Maurice Bejart (Choreography)
Maurice Bejart (1
January 1927 – 22 November 2007) was a French-born Swiss dancer, choreographer
and opera director who ran the Bejart Ballet Lausanne in Switzerland.
Maurice-Jean
Berger was born in Marseille, France in 1927, the son of French philosopher
Gaston Berger. Fascinated by a recital of Serge Lifar, he decided to devote
himself entirely to dance. In South France days, he had studied under Mathilde
Kschessinska.
In 1945, he enrolled as
a corps de ballet at the Opera de Marseille. From 1946, he had studied under
Madam Rousanne (Sarkissian), Leo Staats, Madam Lyubov Egorova and Olga
Preobrajenska at "Studio Wacker," and etc. in Paris.
In 1948, he was also
formed with Janine Charrat, Yvette Chauvire and then with Roland Petit, in
addition he had studied under Vera Volkova at London.[1][2][3]
In 1954, he founded the
Ballet de l'etoile company (dissolved in 1957). In 1960 he founded the Ballet du
XXe Siecle in Brussels (dissolved in 1987).
In 1987 he moved to Lausanne in
Switzerland, where he founded the Bejart Ballet Lausanne, one of the most famous
and successful dance companies in the world.
He made significant
contribution to the Persian Ballet Repertoire in the late 1960s and 1970s
performing at the famous Roudaki Hall in Tehran created under the supervision of
the former Empress of Iran, with whom he kept strong ties of friendship over the
years.
Among his works is a
thoroughly revised version of The Nutcracker, presumably inspired by
his own life story, which he staged in 2000. It still uses Tchaikovsky's
original score, but completely scraps the original plot and characters, instead
supplying a new story about a boy's efforts to re-connect with his mother. We
also are given a look into the boy's strange sexual fantasies. The production
design is full of erotic images — some of which are most likely shocking to
many, such as wombs and vaginal openings. One of the characters is Marius
Petipa, who becomes Mephisto. Another character is called Felix the Cat,
presumably after the famous cartoon character. The production has been issued on
DVD.
In 2003, he won the Prix
Benois de la Danse for lifetime achievement
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