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Martha Graham Dance Company
Palais Garnier - from 03 to 08 September 2018
Martha Graham Dance Company
Guest Company - Janet Eilber
Palais Garnier - from 03 to 08 September 2018
2h00 with 1 interval
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Opening night : 3 September 2018
About
In few words:
Pioneer of modern American dance, Martha Graham has revolutionised codes, using the whole body to create movement and connect her dancers with the earth. Almost thirty years after its last visit, the Martha Graham Dance Company returns to the stage of the Palais Garnier with a number of emblematic works from its repertoire: Appalachian Spring and The Rite of Spring, performed for the first time at the Paris Opera; a variation on the celebrated solo Lamentation, featuring a ballerina clothed in a long fabric tube; Cave of the Heart and Ekstasis, symbols of the influence of Ancient Greek theatre on the choreographer’s work. Nothing less than a journey in time.
Experience the work differently
- Opening
- First part 65 mn
- Intermission 30 mn
- 35 mn
- End
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Cave of the Heart
only on 3,4 and 5 sept. 2018
Appalachian Spring
only on 6, 7 and 8 sept. 2018
Ekstasis
Lamentation variations
The Rite of Spring
Performances
Available in audiodescription
Advantages
Full
Available in audiodescription
Advantages
Full
Gallery
Videos clips
Backstage
© Melissa Sherwood
02:16’
Video
A breath of freedom
In rehearsal with the Martha Graham Dance Company
Almost thirty years after they last appeared on the stage of the Palais Garnier, the Martha Graham Dance Company is returning with some of the most emblematic works in ITS repertoire. At the Studio Theatre on Bethune Street in New York, the dancers have been rehearsing for their Paris tour for several weeks now. Several excerpts brought together here offer a foretaste of an evening rich in emotion. From Appalachian Spring to The Rite of Spring, the choreographer never ceased to explore Native American rituals and the influences of Greek theatre. Her technique, based on the famous “contraction-release” draws on the sources of breathing to connect the intimate with the universal. The curves, spirals, and descents of the torso are also movements which raise the same question: how can the body convey meaning? From September 3 until September 8, the 20 dancers of the Company will be in Paris to try to answer those questions.
© Barbara Morgan
Article
Echoing Gestures
Encounter with Nicolas Paul
07’
A guest at the Palais Garnier from 3rd to 8th September of this year, dancer and choreographer Nicolas Paul is about to make history with the Martha Graham Dance Company. For this tour, the company’s first since 1991, he has composed his own vision of Martha Graham’s iconic solo Lamentation, first performed in 1930. A conversation on work in progress with something of a challenge about it.
In what context did the Martha Graham Company approach you for this work?
Did you already know Martha Graham’s piece?
In your previous piece, Sept metres et demi au-dessus des montagnes, created for the Paris Opera Ballet in 2017, the idea of entrances and exits was already there ...
Yes,
I’ve noticed that certain systems are beginning to establish themselves in most
of my pieces, even if, of course, this takes different forms. I’ve always had the
feeling that movement, in itself, has no interest. It’s as if a basic mechanism
were necessary to justify the fact that one is prompted to dance, to summon up
a gesture, to begin or end with such or such a movement. I often draw a
parallel with pictorial art: when the artist begins to paint, s/he takes into
account the dimensions of the canvas. If there’s nothing to set things in
motion, I can’t see the point. And ultimately, this is particularly true of
Martha Graham’s piece: the framework exists, and the gesture springs out of it.
I think that the concept is not enough in itself. It’s only once one has the
outer structure that one can turn to the content, and that things begin to take
on a life of their own. The basic mechanism eradicates doubt and engenders
freedom.
Your previous creations were strongly inspired by pictorial references; is it also the case for this piece?
What is your relationship with Graham’s technique?
I
was trained in the Graham technique at the Ballet School but, to tell you the
truth, I don’t feel close to any technique in particular. I have been lucky
enough, at the Paris Opera, to have tackled many different techniques and
continue to discover new ones. What Martha Graham brought to dance has
permeated everything that has been done since. Inevitably, I’ve approached it
as a dancer with the Ballet. When I undertake choreographic research, I’m not
trying to follow in this or that vein, I’d run the risk of constantly censoring
myself. Apart from the purely classical French school, to which school could I
legitimately lay claim?
For this work, did you draw on sensations you have experienced as a dancer and performer?
As a choreographer, and even more so when one is also a performer, one inevitably draws on one’s corporeal memory. My body has stored up in an unconscious manner my different roles and interpretations. But choreography is also a matter of confronting one’s own experience with that of the dancer, and that is what I try to prioritise. They constitute two different aspects of the task and allow the establishment of a balanced relationship between the choreographer and the dancer. The preparation of this piece can’t take place with the performers of the Martha Graham Dance Company, which has obliged me to carry out the initial task of writing by myself. I am impatient to meet the dancers to rework the material with them and finish writing the piece.
Partners
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The American Friends of the Paris Opera & Ballet
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