December 2025 : A Bold and Unifying Program for the Béjart Ballet Lausanne
The performances of the Béjart Ballet Lausanne’s new series came to a close last night, on 21 December, at the Théâtre de Beaulieu, crowning a week of shows marked by outstanding public and critical success. From 16 to 21 December, the company powerfully asserted an identity in motion, combining the legacy of Maurice Béjart with a resolute openness to contemporary creation.
With a program bringing together an emblematic work from the repertoire and two daring new creations, Artistic Director Julien Favreau delivered an artistic proposal praised for its coherence and vitality. The newspaper 24 Heures spoke of “two electrifying creations” that “clearly propel the Ballet into the world of today’s dance,” once again affirming the company’s ability to explore new territories while remaining faithful to its DNA.
The evening opened with OSKAR, a creation by the duo Riva&Repele, described as a work in which “power and grace” coexist. Set to the music of Shostakovich, the clown character, performed by Oscar Eduardo Chacón, moved between poetry and inner vertigo. Confronted with his limits and fears, this solitary figure finds himself surrounded and supported by the full ensemble of dancers, who embody his torments and dreams. The ballet made a deep impression on audiences, captivated by a choreography that was both vigorous and delicately poetic.
After the intermission, Real Love by Andonis Foniadakis plunged the stage into incandescent abstraction. Set to the rhythms of Depeche Mode, the piece unfolded, according to 24 Heures, “a maelstrom of jumping and swirling bodies,” revealing a Béjart Ballet Lausanne that was “sharp, at the peak of its form.” Created en pointe, the choreography particularly highlighted the virtuosity and commitment of the female dancers, whose technical precision, blistering speed and impressive stamina traced an architecture of lines, trajectories and pulsations. With no narrative or set, this extremely physical dance left the audience “breathless.”
To close each evening, The Firebird by Maurice Béjart brilliantly reaffirmed the timeless power of this masterpiece, offering a finale of undiminished intensity. Presented for the first time in Lausanne in its original version, the ballet confirmed, night after night, the brilliance and modernity of Béjart’s choreographic writing. In the role of the Firebird for this final performance, Konosuke Takeoka left a lasting impression with a finely nuanced interpretation, combining technical virtuosity with deep artistic sensitivity, culminating in a finale of strong emotional impact.
True to its mission of transmission, the Béjart Ballet Lausanne also presented, on 18 December, a performance dedicated to Lausanne schoolchildren and several dance schools from the Canton of Vaud. Playing to a full house, the performance offered a young audience the opportunity to discover dance and Béjart’s universe at close range.
Balancing contemporary creations with its founding repertoire, this series of performances marks a major milestone in the company’s artistic journey. In 2026, the Béjart Ballet Lausanne is preparing for an extensive tour, including seven performances at Zénith venues in France and five performances at La Seine Musicale in Paris, as well as other major international tours. The company will also reunite with its Lausanne audience from 11 to 15 June with a 100% Béjart program, presenting La Route de la Soie, for which ticket sales are already open.
