Annonciation / Torpeur / Noces

The dance department opens the 2024/25 season with a three-part dance evening by the great French master of modern ballet, Angelin Preljocaj. His company, Ballet Preljocaj, revives two of his great classics, NOCES from 1989 and ANNONCIATION from 1995, and combines them with one of his latest creations: From large ensemble pieces to intimate duets, this evening shows the diversity of Angelin Preljocaj's choreographic signature and draws a unique line between past and present. The 20-minute pas de deux ANNONCIATION, in which the sacred moment of the Immaculate Conception is questioned to Vivaldi's Magnificat and electro-acoustic sounds, marks the beginning of the evening. A captivating female duo between ecstasy and pain that plays with the symbolism of the Annunciation. In contrast, ten dancers in TORPEUR explore the physical state of inertia with painterly virtuosity and abstraction. After an intermission, the evening culminates with NOCES, a radical homage to the Ballets Russes, in one of Angelin Preljocaj's most famous choreographies. Accompanied by Stravinsky's music, the piece addresses patriarchal family systems and unleashes the full force of not only the real bodies of the ten dancers on stage. ANNONCIATION (1995) / duration 20 minutes Choreography & stage: Angelin Preljocaj // Music: Stéphane Roy (Crystal Music), Antonio Vivaldi (Magnificat) // Musical interpretation: Ensemble international de Lausanne / Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne // Costume: Nathalie Sanson // Lighting: Jacques Chatelet // Dance: Mirea Delogu (Angel) & Verity Jacobsen (Marie) Created in residence at the TNDI Châteauvallon - Toulon / Winner of the Bessie Award 1997 at the 13th edition of the New York Dance & Performance Award TORPEUR (2023) / Duration 30 minutes Choreography: Angelin Preljocaj // Music: 79D Costume Elenora Peronetti // Lighting: Éric Soyer // Dance: Mirea Delogu, Antoine Dubois, Chloé Fagot, Clara Freschel, Verity Jacobsen, Florette Jager, Erwan Jean-Pouvreau, Yu-Hua Lin, Florine Pegat-Toquet, Jack Rexhausen, Simon Ripert, Valen Rivat-Fournier Co-production: Montpellier Danse Festival 2023 Intermission / Break (duration 20 minutes) Break (20 minutes) NOCES (1989) / duration 30 minutes Choreography: Angelin Preljocaj // Music Igor Stravinsky, interpreted by Les Percussions de Strasbourg & Chœur contemporain d'Aix-en-Provence // Costume: Caroline Anteski // Lighting: Jacques Chatelet // Dance: Mirea Delogu, Antoine Dubois, Chloé Fagot, Clara Freschel, Verity Jacobsen, Florette Jager, Erwan Jean-Pouvreau, Yu-Hua Lin, Simon Ripert, Valen Rivat-Fournier A work commissioned by the Biennale nationale de danse du Val-de-Marne 1989 Co-production: Maison des Arts de Créteil, TNDI Châteauvallon - Toulon, Alpha - FNAC, Arsenal - Metz, Centre National des Arts d'Ottawa Assistance & Deputy Artistic Director: Youri Aharon Van den Bosch // Rehearsal assistance: Cécile Médour Choreologie Dany Lévêque