New York City Center was long the home of Jerome Robbins, one of those who revolutionized contemporary dance. This October 19, for the opening of the 2023-2024 season, it is the Lyon Opera Ballet which has the honor of being invited. But if all of New York flocks to the balcony it is above all to (re)see “Dance”, by Lucinda Childs, created in 1979 and now an undisputed reference. “A work can only live if it is danced and transmitted,” explains Serge Laurent, head of dance and culture programs at Van Cleef & Arpels.
Transmission is a value that we wish to highlight through “Dance Reflections”. » “My piece is a creation that stems from my participation in “Einstein on The Beach,” adds Lucinda Childs. It was revolutionary to bring together several artists to create something. Well, revolutionary for the 1970s. Because, in the history of art, it’s not…”
Lucinda Childs
© Claire Delfino
Childs then asked the musician Philip Glass to compose a soundtrack on which she could invent steps and movements. But the duo also called on visual artist Sol LeWitt to create images for the future ballet. “He had the idea of a film that would be superimposed on the dancers on stage,” recalls Lucinda Childs. He spent hours editing it, then I spent eight weeks rehearsing with my troupe to get everything in perfect sync with what was projected on the screen. It is an extremely difficult piece to dance. »
If in 1979 the reception in New York was cold, “Dance” has become a classic over the decades, taken up in particular by the Lyon Ballet in 2016 and performed here and there since. “I danced solos myself for a long time,” continues Lucinda Childs. When I could no longer do it, I passed it on. But when Lyon asked me to take it back, we had to make a film again with their troupe. So that the work is shown as it was designed. » And it is this version which stirred up New York this Thursday in October in front of an emotional Lucinda Childs at the age of 83.
In the history of Van Cleef, dance has always been a source of inspiration
“Without Van Cleef & Arpels, I don’t know if New York would have been able to see my piece again,” comments the choreographer, whose work is more visible in Europe than in her native America. “We support the projects that we want to defend,” notes Serge Laurent, “because they say something about the state of the world. »
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In the history of Van Cleef, dance has always been a source of inspiration, with jewelry in the shape of a ballerina being offered as early as the 1940s. Since then, the jeweler’s creators have returned regularly to celebrate the heritage of the house. “We support nearly 45 companies through sponsorship,” explains Serge Laurent, “and we also allow some of them to show their work thanks, for example, to “Dance Reflections”. »
We do not choose projects according to their nationality but only for the values they carry
Serge Laurent
New York was thus able to discover “Room With A View”, the show imagined by the collective (La) Horde at the head of the Ballet national de Marseille, which has already been performed more than 70 times in Europe in front of packed houses. Same effect in Manhattan, where the NYU Skirball was sold out to discover this show in the form of a punch against a society which is collapsing and which must be rebuilt. Dorothée Munyaneza, Rachid Ouramdane and Boris Charmatz also came to meet the New York public. Before “The Rite of Spring” by Pina Bausch, danced by the École des sables de Dakar, takes place for three weeks at the Armory on Park Avenue. “We do not choose projects according to their nationality but only for the values they carry,” believes Serge Laurent. What matters is to bring dance to life throughout the world. »
The next two editions of “Dance Reflections” are already in preparation, including one in fall 2024 in Japan. “I asked Christian Rizzo to re-edit “According to a True Story” because it is a show that deserves to be seen and re-watched,” smiles Serge Laurent, a true witness-bearer.
“When it was created, “Dance” was a disaster, people threw objects at us on stage”
LUCINDA CHILDS, CHOREOGRAPHER
Paris Match. What do you feel when you attend the ballet “Dance” that you created forty-five years ago?
Lucinda Childs. It is a very demanding piece for the dancers, who must know exactly where to place themselves in relation to the music and the images since everything is synchronized. So I’m a little worried before they start. But I am still moved to see again the film imagined by Sol LeWitt, which had required so much work. He always seems to arrive at the right time. There is a real balance between dance and video, for me it is a form of perfection.
How was the piece received when it was created?
A disaster ! Objects were thrown at us on stage. People thought they were seeing the same thing for an hour… Nobody wanted to immerse themselves in the concept, to understand that the theme is reintroduced each time in a different way. But time has allowed a better understanding of my work.
“Dance” would even have invented a new language…
I think it’s more of a style, a form of movement borrowed from ballet, a little athletic, but where the dancers’ arms are free. In reality I believe that all the codes of classical ballet are destroyed by my work. However, they are very present. There is the same requirement but with much more tenderness in the final result.
Interview B.L.
2023-11-03 13:48:10
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