(2007/2008)

We witness three (ex-) ballerinas onstage, each of them very different in their relation to classical ballet, reproducing this first non-narrative ballet from the beginning of the 20th century. Putting into question the idea of the ‚new’, looking back and learning from old strategies, how did dance as a stage-art become what it is now. Dance for the stage as we know it now still uses the conventions and strategies as they were developped in the times of Louis XIV at the french court. Deviating from it and moving forward was necessary in order to move away from automatic conventions of beauty and perfection. But now, I find myself in a place where those conventions are no longer a trap, but a utility, a cultural phenomenon, that I examine with this project. By remaking Les Sylphides, and changing the relation between spectator and performer I propose not a simple copy of the past, but a recalling of the essence and spirit of Les Sylphides in order to produce an event that can stand in its own right, resonating the past in a present experience.

photography: anjabeutler.de

Idea, Direction: Nicole Beutler
on the base of the original choreography by Michael Fokine (1909)
Made in collaboration with the performers: Bojana Mladenovic, Charlotte van den Reek, Marta Reig Torres
Artistic assistant: Hester van Hasselt
Music: DJ/composer Alec Smart/Gary Shepherd, based on the original waltzes by Frédérique Chopin
Dramaturge: Igor Dobricic
Lightdesign: Minna Tiikkainen
Production: LISA/ Inge Koks, Nadine Zijp
Coproduction: Dansateliers, LISA and Springdance/Festival, Utrecht
Made possible with the support of the Fonds voor Amateurkunst en Podiumkunsten

performances

1+2 July 2007 at Dansateliers Rotterdam, first showings

20 December 2007, during LISA live(s) in Kikker at Theater Kikker, Utrecht

9 March 2008 at NAI, Rotterdam, www.nai.nl

19 April 2008 at Springdance Festival, Utrecht, Huis a/d Werf, www.springdance.nl