15 years after its last appearance at the Cirque Royal in Brussels, the Béjart Ballet Lausanne is back with two ballets: Syncope by Gil Roman and Brel et Barbara by Maurice Béjart.
The profound attachment between Maurice Béjart and the city of Brussels is nowhere near its end. It started on that day in 1959 when Maurice Huisman, then director of the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, invited Béjart to create a ballet. The Rite of Spring (music by Stravinsky) was thus created and, with it, le Ballet du XXe Siècle—which became the Béjart Ballet Lausanne in 1987.
Designated as his successor by Maurice Béjart, Gil Roman directs the BBL and has maintained his artistic excellence since the master’s death in 2007. Through his research and choreographic work, the artistic director brings to life the company’s repertoire, which remains a creative space, as demonstrated by Syncope.
A syncope, « in music, it is a rhythm out of time. We are talking about syncopated music. In medical terms, it is a stoppage or slowing of the heart. Five to ten seconds of loss of consciousness during which the brain can just imagine, invent or review without limit. » – Gil Roman
Brel et Barbara was created in 2001 by Maurice Béjart. “For the last 35 years, my loyal friend and sister BARBARA has been telling me: ‘I am the black light!’ So I created a choreography about L’Aigle Noir. She then played in a movie called Je suis né à Venise, in which she was given the lead role, a character called the Bright Night, while Jorge Donn interpreted the Sun. I met BREL in Brussels, where I was living at the time with my dance company. He was starring in Man of La Mancha at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie. He told me that ‘Someday, we will do something with Barbara and I’…” – Maurice Béjart
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