|
|
|
|
| Sunday, 10 July 2005 |
 |
|
 |
Features |
 |
|
News Business Features
Editorial
|
A classical performance The Ballet of the Opera de Paris is the only one of its kind in the world. Its wide-ranging classical and contemporary repertoire, the youth of its performers and the excellence of its stars have made it a leading centre of dance today.
The Opera de Paris - the name itself immediately brings to mind the rustle of tutus rather than a languid diva. The fact that dance - in this case its Ballet - represents a major opera house, is a very French feature. Let us not forget that the first "patron" of the Opera ballet was none other than King Louis XIV, the leading dancer in the kingdom, an absolute star, who found his title of Sun King after having performed Apollo-the Rising Sun in Le Ballet de la Nuit in 1653. As soon as Louis XIV, a very accomplished dancer, came to power in 1661 he set up a Royal Academy of Dance, the first French institution responsible for laying down the rules of dance and how it should be taught. In 1669 Louis XIV officially opened the Academie royale de danse (the original name of the Opera de Paris) and appointed his personal dancing master, Charles-Louis-Pierre de Beauchamps, as its head. This was the birth of classical ballet. Two major consequences crowned this innovation - the acquisition of an increasingly complex technique entailing the engagement of professional dancers and calling for the creation of a school of dance to train the future dancers of the Academie royale. Established in 1713, again by Louis XIV, the Opera dance school is the oldest institution of its kind. Free of charge from the very beginning, it instituted a competition for admission to the company and to achieve solo roles within it. From the Grand Siecle (the 17th century), French dance dominated Europe. It was taught everywhere in the original version, you learned to dance in French, whether in Moscow, Milan or Copenhagen and soon in New York and in Beijing. The Ecole Francaise was and still is the basic culture, ensuring a universality in its field. Nowadays, indeed, the travelling Conservatoire of classical ballet, still trains the dancers of national Ballets all over the world, in Riga (Latvia), Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo and Bucharest (Romania in this School of dance. The Opera Ballet: A tradition of modernity But such a well-recognised tradition as this must not be allowed to mask the creative vitality which has always characterised the spirit of this great institution, reflecting, in a way, the exceptional place of dance in this country. The Opera de Paris Ballet has continued to develop constantly, remaining at the cutting edge of technique and avant-garde research throughout its long history. It was here that "points" were invented, that the first "suspended flights" were tested in La Sylphide and the first "abstract" ballets performed, evidence of the breadth of choreographic research in the .... 19th century! So the Opera Ballet company has inherited a twofold task: maintaining an outstanding repertory by passing on a living tradition and being open to creative work. Currently in the charge of Brigitte Lefevre, director of dance since 1995, the Ballet is a lively place for choreography, welcoming the greatest choreographers of the day and many foreign companies, embracing a vast repertory covering the romantic period (Filippo Taglioni), classical masterpieces (Marius Petipa) and those of the Russian ballet, modern (Martha Graham) and neo-classical 20th-century works (George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins and Maurice Bejart) and contemporary works (Alvin Ailey, Carolyn Carlson and Mats Ek), while continuing to enrich it with commissioned pieces (Odile Duboc, Blanca Li and Saburo Teshigawara) each season. This balance is unique in the world. "Being in charge of the destiny of a company such as ours", explains Brigitte Lefevre, "is not a matter of conserving a tradition but of valuing an expertise, a memory conveyed by the strength of our performers. For me, it is vital to be part of a continuity in the forum of a dialogue with the past - which is also constantly changing - even if only because of changing physiques and technique. It would be intolerable if we didn't have all these openings which are part of what is, to my mind, the great project for a classical company of today. The ambition, I would say almost the vocation of the Opera Ballet, is to be exciting, excitable and brilliant at the Bastille as much as at the Garnier". A young company With an average age of twenty-five, the company, one of the youngest in the world, is made up of 154 dancers, the majority produced by the Ecole de danse (school of dance), run since September 2004 by Elizabeth Platel. If the Opera Ballet is considered the greatest company of the day, it is in part thanks to its school, recognised everywhere as the best. Formerly housed at the Palais Garnier its growth and success led to its moving to Nanterre in 1987. The famous corps de ballet of the Opera de Paris is organised into "grades" and comprises 13 stars, 15 principal dancers, 38 'sujets', 31 'coryphees' and 51 'quadrilles'. Dancers are promoted up the ranks on the occasion of an optional annual competition, encouraging professional development within the limit of the posts to be filled. Only the stars are appointed by the director from those proposed by the director of dance. In this sense, the Opera is a "corps" in the full sense of the word: the stars have to come from the inner circle... The corollary is that in order to be a star, dancers must rise through every level of the corps de ballet. This can be considered to be the source of the opera de Paris Ballet's present strength, today at a level never previously achieved, not only through the excellence to which every individual aspires, whatever his or her role, but above all by bringing the performer to the fore. A ballet revolution The opening up of the repertory, the arrival of many present-day choreographers of different leanings, such as Pina Bausch, Jerome Bel or Merce Cunningham, who all bring with them an individual style and expertise, the sheer number of performances (146 in total this season, 101 at the Palais Garnier and 45 at the Bastille), have profoundly changed the institution. Performers dance more and each of them has the opportunity to make themselves known for their qualities, especially through contemporary works: the choice of a choreographer sometimes changes the hierarchy and current works frequently put a number of dancers on stage as soloists, rather than a corps de ballet treated as a support for a single star. Furthermore, the trend started by Rudolf Nureyev, who began to give young dancers their chance, has become stronger since the appointment of Brigitte Lefevre. Today, you can see very young artists starting to take on starring roles, even in classical ballets. "The Opera Ballet", says Brigitte Lefevre, "its stars and corps de ballet influence the image of dance today. Dance is not reproduction, each performance makes it evolve. I believe that we have managed to bring about another way of being, which encourages individuality while continuing to be a company with a very strong identity". Courtesy Label France |
|
|
| News
| Business |
Features |
Editorial | Security | Produced by Lake House |
