The biennial's 20th anniversary from 20 to 29 November offers a richly diverse programme that embraces the world and its creativity.
Every four years the festival started by Rosella Hightower gives carte blanche to a dance celebrity, so for its 2015 edition Brigitte Lefèvre is artistic director. "Dance is a movement that we initiate but which also transports us," enthuses the woman who directed the Opéra de Paris for almost 20 years. The festival's 14 shows cover all aesthetic bases, with no less than six being French new creations or premières.
An international cast
This 20th festival features the National Dance Company of Korea performing a ballet by Finnish choreographer Tero Saarinen, an indication of its diverse influences, while the Spanish National Dance Company led by José Martinez brings local colour in the form of a spirited Carmen choreographed by Swede Johan Inger, and Brazilian choreographer Deborah Colker plunges us into Russian literature with her Tatyana. And let's not forget American choreographer Daniel Linehan, who trained in Brussels with Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker and here presents a piece based on marching rhythms.
A focus on regional companies
In voyages real or imaginary dance's extended family navigates constantly between worlds, carried on a tide of discovery. Héla Fattoumi and Eric Lamouroux, the new directors of the Franche-Comté CNN, joined forces with Swedish singer-songwriter Peter Von Poehl, while Kader Belarbi, director of Toulouse's Ballet du Capitole, is presenting La Bête et la Belle (The Beast and Beauty), an imaginative revisiting of the fairy tale. The Ballet de l’Opéra de Lyon directed by Yorgos Loukos is performing a nostalgic baroque show comprising three choreographies by Jiři Kylián.
We're all dancers
The Opéra de Paris ballet school run by Elisabeth Platel will demonstrate the exercises students must master to achieve virtuoso level. "We've also asked Cannes-born choreographer Hervé Koubi, who trained with Rosella Hightower, to organise a public Flash Dance." And as the festival is about sharing, there will be discussions, symposia, masterclasses and a Studiotrade platform spotlighting the diversity of independent creativity.
Par Tanja Stojanov
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