kinasz |
Elena Bajew | |
Hartmut Bauer | |
Heikki Siukola | |
Klaus Kettenbach | |
Luigi Lega | |
Choir | Jiri Kubica |
Werner Wilke | |
Stagehand | Paul Aron |
Lighting | Hans-Joachim Deinert |
Make-up | Heinz Dildey |
Sound | Horst Kersten |
Souffleuse | Gertrud Bürkle |
Technical direction | Rolf Bachmann |
Stage manager | Herbert Görsch |
Source of cast | Insert for “Iphigenie auf Tauris” by Pina Bausch in in Wuppertal, season 1973/74 |
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Piece | Adagio – Five Songs by Gustav Mahler |
Date | 8 December 1974 |
Venue | Opernhaus Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany |
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Piece | I'll Do You In… |
Date | 8 December 1974 |
Venue | Opernhaus Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany |
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Piece | Orpheus und Eurydike |
Date | 23 May 1975 |
Venue | Opernhaus Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany |
Dance | Barbara Passow-Diekamp |
Barry Wilkinson | |
Colleen Finneran-Meessmann | |
Dominique Mercy | |
Heinz Samm | |
Hiltrud Blanck | |
Jan Minařík | |
Lajos Horvath | |
Laszlo Fenyves | |
Malou Airaudo | |
Margaret Huggenberger | |
Marlis Alt | |
Michael Diekamp | |
Monika Sagon | |
Monika Wacker | |
Pedro José Mascarello Bisch | |
Stephanie Macoun | |
Sue Cooper | |
Tjitske Broersma | |
Vivienne Newport | |
Yolanda Meier | |
Singer | Bozena Kinasz |
Kristina Eckert | |
Lois White | |
Choir | Werner Wilke |
Stagehand | Helmut Kühne |
Lighting | Hans-Joachim Deinert |
Make-up | Heinz Dildey |
Sound | Horst Kersten |
Souffleuse | Else Hildesheim |
Ballet master | Hans-Dieter Klos |
Ballettkorrepetition | Werner Precht |
Technical direction | Rolf Bachmann |
Stage manager | Walter Maiser |
Source of cast | Booklet for “Orpheus und Eurydike” by Pina Bausch in in Wuppertal, May 23, 1975 |
Evening leaflet for “Orpheus und Eurydike” by Pina Bausch in in Wuppertal, May 23, 1975 |
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Piece | Renate wandert aus (Renate Emigrates) |
Date | 30 December 1977 |
Venue | Opernhaus Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany |
Dance | Anne Marie Benati |
Arnaldo Alvarez | |
Barbara Passow-Diekamp | |
Dana Sapiro | |
Dominique Mercy | |
Ed Kortlandt | |
Erich Leukert | |
Fernando Cortizo | |
Heinz Samm | |
Hiltrud Blanck | |
Héléna Pikon | |
Jacques Patarozzi | |
Jan Minařík | |
John Giffin | |
Josephine Ann Endicott | |
Luis P. Layag | |
Malou Airaudo | |
Mari Di Lena | |
Marion Cito | |
Marlis Alt | |
Monika Sagon | |
Monika Wacker | |
Tjitske Broersma | |
Vivienne Newport | |
Yolanda Meier | |
Stagehand | Paul Aron |
Lighting | Hans-Joachim Deinert |
Make-up | Heinz Dildey |
Sound | Horst Kersten |
Costume assistant | Ortrud Himmelreich |
Ballet master | Egbert Strolka |
Jean Cébron | |
Ballettkorrepetition | Werner Precht |
Technical direction | Rolf Bachmann |
Workshop management | Leo Haase |
Stage manager | Herbert Görsch |
Props | Günther Fränzel |
Source of cast | Evening leaflet for “Renate wandert aus (Renate Emigrates)” by Pina Bausch in in Wuppertal, Dec. 30, 1977 |
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Piece | He Takes Her by The Hand and Leads Her Into the Castle, The Others Follow |
Date | 22 April 1978 |
Venue | Schauspielhaus Bochum Bochum Germany |
Dance | Dominique Mercy |
Jan Minařík | |
Josephine Ann Endicott | |
Vivienne Newport | |
Actor | Hans Dieter Knebel |
Mechthild Großmann | |
Rudolph Lauterburg | |
Soňa Červená | |
Vitus Zeplichal | |
Volker Spengler | |
Lighting | Egon Jendrian |
Make-up | Baldo Pazzaglia |
Costume assistant | Alois Bürger |
Magdalene Jacke | |
Technical direction | Horst Gehringer |
Stage manager | Gerd Beiderbeck |
Props | Rainer Peters |
Walter Ludwig | |
Source of cast | Booklet for “He Takes Her by The Hand and Leads Her Into the Castle, The Others Follow” by Pina Bausch and “He Takes Her by The Hand and Leads Her Into the Castle, The Others Follow” by Pina Bausch with Tanztheater Wuppertal in in Bochum, 04/22/1978 – 04/23/1978 |
