Thursday evening saw the premiere of Maestroa quadruple program by Les Grands Ballets Canadiens that pays tribute to classical music. To open their 2024/2025 season, they have decided to combine the eternal composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Antonio Vivaldi and Ludwig Van Beethoven with dance greats such as Jiří Kylián, Stephan Thoss and Garrett Smith. A colorful evening that revisits the classic and reborn it in a new light.
For over 2 hours, the Grands Ballets Canadiens transport us to different worlds. On the one hand, we feel at home thanks to the music that awakens memories and tradition. On the other, we are visually shaken up with new accessories, breathtaking sets and a search for movements that is both profound and diverse.
So the evening begins with the play Little death by Jiří Kylián. Silence reigns, the male bodies inhabit the space, bare-chested, with a foil as a simple accessory. The choral movements and the sounds of the sword captivate the audience for a moment. In addition to the sound of the object, the reflections and shapes it creates make this beginning of the piece bewitching. Then comes the amplitude of the body lines, with always controlled and impressive grand secondes. The choreographer adds his touch to the classical technique with rhythmic, effective touches on the torso, on the shoulders. The knees are not afraid to go inwards, the arms round themselves to defy the aesthetics of ballet, and some folds of the body, once again unusual in classical ballet, sometimes invite themselves into a traditional movement, such as a grand jeté, for example. Throughout this piece, the choreographer’s love of geometry also comes through vividly. The bodies draw shapes, alone or in groups. The precision is masterful, the dialogue and clarity between the performers are beautiful to see. Creativity also plays an important role in the choice of costumes, later in the piece, where wonder gives way to smiles.
The second room, Thunder of silencechoreographed by Stephan Toss on Vivaldi’s concertos, plays with the imagination. The creator first immerses us in a video, lights up our senses with sounds of rain, then depicts a tortured decor, with neon lights, flying umbrellas and funny creators. We are far from the 18th centurye century. And yet, it works. The audience is carried away by this mysterious world where violins and cellos tune in and out of tune to the noises of the city, to a dull sound, like a more rhythmic, more current bass. The bodies harmonize with the different musical textures that surround them and alternate between rounded, bouncy movements and sharp stops, spasms that suddenly stop time. The lights, for their part, further emphasize the different scenes and illustrate well this meditation on nature and man.
To end the first part, the Grands Ballets Canadiens once again distinguished themselves with the work of Mr. Kylián, who once again offers a reinterpretation of Mozart. Six German Dancesthe Czech choreographer launches into burlesque, strangeness and mischief. All clumsy, the performers play to the music, jump, laugh, have fun. Here again, the audience is on the lookout and reacts to the slightest clownish movement. Despite the façade of lightness, the choreographer evokes with this work a tumultuous period, when revolutions and wars were part of everyday life in Europe. We are attached to the dynamics of the exchanges between the performers, to their facial expressions and their gestures, clumsy at first, but oh so mastered. Thanks to a wink with the first piece and a creative ingenuity in the choreography, costumes and accessories, this short but effective piece will surely remain in the memories.
Group challenge
After the intermission, it’s time for the famous 5e Beethoven’s symphony, this time with the American choreographer Garrett Smith presenting his piece Complete. From the start, the creator focuses on numbers with a very large group of dancers who open the stage. Lifts, pirouettes and beautiful lines are then at the rendezvous at the heart of several duets that form and break apart. Throughout the four movements, the use of canons will set the rhythm of the space and the bodies. A risky challenge with such a large number of dancers, but successful and exciting to see. The solos, duets and trios also allow the large harmonies to be broken up and focus on the individuality of each, a subject that the choreographer wanted to address.
In terms of movement, classical ballet is present, but again with subtleties, sometimes rather square shapes, floor movements or even slides. Some rather dry, stopped gestures are very interesting to detect, as are mini-movements that bring finesse to the execution. In terms of scenography, the different curtains and their colors take us on a journey through the music. Sometimes used as a wall to dance behind, sometimes as an exposed partition, they are well thought out and accentuate the different moments of the work. The accessories also add a touch of color, geometry on stage, and especially touch on the issue of self-acceptance, but gently, of course.
To conclude, the program Maestro des Grands Ballets canadiens takes us through different but complementary aesthetics, notably thanks to the classical soundtrack that has been playing and reconnecting in our ears for hundreds of years. Familiarity is born from these sounds and lets us go to the various emotions and journeys that the malleable and very talented bodies offer us.