LUCINDA CHILDS AND PHILIP GLASS Constellation LUCINDA CHILDS: Actus… + Dance

Interpretation BALLET DE L’OPÉRA DE LYON

ACTUS…
I have worked closely with Noellie Conjeaud at Lyons Opera Ballet as choreographer for DANCE and Grand Fugue.  I chose her to replace me in my solo in Sol LeWitt’s film for DANCE which was created in in 1979.  I’m very pleased to make the creation of Actus . . .  for her with the piano version of  Johann Sebastian Bach’s  sacred Cantata  “Actus Tragicus,”  which taps into the human desire to make sense of chaotic events. The solo is combined with a compilation of excerpts from my works in silence, and inspired by the incredible spirit of the Ukrainian people (Lucinda Childs, December, 2022).

Choreography and concept Lucinda Childs / Collaboration and performance Noëllie Conjeaud / Costume Bruno de Lavenère / Sound and ligthin design the teams of Ballet de l’Opéra de Lyon / Music Actus Tragicus Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit BWV 106 – Mouvement Sonatina – 2’33 – Album Allusions and beyond Piano Duo Takahashi Lehmann version for piano 4 hands – J.S BACH

DANCE
This piece is considered one of the pinnacles of postmodern dance, a minimalist dance form that strips dance of its virtuosity to rely solely on the intrinsic language of the body. Lucinda Childs’ first major collaboration with the composer Philip Glass, Dance was her first major work; performed by 17 dancers, dance and music form a flux in which, to use Childs’ words, the spectator “wants to slip in”. At the same time, the original film by Sol LeWitt (which has been reshot especially with the dancers of the Ballet de l’Opéra de Lyon) is screened on the stage, producing a hypnotic split between stage and background.

Born in New York, Lucinda Childs started her career at the Judson Dance Theatre in 1963. In 1973, she formed her own company, with which she has created over 50 works. Since 1981, she has choreographed more than 30 works for major companies, such as the Ballet de l’Opéra national de Paris, Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, the Ballet de l’Opéra de Lyon, the Pacific Northwest Ballet, the Berlin State Ballet or Baryshnikov’s White Oak Dance Company, and for theatres such as the Los Angeles Opera, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein or La Monnaie in Brussels. Her choreographies are known for their minimalist movements and complex transitions, transforming the slightest movements into intricate choreographic masterpieces.

The Ballet de l’Opéra de Lyon is embarking on a new stage under its new director, Julie Guibert. With more than 100 pieces in its repertoire, the Ballet is continuing with its work to identify new territories in contemporary creation, while maintaining the level of demand of the great choreographic scores. This is the case with choreographers such as William Forsythe, who has been given carte blanche, Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker, Mats Ek and Pina Bausch. The Ballet continues its tradition as a company trained in classical dance with a strong commitment to contemporary dance and it devotes a large part of its activity to transdisciplinary collaborations, especially between music and the visual arts.

Choreography Lucinda Childs / Music Philip Glass © 1979 Dunvagen Music Publishers Inc. / Dancers Dance I: Anna Romanova, Jacqueline Bâby, Chiara Paperini, Eleonora Campello, Brendan Evans, Edi Blloshmi, Raúl Serrano Núñez, Leoannis Pupo-Guillen. Dance II: Noëllie Conjeaud. Dance III: Marie Albert, Katrien De Bakker, Abril Díaz, Jackson Haywood, Lore Pryszo, Marco Merenda, Erik Sosa Sánchez, Giacomo Todeschi. Cover: Merel Van Heeswijk + Yan Leiva /Costumes A. Christina Giannini / Lighting Beverly Emmons / Original design of the film Sol LeWitt / Film shot again by Marie-Hélène Rebois in the same way as the original with the dancers of the Ballet de l’Opéra de Lyon / Camera operators Hélène Louvart; Script Anne Abeille; Edition Jocelyne Ruiz / Special effects Philippe Perrot

With the collaboration

CONVERSATION AFTER THE SHOW: March 3. Conducted by Bàrbara Raubert (journalist and Dance History teacher)

INTRODUCTORY SESSION TO THE SHOW ONE HOUR BEFORE THE FUNCTION: March 4 (saturday), by Àngels Margarit (choreographer and Mercat de les Flors director) and Bàrbara Raubert

Enjoy a 30% discount on the purchase of your ticket by purchasing the Lucinda Childs PACK here!