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Piece | Café Müller |
Date | 20 May 1978 |
Venue | Opernhaus Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany |
Dance | Dominique Mercy |
Jan Minařík | |
Malou Airaudo | |
Meryl Tankard | |
Pina Bausch | |
Rolf Borzik |
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Piece | Bandoneon |
Date | 21 December 1980 |
Venue | Opernhaus Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany |
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Piece | Nelken (Carnations) |
Date | 30 December 1982 |
Venue | Opernhaus Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany |
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Piece | Auf dem Gebirge hat man ein Geschrei gehört (On the Mountain a Cry Was Heard) |
Date | 13 May 1984 |
Venue | Schauspielhaus Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany |
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Piece | Two Cigarettes in the Dark |
Date | 31 March 1985 |
Venue | Schauspielhaus Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany |
Dance | Bénédicte Billiet |
Dominique Duszynski | |
Dominique Mercy | |
Francis Viet | |
Héléna Pikon | |
Jakob Haahr Andersen | |
Jan Minařík | |
Jean-François Duroure | |
Josephine Ann Endicott | |
Kyomi Ichida | |
Actor | Mechthild Großmann |
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Piece | Viktor |
Date | 14 May 1986 |
Venue | Schauspielhaus Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany |
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Piece | Ahnen |
Date | 21 March 1987 |
Venue | Schauspielhaus Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany |
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Piece | Palermo Palermo |
Date | 17 December 1989 |
Venue | Opernhaus Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany |
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Piece | Tanzabend II |
Date | 27 April 1991 |
Venue | Schauspielhaus Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany |
Dance | Anne Marie Benati |
Barbara Kaufmann | |
Beatrice Libonati | |
Bernd Uwe Marszan | |
Dominique Mercy | |
Dulce Pessoa | |
Finola Cronin | |
Francis Viet | |
Geraldo Si Loureiro | |
Jakob Haahr Andersen | |
Jan Minařík | |
Janusz Subicz | |
Julie Anne Stanzak | |
Julie Shanahan | |
Kyomi Ichida | |
Marigia Maggipinto | |
Mariko Aoyama | |
Mark Alan Wilson | |
Nazareth Panadero | |
Quincella Swyningan | |
Thomas Duchatelet | |
Urs Kaufmann | |
Set design assistant | Helga Schnüttgen |
Lighting | Johan Delaere |
Make-up | Carla Terhardt |
Management | Matthias Schmiegelt |
Organizational staff | Claudia Irman |
Technical direction | Johan Delaere |
Lighting direction | Wolfgang Lauber |
Leitung Kostüm | Evelyn Schönwald |
Leitung Requisite | Herbert Kuhn |
Workshop management | Leo Haase |
Stage manager | Peter Lütke |
Cloakroom | Harald Boll |
Rosemarie Hess | |
Source of cast | Booklet for “Tanzabend II” by Pina Bausch in in Wuppertal, April 27, 1991 |
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Piece | Das Stück mit dem Schiff (The Piece with the Ship) |
Date | 16 January 1993 |
Venue | Opernhaus Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany |
Dance | Aida Vainieri |
Barbara Kaufmann | |
Beatrice Libonati | |
Bernd Uwe Marszan | |
Dominique Mercy | |
Felix Ruckert | |
Francis Viet | |
Geraldo Si Loureiro | |
Hans Beenhakker | |
Héléna Pikon | |
Jakob Haahr Andersen | |
Jan Minařík | |
Janusz Subicz | |
Jean Laurent Sasportes | |
Julie Anne Stanzak | |
Julie Shanahan | |
Marigia Maggipinto | |
Mariko Aoyama | |
Nazareth Panadero | |
Quincella Swyningan | |
Ruth Amarante | |
Thomas Duchatelet | |
Musician | Matthias Burkert |
Set design assistant | Helga Schnüttgen |
Lighting | Klaus Weiz |
Make-up | Frank Pohler |
Sound | Frank Strätker |
Klaus Grimm | |
Management | Matthias Schmiegelt |
Organizational staff | Claudia Irman |
Ballet master | Agnes Pallai |
Brian Bertscher | |
Christine Kono-Pohlmann | |
