A Contemporary Baroque Ballet
A Revolutionary French Baroque Dance Performance Video
Dance Vivaldi: A Contemporary Baroque Ballet infuses traditional French Baroque dance with modern concepts. Set to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, this recorded live performance dissolves the boundaries between past and present. Blending a historically delicate technique with the vibrant motion of contemporary dance vocabulary, the dancers create a unique expression both traditional and new.
Dance Vivaldi: A Contemporary Baroque Ballet depicts a performance style not usually seen by the American public. It was created by Marie-Geneviève Massé, a French choreographer with an intimate depth of understanding of this music and dance vocabulary. With her mastery of the Baroque movement vocabulary, she infuses this work with perfectly balanced modernity.
This video is a 40 minute recording of a performance by the French Eventail Company (Compagnie l’Eventail).
DVD run-time: 40 minutes
Elegant footwork and gracious hands—the members of L’Eventail are superbly trained Baroque dancers. Kaija Pepper, Dance International
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PROGRAM DETAILS:
Music, costume, dance, and imagery combine to create a spectacular “contemporary baroque” performance that builds a new movement from a traditional foundation. Innovative concepts and phrasing of the dance are in perfect concert with the musical imagery of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. In sensitive synchronization, the dancers’ movements reflect musical themes; visual poetry mirrors the aural experience.
The Eventail Company (Compagnie l’Eventail)
Sponsored by the French government, Eventail Company is an organization for the preservation of French Baroque dance heritage. Their mission is to introduce a broad audience to the vitality of baroque dance through productions that tour nationally and globally. Programs transmit dance culture and develop the imagination through performances, classes, exhibitions, and presentations in public libraries and schools. www.compagnie-eventail.com
Marie-Geneviève Massé, Choreographer
After training in classical ballet, Marie Geneviève studied modern dance with Aaron Osborne, Sarah Sugihara and Françoise Dupuy. In 1980, she discovered Francine Lancelot’s work of on baroque dance; entranced, she became one of the lead dancers of France’s renowned baroque dance company, Ris et Danceries. In 1985, she started to choreograph and founded her own company, l ’Eventail. She has worked with many internationally known musicians, such as William Christie, Patrick Cohen Akenine, Giovanni Antonini, Peter Zajicek, Hervé Niquet, and Christophe Rousset. In 2000 she was appointed Knight of the Arts and Letters (Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres), an honor the French government bestows on those who have distinguished themselves in the artistic and literary fields.
Choreography/Conception et chorégraphie
Marie-Geneviève Massé
Music/Musiques
The Four Seasons/ Les Quatre Saisons
Antonio Vivaldi (1678 – 1741)
Orchestra:
Camerata Bern
Direction:(Violin)
Thomas Zehetmair
Dancers:
Marc Barret
Sarah Berreby
David Berring
Bérengère Bodénan
Olivier Collin ;
Begoña Del Valle
Irène Ginger ;
Marc Leclercq
Marie-Geneviève Massé
Sabine Novel ;
Anne-Sophie Ott
Aerial Acrobat/Acrobate aérien
Volodia Lesluin
Program: Dance Vivaldi
“SPRING”
Allegro: discoveries Largo: encounters Allegro: exchanges
Three groups with different colors and movements fill space and time: fleeting moments and unexpected discoveries, strange encounters and emotional exchanges.
“SUMMER”
Allegro non molto: waiting Adagio-presto: in love Presto: danger
Situations change ever so quickly. In this willful season, poetry can turn into a nightmare depending on the action or mood.
“AUTUMN”
Allegro: childhood Adagio-molto: the past Allegro: facing death
The present belongs to the child, sometimes playful and yet calm. Progressively and slowly, the mists of the past enclose us. Then suddenly, time is gone and man thumbs his nose at death.
“WINTER”
Allegro non molto: making up time Largo: leaving a trace Allegro: dance of mirrors or vanity
Facing eternity is a race against time; the rush to create, to leave a memory, leave a trace that will not melt like snow in the sun …
Premier/Création
April 7, 2006 at the Cultural Center in Sablé sur Sarthe./ 7 avril 2006 au Centre Culturel de Sablé sur Sarthe.
Compagnie de danse l’Eventail Direction Marie-Geneviève Massé
Site : www.compagnie-eventail.com
The Eventail dance company is s subsidized by the French Ministry for Culture, Drac of the region « Pays de la Loire », supported by the Regional Council of « Pays de la Loire », by the General Council of Sarthe, by the town of Sablé sur Sarthe and associated with the subsidized stage of Sablé
DISCOUNT PACKAGES:
2 DVD Set- FRENCH BAROQUE DANCE: Now and Then The Art of Baroque Dance + Dance Vivaldi
2 DVD Set – Ballet: Roots and Invention
Reviews
Elegant footwork and gracious hands—the members of L ’Eventail are superbly trained Baroque dancers…. and the 11 dancers speed, precision, strength, and grace are astonishing. I returned to [the video] more than once, pondering what Baroque movement means imore than once, pondering what Baroque movement means in 2007, and how it resonates in today’s world… Kaija Pepper, Dance International
If you enjoy Ballet or want to enlighten your children, this is a wonderful video that everyone can enjoy. Watch as the performers bring the seasons to life through the art of Baroque dance. The Dove Foundation
Dance Company and Chevalier de l”Ordres des Arts et des Lettres
A haunting neoclassical ballet reminiscent of Balanchines early works. The abstraction of traditional 18th century dance phrases mixed with the fire and passion of Vivaldis music is highly inventive. Catherine Turocy, Artistic Director of The New York Baroque