Choreography: Giorgio Madia
Costumes: Henri Davila
World Premiere
14. June 2024
Béjart Ballet Lausanne
Theatre de Beaulieu Lausanne
“I am extremely happy and proud to have been invited for the second time to create a new ballet for the BBL. With SWAN SONG, I wanted to pay tribute to my first and main mentor, Maurice Béjart, as a true ‘return to the roots.’ Using excerpts from his interviews, I developed the concepts that most influenced my artistic formation and transformed them into a choreography that makes his valuable artistic legacy tangible.
For this new production, I wanted to address the company by expressing what I would have liked to see on stage as a spectator.
One of Béjart’s main credos throughout his career was the concept of vital, festive, and archaic energy in dance. He understood that dance, as a festive event born from a primordial impulse, is spiritual. It is in this very essence that its beauty and charm reside.
To celebrate this vision, I chose a composition that celebrates its centennial this year: RHAPSODY IN BLUE by George Gershwin.
What inspires me in this composition is its lack of defined form. The composer’s total freedom, ranging from classical to jazz, allows me to use different dance forms and languages, distant from one another, with no other justification than that suggested by the music itself. Gershwin describes his composition as a kind of multicolored fantasy, a musical kaleidoscope representing a cultural melting pot. From a choreographic perspective, I would consider it a Scherzo or a Folly.
The concept of ‘capriccio’ often evokes the idea that a folly is ‘a folly in the eyes of the spectator. ‘It is not the aesthetics of the body but the aesthetics of the music through the body. Taking into account the global themes of 2024, I am aware that creating something frivolous represents the height of luxury. But I aspire to celebrate the beauty and power of music, as a direct expression of the soul, by humbly and proudly placing myself at its service. Perhaps in the spirit of the 1924 composition.”
‘Dance is the most powerful means of expression of the human soul.’ — Maurice Béjart.
Giorgio Madia
