When the curtain goes down on a Béjart Ballet performance, audiences all over the world have the sensation of waking from a beautiful dream. Sadly they also share that familiar frustration of wanting to recall each detail, to relive and record on their memory’s hard drive, and being unable to do so. A new book of photographs compiled by Sándor Szabados, Managing Director of Beyond The Lens Publications, promises to enrich the post-theater waking hours of Béjart Ballet fans everywhere with its 150 photographs of 16 choreographies, captured by nine professional photographers. Whilst books have been published on Maurice Béjart, and his successor Gil Roman, there has never been a book published featuring the visual beauty of their actual ballet performances. The hard-cover, full-colour book, printed in 8 languages, was designed and printed in the canton of Vaud, home of the ballet company. It will be available from 3 November 2014 in all major bookstores including Payot Fnac, Manor and Naville and from other prestigious retailers priced at CHF 69.00.
An exhibition at the Cité du Temps from 30 October to 30 November 2014, entitled "Béjart Ballet Lausanne World Tour with Gil Roman”, also showcases some of the photographs and doubles as the global launch of the book, which bears the same name. Click here to download the exhibition flyer.
The new book takes in performances enjoyed in 24 countries, including Brazil, China, France, Greece, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Senegal and naturally Switzerland. Allowing pictures to tell the stories of this globetrotting ballet company in a solo voice is a welcome premiere. Complementing the thrill of seeing the full stage live, each visual record conjures up the magic of detail, be it anatomical, choreographic, or part of a stage set or costume. Images of “Le Sacre du Printemps” for instance convey the explosion of springtime through a focus on dancers’ powerful physical presence. This embraces close-ups of elegantly elongated necks and fingers, as well as a glimpse of dancing shadows as stage lights tease the human form. Shots of “Boléro” capture the mesmerising interplay of an exposed soloist dancer and the accompanying rhythm represented by the perfect precision of the rest of the company. Costume plays a lead role in the chapter on “Presbytère”, where angel wings, black lace and a bridal veil create their own intriguing plot. And in scenes from the ballet “Anima Blues” by Gil Roman, photography emerges as the perfect analyst for the work’s intriguing creative juxtaposition of Audrey Hepburn and Carl Gustav Jung. All of the photographers featured in the book let the language of the eyes speak volumes about the originality and beauty of the Béjart Ballet’s repertoire and its implementation.
Australian-born Sándor Szabados has been a resident of the Lake Geneva area for over 30 years. He is a member of The Circle of Friends of Béjart Ballet Lausanne and has patiently listened to and obeyed the announcement at the beginning of the Béjart Ballet’s performances, reminding that photography is forbidden, countless times. As a passionate photographer he became increasingly concerned that the impact of each performance risked being severely diluted after the curtain fell. His idea to create a book of images to withstand the test of time is something of a standing ovation to the beauty that the Béjart Ballet Lausanne company, today presented by Jaquet Droz, has been exporting around the world since its establishment in Lausanne in 1987. He explains the thinking behind the ambitious project, “Maurice Béjart’s vision was always evolutionary rather than revolutionary – recording the beauty of his creations, and those of Gil Roman, on paper for sharing is my small yet heart-felt contribution to that process.”
Béjart Ballet World Tour with Gil Roman
Available from 3 November, 2015
Retail price CHF 69.00
Beyond The Lens Publications
www.btl.ch
Photographic Exhibition: Béjart Ballet World Tour with Gil Roman
30 October to 30 November 2014
Cité du Temps
Pont de la Machine 1
1204 Geneva
022 818 39 00
www.citedutemps.com
Open 7 days a week from 9am to 6pm – admission free
