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Bejart fires up the imagination

PHOTO COURTESY OF BEJART BALLET LAUSANNE

Someone in Taipei has obviously been doing a lot of bye-byes to Terpsichore (the Greek muse of dance) because 2006 has definitely turned into the "Year of Dance."

In the past three months alone there has been an astonishing variety of performances from dance companies big and small, local and international, first-timers and favorite friends, providing a feast both for the eyes and mind, although a bit hard on the wallet.

Next up on the calendar is the return of the Bejart Ballet Lausanne to the National Theater next week, for what will be its third visit in six years.

The company's program for its three-night, one matinee run will show audiences why 79-year old French choreographer Maurice Bejart has been such a vital part of the European Dance Theater movement for decades,

influencing an entire generation of choreographers such as Pina Bausch, Boris Eifman and Matthew Bourne.

The three pieces -- L'Amour, la Danse (also known as "The Best of Bejart"), L'Oiseau de feu and Elton-Berg -- demonstrate the three main reasons for Bejart's enduring popularity with audiences (although not always with critics).

Reason number one is Bejart's sexed-up takes on classical ballet with dances that celebrate male beauty and eroticism (such as Bolero), not to mention his flair for theatrical spectacles.

L'Amour, la Danse would certainly qualify as a spectacle in anyone's book. It was created last year as a way of celebrating Bejart's more than half a century as a choreographer by providing extracts from some of his more famous pieces. This anthology for 20 dancers includes solos, pas de deux and ensemble pieces from Romeo et Juliet, Le Presbytere, Brel and Barbara and The Seven Greek Dances -- and lots of good-looking men.

The second reason for his popularity has been his interest in exploring the political and social forces confronting society as well as injecting old themes into modern contexts.

In his 1970 production L'Oiseau de feu, Bejart gives a revolutionary twist to the Igor Stravinsky score for the Ballet Russe's 1910 The Firebird. Bejart completely revitalizes the Stravinsky music by portraying the firebird as the leader of a group of revolutionaries.

The third reason Bejart is so popular is his ability to make ballet or modern dance approachable to almost anyone. This has been helped by his enthusiastic embrace of non-traditional music, including rock (Queen), pop (U2) or "contemporary" (Jacques Brel).

In Elton-Berg Bejart uses one piece of choreography, set to two very different pieces of music, a song by Elton John and a composition by Alban Berg.

Bejart's muses are still going strong, and audiences in Taipei and elsewhere are the richer for it.

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION:

WHAT: Bejart Ballet Lausanne
WHERE: National Theater of the CKS Memorial Hall
WHEN: July 6-8 at 7:30pm and July 9 at 2:30pm
TICKETS: NT$800, NT$1,000,NT$1,500, NT$2,000, NT$2,500, NT$3,000,NT$3,500 and NT$4,000
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