{"id":23430,"date":"2020-01-29T10:18:48","date_gmt":"2020-01-29T09:18:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bejart.ch\/?p=23430"},"modified":"2020-01-29T17:35:13","modified_gmt":"2020-01-29T16:35:13","slug":"the-ninth-symphony-a-little-bit-of-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bejart.ch\/en\/the-ninth-symphony-a-little-bit-of-history\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ninth Symphony \u2013 A little bit of history"},"content":{"rendered":"

The idea of a “danced concert” about solidarity and universal love was born in Maurice B\u00e9jart<\/a>‘s mind in the early 1960s in Havana. Back in Brussels, the choreographer created The Ninth Symphony<\/em><\/a>. In 2014, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of The Tokyo Ballet<\/a>, his successor breathes new life into this masterpiece and echoes the poetic message of Schiller: all men are brothers.<\/h3>\n

Maurice B\u00e9jart was inspired by Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony<\/em> and in 1964, he created a piece which reflects his purest instincts and embodies the ideal of a universal brotherhood\u2014somewhere between pre-68 premonitions and a flirt with the sacred sphere. Gil Roman<\/a>\u00a0rejuvenates this “danced concert”, fifty years after its creation<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There\u2019s a revolution in the air<\/h4>\n

At the beginning of the 1960s, Maurice B\u00e9jart witnessed the performance of a young company of Cuban dancers in Havana. The fresh wind of the revolution was blowing through the streets, houses and theaters of the city. The ecstasy was tangible. Exhilarated by the performance, B\u00e9jart let himself get overwhelmed with the feeling of freedom and joy. As waves crash on the Malec\u00f3n, an idea germinates, makes progress and takes shape in his mind. The desire to create grabs him. Yes, it will be a ballet. A symphonic ballet, “a danced concert”. He pictures ethnic groups coming from all horizons twirling on stage. A true experience of brotherhood and universal love. It was all there! Everything but the melody.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Back in Brussels, as he was talking about music with friends one evening, one of them jokingly said: “Why not the Ninth<\/em>?” Instead of dismissing the idea, Maurice B\u00e9jart rushed to find the record. When Beethoven’s Adagio flooded the room, he truly heard it for the first time.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Thus begins the crazy and meticulous analysis of the score. He, who had not studied music, eventually dissected the complex architecture of the work and memorized it. He thematized each movement. The first would be the earth, the struggle to achieve an ideal. The second, the fire, the joy of dancing. The Adagio, water, love. And in the end, freedom, air. Like a chameleon, he ventures into hidden lands and lets himself be guided by wild notes and unpredictable choirs. He sketches steps and imagines group movements: a group of girls here, boys there, a few soloists in the center\u2014with always in mind the idea of a ritual that calls for solidarity\u2014a dance addressed to the community. May 68 is not that far removed. “In The Ninth<\/em> there is dance, music, songs, theater,” he said in an interview. \u201cIt is written that it was a revolution, but I only went back to the roots. In the Greek tragedy, the ancient choir spoke, sang, and danced. The gender separation came later.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Created in a round theater, the Cirque Royal in Bruxelles, The Ninth Symphony<\/em> was danced by the Ballet of the 20th Century all over the world\u2014from the superb Saint Mark’s Square in Venice to the Kremlin Palace, via the Verona Arena and Mexico City, during the 1968 Olympic Games\u2014before being performed again at the Paris Opera, 18 years after its last performance in 1978. It is with a pirated video recorded at La Scala in Milan, that Maurice B\u00e9jart and Piotr Nardelli, his assistant at the time, rediscovered the gestures, emotion and original spirit of the ballet.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n