Maurice Béjart

See also: Béjart

Maurice Béjart , of his true name Maurice-Jean Shepherd , is a Danseur and choreographer French, born with Marseilles on January 1st, 1927 and died with Lausanne (Suisse) on November 22nd, 2007, naturalized Suisse in 2007. He was member of the French Académie of the Art schools (section of the free members) of 1994 until his death. In homage to Molière, it took as pseudonym the patronym of the wife of this one, Armande Béjart.

Biography

Maurice-Jean Berger is the son of the philosopher Gaston Berger. His/her mother dies when it has 7 years and dream to become bullfighter and converts with this religion in 1973). Maurice Béjart recognizes that this experiment played a determining role in its career, so much from an artistic point of view than spiritual.

In 1987, at the end of an open conflict with the director of the Currency Gerald Mortar, Béjart, in full round with Leningrad, decides not to return more in Belgium. Little time afterwards, the Fondation Philip Morris (established with Lausanne) proposes to him to come to settle in Suisse. Béjart then dissolves the Ballet of the {{S|XX|E}} and founds six weeks later in Lausanne a new company, the Béjart Ballet Lausanne, in particular its pars which considered it too traditional or all at least reproached him for being stopped in its choreographic research to satisfy the greatest number, it on the other hand enormously contributed to the birth of the modern Danse in France and Belgium in the Années 1960 in particular thanks to the generations of choreographers who it formed with Mudra.

Its naturalization

Although it left definitively Belgium in 1987, there remains to him deeply attached. Little before its death, it forms the project to require its Belgian naturalization. For this reason, Michel Robert reveals a letter of Maurice Béjart intended for the consulate from Belgium to Geneva: If I ask for my Belgian naturalization today, it is because I always felt near to Belgium, much nearer than to France which is however the country where I was born. I lived in Belgium more the long period of my life, 30 years! I think that today came time to officialize this indéfectible relation. That I can finally read in the dictionaries and the biographies which are devoted to me, Maurice Béjart, Belgian choreographer, it is my most sincere wish there . This project will not succeed (let us note that several years later, of the options dance are added to traditional secondary education, which gave the “choreographic Humanités”).

In 1970, it founds the École Mudra with Brussels in order to exempt courses of dance to young talents in this Article This teaching will train many dancers and choreographers who will take an active part in the rise of the contemporary dance in Europe. One can for example quote Maguy Marin or Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. It opens then its Mudra school with Dakar, before moving with Lausanne to open in 1992 the School-workshop Rudra, which gives since this date a complete training of dancer over two years. It is one of the most prestigious schools in the medium of the ballet dancing and contemporary.

Choreographer very implied in the medium of the dance, it traverses the whole world with his company. Several documentary was devoted to him. Patient for several years, it has been hospitalized with the University hospital of Lausanne (CHUV), in November 2007 for cardiac affections and renal. Despite everything, it follows the repetitions of its last spectacle the round the world tour in 80 minutes, spectacle of which it will not see the first. He dies in the night of November 22nd, 2007 in presence in particular of the poet François Weyergans. Incinerated, its ashes will be dispersed with its request on the beaches of Ostend in Belgium, its country of adoption.

Distinctions and honors

  • the emperor of the Japan, Hirohito raised it with the Ordre of the Rising sun in 1986.
  • the king of the Belgian , Baudouin named it Grand Officer of the Ordre of the Crown in 1988.
  • It was elected free member of the French Académie of the Art schools in 1994.
  • He was prize winner of the Prix of Kyoto in 1999.
  • Maurice Béjart was also Citoyen of honor of the Ville of Brussels and Bourgeois of honor of the town of Lausanne.

Principal works

Collaborators and interpreters

The royal Théâtre of the Currency had, before the arrival of Béjart with Brussels, a small troop of ballet dancers with for stars Dolorès Laga and André Leclair. The project of Maurice Huisman being to assemble a Rite of Spring which would exceed the level of preceding choreographies, and the troop of Béjart comprising only 12 dancers, Huisman engages a young English troop, the Western Theater Ballet and the three groups amalgamate for the creation of the Sacre . Several of these dancers constitute then the base of the Ballet of the {{S|XX|E}}.

To improve the technical level of the company, the direction of the Currency calls upon the Russian Assaf Messerer. On the musical level, André Vandernoot will ensure of the years during the musical direction of the ballets.

The Ballet of the 20th century did not have “stars” as in the other large companies and the choreographer eclipsed the artists. The dancers and dancers soloists who allowed him to carry out his first ballets in Brussels and to know notoriety are:

  • Patrick Belda, Antonio Cano, Germinal Casado, Jacques Sausin, Vittorio Biagi, Pierre Dobrievich, Jörg Lanner, Daniel Lambo, Franky Arras, Paolo Bortoluzzi, Andre Leclair, Free Romano, Jorge Lefebre, Jan Nuyts, Daniel Lommel, Chechmates Ek, Micha van Hoecke…
  • Michele Seigneuret, Mathé Souverbie, Tania Bari, Tessa Beaumont, Dolorès Laga, Michele Rimbold, Jaleh Kerendi, Louba Dobrievich, Nicole Raes, Andree Marlière, Marie-Claire Carrié, Laura Proença, Nicole Flowered, Dye stick Pinet, Nicole Karys, Duska Sifnios, Maïna Gielgud, Hitomi Asakawa, Angele Albrecht, Rita Poelvoorde…

Bibliography of Maurice Béjart

  • Foreword To dance its life of Roger Garaudy, editions of the Threshold, 1973.
  • The Kabuki , Shinshokan edition, 1986.
  • Béjart : the turning , with Yvan Muriset and Jean-Pierre Pastori, editions PM Favre, 1988.
  • Sudden death, with Gaston Shepherd, Seguier editions, 1990.
  • Béjart-theater, Have-6-Rock , editions Plucks, 1992.
  • One Moment in the life of others - Memories , Flammarion, 1992.
  • Letters with a young dancer , Actes Sud, 2001.
  • Ballet of the words , editions Beautiful Letters, 1994.
  • the Life of which? Memories volume II , Flammarion, 1998.
  • Thus dance Zarathoustra (discussions with Michel Robert), Actes Sud, 2006.
  • Foreword of Large carried of steps of two of Gilbert Greenhouses, Désiris editions, 2007.

Bibliography on Maurice Béjart

  • Gerard Mannoni and Colette Masson, Maurice Béjart , editions Plucks, 1991.
  • Gerard Mannoni and Colette Masson, Béjart by Maurice Béjart , Art Books Intl Ltd, 1998.
  • Antoine Livio, Béjart , editions the Age of the man, 2004.
  • Sylvie Jacq-Kid, dance seen by Maurice Béjart and Colette Masson , Hugo editions and Compagnie, 2007.

Notes and references of the article

See too

Related articles

  • Family Béjart
  • Ballet of the {{S|XX|E}}

External bonds and documents

  • Official site of Béjart Ballet Lausanne
  • Official site of the school-workshop Rudra
  • Card on Internet Dance Database
  • Radioscopy Maurice Béjart, tele files of INA
  • Maurice Béjart, a file of the files of the French-speaking Switzerland Television

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