Technical direction | Dieter Simon |
Klaus Weiz | |
Manfred Marczewski | |
Leitung Bühnentechnik | Manfred Marczewski |
Peter Ernestus | |
Lighting direction | Siegfried Schuchmann |
Leitung Kostüm | Evelyn Schönwald |
Leitung Requisite | Herbert Kuhn |
Workshop management | Leo Haase |
Stage manager | Jürgen Schneidenbach |
Cloakroom | Andreas Maier |
Harald Boll | |
Rosemarie Hess | |
Source of cast | Evening leaflet for “Das Stück mit dem Schiff (The Piece with the Ship)” by Pina Bausch in in Wuppertal, Jan. 16, 1993 |
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Piece | Ein Trauerspiel |
Date | 12 February 1994 |
Venue | Schauspielhaus Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany |
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Piece | Danzón |
Date | 13 May 1995 |
Venue | Opernhaus Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany |
Dance | Aida Vainieri |
Andrey Berezin | |
Antonio Carallo | |
Barbara Kaufmann | |
Cristiana Morganti | |
Daphnis Kokkinos | |
Dominique Mercy | |
Jan Minařík | |
Marigia Maggipinto | |
Pina Bausch | |
Regina Advento | |
Actor | Mechthild Großmann |
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Piece | Nur Du (Only You) |
Date | 11 May 1996 |
Venue | Schauspielhaus Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany |
Dance | Aida Vainieri |
Andrey Berezin | |
Barbara Kaufmann | |
Bernd Uwe Marszan | |
Chrystel Guillebeaud | |
Daphnis Kokkinos | |
Dominique Mercy | |
Eddie Martinez | |
Elena Adaeva | |
Fernando Suels Mendoza | |
Héléna Pikon | |
Jan Minařík | |
Jean-Guillaume Weis | |
Julie Anne Stanzak | |
Julie Shanahan | |
Kyomi Ichida | |
Michael Whaites | |
Nazareth Panadero | |
Rainer Behr | |
Regina Advento | |
Ruth Amarante | |
Stephan Brinkmann | |
Set design assistant | Helga Schnüttgen |
Management | Matthias Schmiegelt |
Collaborator | Claudia Irman |
Manfred Marczewski | |
Peter Ernestus | |
Volker Lünenschloß | |
Source of cast | Booklet for “Nur Du (Only You)” by Pina Bausch in in Wuppertal, May 11, 1996 |
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Piece | Der Fensterputzer (The Window Washer) |
Date | 12 February 1997 |
Venue | Opernhaus Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany |
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Piece | Masurca Fogo |
Date | 4 April 1998 |
Venue | Schauspielhaus Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany |
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Piece | Bluebeard's Castle |
Date | 25 July 1998 |
Venue | Théâtre de l'Archevêché Aix-en-Provence France |
Dance | Andrey Berezin |
Dominique Mercy | |
Fernando Suels Mendoza | |
Jan Minařík | |
Josephine Ann Endicott | |
Julie Shanahan | |
Marlis Alt | |
Rainer Behr | |
Raphaëlle Delaunay | |
Singer | Laszló Polgár |
Violeta Urmana |
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Piece | Wiesenland |
Date | 5 May 2000 |
Venue | Schauspielhaus Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany |
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Piece | Água |
Date | 12 May 2001 |
Venue | Opernhaus Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany |
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Piece | For the Children of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow |
Date | 25 April 2002 |
Venue | Schauspielhaus Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany |
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Piece | Ten Chi |
Date | 8 May 2004 |
Venue | Schauspielhaus Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany |
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Piece | Vollmond (Full Moon) |
Date | 11 May 2006 |
Venue | Schauspielhaus Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany |
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Piece | "... como el musguito en la piedra, ay si, si, si ..." (Like Moss on the Stone) |
Date | 12 June 2009 |
Venue | Opernhaus Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany |
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