‘Ballet for Life’ at the Badminton
Athenian audiences can celebrate the great, late Maurice Bejart as the Bejart Ballet Lausanne prepares to perform ?Ballet for Life? at the Badminton Theater from February 25 to February 28.
One of the Franco-Swiss master choreographer?s pivotal works, ?Ballet for Life? showcases costumes by the late Gianni Versace and music by Queen and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Based on emotionally charged choreography, ?Ballet for Life? was inspired by the lives of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury and Jorge Donn (a former Bejart soloist), both of whom died of AIDS in the early 1990s. According to a statement made by the choreographer when he first presented the work in 1997, the two men boasted very different personalities, but shared the same passion for life and had the same, extroverted and striking presence when they performed in public.
At the Badminton Theater, ?Ballet for Life? kicks off with Queen?s ?It?s a Beautiful Day? and the company?s dancers standing behind white pieces of fabrics, as if moving among the clouds. Later, a scene from a film featuring Jorge Donn is screened in complete silence.
A leading choreographer of the 20th century, Bejart died in Lausanne in November, 2007. He had just finished working on ?Around the World in 80 Days,? a project that became his swan song and that he never saw performed on stage.
Gil Roman, one of the Bejart Ballet Lausanne?s star soloists, currently leads the company as artistic director.
Badminton Theater, Goudi Military Park, Kanellopoulou (former Katehaki) Avenue, tel 210.884.0600. For more information, visit www.badmintontheater.gr.
