13 Jan
The Ballets de Monte-Carlo in 2015
December is only just over - a very busy month for the Ballets de Monte-Carlo, with large audiences - but the ballet company is already continuing with its season. Prestigious performances alternate with more intimate moments shared with the artists
In February, the Compagnie des Ballets de Monte-Carlo will open the doors of its Studio for an "Unexpected" performance – a rehearsal for a major ballet, just before an international tour. The "Unexpected" performances ("Les Imprévus") have become very popular over the past few years, and are eagerly awaited.
In April, there's a change of place and scale – the Company will perform "Romeo and Juliet" ("Roméo et Juliette") by world-renowned choreographer Jean-Christophe Maillot. Maillot has revisited Shakespeare's drama of rivalry between the Montagues and Capulets to create one of his most important and well-known narrative ballets.
In June, the "Unexpected" performances will really live up to their name! The audiences won't know what's on the menu until the day of the performance! Jean-Christophe Maillot considers that choreography should be able to bring a programme to life by remaining partly spontaneous. The only way for the audience to find out what's happening in June is to go to the Studio to see what surprises the Ballets de Monte-Carlo are planning!
Shortly afterwards, the Gala of the Princess Grace Academy will take place in the Salle Garnier at the Monte-Carlo Opera. Following their year of training, the students and their teachers will present an evening event on the theme of "Swan Lake."
The young dancers from the Academy, accompanied by the Monte-Carlo International Youth Orchestra, will perform extracts from classical and contemporary dances (by Mats Ek, Jean-Christophe Maillot, Marius Petipa/Lev Ivanov, Marco Goecke, and others).
In July, there will be a special event as part of the Monaco Dance Forum, in coproduction with the Grimaldi Forum. The Béjart Ballet Lausanne and the Tokyo Ballet will give a joint performance of an iconic work by Maurice Béjart - Beethoven's 9th Symphony, with the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Chorus of the Monte-Carlo Opera. On stage at the Grimaldi Forum, several hundred performers will breathe new life into the humanist vision that inspired the choreographer to create this large-scale ballet.
"Summer Dances" ("L’Été Danse") will be back, and will feature some new works. Jean-Christophe Maillot places great importance on the future of dance. He has invited three young artists to create works for the Ballets de Monte-Carlo - the Slovak choreographer Natalia Horecna, with her impulsive world; the Swedish choreographer Pontus Lidberg, with his visionary sense of the body in movement; and Jeroen Verbruggen, with quirky dances that reflect his playful and virtuoso performances as a dancer with the Ballets de Monte-Carlo.
"Summer Dances" will close with "Cinderella" ("Cendrillon") by Jean-Christophe Maillot. The choreographer was inspired by the theme of recognising a loved one. In this lively ballet, he shows us how a fairy tale character is above all a living being, who has feelings and grows, and whose fate moves us.
Also of note is "Crossed Steps" ("Pas Croisés") on 10 July, a dance performance at the Marc Chagall national museum in Nice, another collaboration between the museum and the Ballets de Monte-Carlo.
For more info, see: www.balletsdemontecarlo.mc