Sylvie Guillem short documentary
by FAB Admin | Aug 12, 2021 | Ballet, Latest News
Sylvie Guillem
For the first time since her retirement, Sylvie Guillem gives such an interview at her home, inviting Daniil Simkin to chat amongst olive trees, pastures, and her pets. She talks about her childhood, her relationship with Nureyev, and her experiences at the Paris Opera Ballet. She discusses her state of mind during her career and her current lifestyle.
Sylvie Guillem is one of the most acclaimed dancers in the history of the dance world. With her flexible and strong body, beautiful legs, and rich expressive power, she transformed the image of conventional female dancers. She revolutionized classical ballet, pioneering a new model of classical ballerina. At a time when contemporary and modern dance was not associated with classical ballet dancers, she took on new works one after another and became the multi-talented dancer as we know her today.
The entire 30-minute interview is available for free only on the Dance Masterclass website.
Watch now on Dance Masterclass
Leo Schofield AM Presents Paris Opera Ballet: LE PARC – POSTPONED
by FAB Admin | Jun 15, 2021
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED – ALL TICKET HOLDERS WILL BE CONTACTED SHORTLY
For The Friends of The Australian Ballet in association with Palace Opera & Ballet
Join ballet aficionado Leo Schofield AM for a pre-screening presentation of Le Parc, a Ballet in three acts, specifically created for the Paris Opera Ballet in 1994 by choreographer Angelin Preljocaj.
Preljocaj explores the laws of attraction and the games we play, finding a subtle balance between the classical genius of Mozart's music and the modernity of his choreographic language.
Thierry Leproust's perfectly chiselled sets evoke the elegance and refinement of a French style garden while Hervé Pierre's costumes draw inspiration from the Age of Enlightenment.
Advancing to the caprices of an imaginary Carte du Tendre and guided by strange gardeners, the dancers awaken to love, from first encounters to seduction, from timidity to attraction, from resistance to the sweet appeal of abandon in sublimely soaring "pas de deux". Even today, this timeless work continues to explore the codes of love and the way human feelings develop.
Five Reasons to see Le Parc
by FAB Admin | Jun 15, 2021 | FAB Events, Latest News, Upcoming Event News
Created specifically for the Paris Opera Ballet in 1994 by choreographer Angelin Preljocal, there are countless reasons why Le Parc has become a timeless classic.
When desire is part of the game, the carte du Tendre is also a card to play. Love at first sight and gambles come together in the groves of Le Parc. Marivaux like, Preljocaj's choreography – created in 1994 for the Paris Opera Ballet – reshuffles the cards for the game of love and chance.
Female desire (Così fan tutte), debauchery (Don Giovanni) and true love (Die Zauberflöte): Mozart's scores form the soundtrack for the century of Laclos, Sade, Crébillon and Vivant Denon. In Le Parc, Mozart is Preljocaj's musical accomplice: concertos, quartets and symphonies give rhythm to a work that gives form to the desires of the heart and mind.
Be it the gardens of the carte du Tendre – the landscape of love charted out by Madame de Scudéry or the royal alleys at Versailles where Le Nôtre created the ideal backdrop for all things playful, the garden is above all a secret one when it comes to love.
"Divertimento", "A Musical Joke", "Serenade", "A little Night Music": the pages from Mozart selected by Angelin Preljocaj evoke hours of the day and night – moments in a sophisticated art of loving. Music and dance echo one another: in a conversation transposed into sound, a quartet of gardeners reply to a string quartet. Set to an electronic score by Goran Vejvoda, these little cupids guide the dancers along in a timeless game.
The society of the age of Enlightenment has given way to an entertainment based one: "The world parades and surges across the small screen", says Preljocaj, "and we remain transfixed". And yet, as the French writer Philippe Sollers says, the 18th century was a "forward" one. With Le Parc, the choreographer draws on the source of French libertinage. Dance finds new momentum that brings into perspective the games of seduction of our times.
"A masterpiece. There are dances that entertain us, and then there are a few that have the power to truly move us." Alexandra Desvignes, BACHTRACK
Join ballet aficionado Leo Schofield for a pre-screening presentation of Le Parc on 18 July at Palace Cinemas Verona to hear why Leo thinks Le Parc is a masterpiece of dance.
Image courtesy Paris Opera Ballet
Paris Opera Ballet: Pite/Perez/Shechter
by Jo Michel | Apr 13, 2018
Palace Verona, Paddington
5.30pm – Pre-Screening Talk | Champagne on Arrival | 6pm – Screening
New Production! A mixed programme of works by some of the world's most exciting contemporary dance makers. Canadian Crystal Pite's dazzling The Seasons' Canon, set to music by Max Richter, thrilled audiences at the Palais Garnier last season. Spain's Iván Pérez occupies the stage of the Opera for the first time with a creation for ten male dancers. To conclude the bill, Israel's Hofesh Shechter, often lauded for his telluric, trance-evoking dances, offers a new version of his piece The Art of Not Looking Back. Plus: Programme addition! The cinema presentation will now also include a new work from Switzerland's James Thierrée, who takes over the magnificent public areas of the Palais Garnier and introduces us to his dream-like world.
Student/Pensioner Members – $25.00
Includes a glass of Champagne or Soft Drink
La Scala: Le Corsaire
New Production! Acclaimed Canadian choreographer Anna-Marie Holmes's exhilarating production, seen at the American Ballet Theatre and English National Ballet, invades the stage at La Scala with new sets and costumes by Luisa Spinatelli. Filled with action, passion and romance, this swashbuckling comedy follows a dashing pirate, Conrad, as he journeys across the high seas to save his beautiful harem girl Medora. An exotic, breathtaking spectacle, and an adventure not to be missed. This is the first staging of Le Corsaire, based on 'The Corsair' by Lord Byron, since the 19-century, where Giovanni Galzerani's production was presented on the Piermarini stage in 1826, and Domenico Ronzani's in 1857.
Non- Members $40.00
Students/Pensioner Members $25.00