Skip to main content
Back to search
  • Add to playlist

L'après-midi d'un faune

A faun is lying down on a rock during a summer afternoon. Nymphs appera. Intrigued, he looks at them and leaps neart them. They all run away, scared, except one of them who enjoys being courted. When the faun attempts to catch her, the nymph goes away but lets a silk veil fall on the ground. The faun takes it back to te rock and caresses it as in a love act.

In this synopsis, I mainly focused on the faun desire and the expression of his sensually through dreams and fantasies. My version does not refer to the antic Greece and its woodlands. That is why the boulder sheltering the faun is not represented by a mound painted by Léon Bakst, but is a Kleenex box. Because of the innovating style of the choreography and the gestures of « erotic bestiality » performed by Nijinsky, the first representation of this ballet provoked uproar amongst the audience. Carnal desire was at the very heart of this work. As in the original ballet, my faun performs in a fantastical and sensual world, except that he is not a legendary half-human, half-beast creature, but a lonely young man expressing his desire for the very vague remembrance of love.

Thierry Malandain

Malandain, Thierry

Born on the 13th April 1959 in Petit-Quevilly, Thierry Malandain followed the usual path of a classical dancer but with a strong taste for the unconventional and an unusual tenacity. Violette Verdy, who chaired the Prix de Lausanne at which Thierry Malandain competed in 1978, hired him to join the Paris Opera Ballet for the season 1977-1978. There, he met Jean Sarelli, who was then "The" ballet master, and followed him when Sarelli took over the direction of the Ballet du Rhin. Thierry Malandain stayed in Mulhouse until 1980 and then joined the Ballet Théâtre Français de Nancy, directed by Hélène Traïline and Jean-Albert Cartier, until 1986. He successfully made his first experiences as a choreographer during the six years he stayed in Lorraine. In 1984, he won the 1st Prize of the Volinine competition with Quatuor op3, to a score by Guillaume Lekeu. In 1985 and 1986, he succeeded Maguy Marin as winner of the 1st Prize of Nyon choreographic competition in Switzerland with Sonatine, to a score by Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Métamorphosis, to the music of Benjamin Britten. 

In 1986, Thierry Malandain made a bet. He left the Ballet Théâtre Français de Nancy with eight dancers and set up the Compagnie Temps Présent in Elancourt (78), in the suburbs of Paris. He deliberately chose to get off the beaten track and undertake a mammoth task. The following season, he was awarded by the Fondation de la Vocation and the Fondation Oulmont and won the 1st Prize of La Baule choreographic competition, the 1st Prize of Vaison-la-Romaine choreographic competition and the Prix de la Nuit des Jeunes Créateurs in Paris with Angelin Preljocaj and Claude Brumachon. Thierry Malandain began to make himself known as a promising young talent thanks to several works: ­­L'Homme aux semelles de vent (1986), created to the music of Benjamin Britten and staged again under the title Les Illuminations (1989) for the dancer Patrick Dupond and the Ballet National de Nancy, Edgar Allan Poe (1988), to scores by Claude Debussy and André Caplet, and especially Folksongs (1986), choreographed to the music of Benjamin Britten and performed by several companies, including the Ballet de Tours of Jean-Christophe Maillot. As people only talked about the “jeune danse française” in 1988, Thierry Malandain, like his colleagues, contributed to the development of dance in the suburbs while proclaiming his attachment to the vocabulary of classical dance. He even created ballets for opera house companies, such as Danses qu'on croise (1987), choreographed to the music of Johannes Brahms for the Ballet de l'Opéra de Nantes. His unique positioning was confusing for the French choreographic community but not for the international audience. On the contrary, people, especially in Belgium, started to talk about the French choreographer who achieved the feat of creating Les Sylphides, to the music of Frédéric Chopin for the Ballet royal de Wallonie, and Petite Lune, to a score by Dmitri Shostakovitch for the Royal Ballet of Flanders, in the same year (1990).

In 1991, Thierry Malandain created Pulcinella by Igor Stravinsky on the stage of the previously called Maison de la Culture in Saint-Etienne. At this time, the director Jean-Louis Pichon was trying to turn the institution into an Opera Theatre—named L’Esplanade in 1994. He needed a choreographer who would be sensitive to music and able to have a strong presence on the ground. He invited the Compagnie Temps Présent for a residence in Saint-Etienne. This event marked the beginning of a collaboration that lasted six years.

In 1997, the French Ministry of Culture and Communication and the City of Biarritz offered Thierry Malandain to set up the first classical Centre Chorégraphique Contemporain in the Basque coastal resort of Biarritz. It happened so fast that the Centre Chorégraphique National - Ballet Biarritz opened in September 1998 in the Gare du Midi, a large building abandoned by trains and whose two big square towers overlook Biarritz pleasant gardens.

In 2003, Ballet Biarritz took a major creative step with Les Créatures, choreographed to the music of Ludwig van Beethoven. This powerful, graphic and ambitious work engendered a feeling of maturity and poise that earned the Ballet greater recognition. For the first time in its history, the troupe officially performed in Paris (Théâtre national de Chaillot) thanks to Dominique Hervieu and José Montalvo, while Les Créatures were nominated at the Benois de la Danse in Moscow and received the Critics Prize at the 19th International Ballet Festival of Havana in Cuba. In 2004, Le Sang des Etoiles confirmed the company’s success. The CCN then became one of the most productive choreographic centres, with the biggest number of performances per year and a strong international presence. The institution also grew in strength. 

In August 2009, Thierry Malandain was made an “officier” in the Order of Arts and Letters. The new name of the company, "Malandain Ballet Biarritz", heralded a new era for the choreographer. Two new creations followed: Magifique (2009), to the music of Piotr Illitch Tchaikovsky and Roméo et Juliette (2010) by Hector Berlioz. Both found favour with audiences and critics. For the second time of his career, Thierry Malandain collaborated with a composer, Guillaume Connesson, resulting in the ballet Lucifer (2011). The score was interpreted by the Orchestre de Pau Pays de Béarn, conducted by Fayçal Karoui, who is also the musical director of the New York City Ballet. 

In 2013, as Malandain Ballet Biarritz gave more than hundred performances per year, Thierry Malandain created Cendrillon to the music of Sergei Prokofiev to the request of Laurent Bruenner, the director of the Opéra royal de Versailles. The performances of this ballet were given on the wonderful stage of the Royal Opera of the Palace of Versailles with the accompaniment of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Euskadi from Donostia-San Sebastián, conducted by Josep Caballé-Domenech. A triumph of humanity, Cendrillon was unanimously acclaimed by the press and audiences. In 2014, Thierry Malandain was named “Best Choreographer” at the Taglioni European Ballet Awards, organised by the Malakhov Foundation in Berlin.


Source : Malandain Ballet’s website


More on : http://malandainballet.com/

Flores, Georges

Georges Flores began his career in 1982. He is responsible for the editing and post-production of numerous works of video art broadcast on French channels. Some of his earliest work was recording shows: between 1988 and 1992, he covered the entire International Festival for Innovations in Music Production and Composition, several parts of which, in the form of reports, were broadcast on ARTE channel on the programme Mégamix. He regularly produces recordings for current music. This experience has also led him to work in opera and classical music, producing recordings of many great works. He also provided the video coverage for the Massenet Festival. Dance is another of Flores’ favourite areas. He has worked with Thierry Malandain, director of the National Choreographic Centre – Malandain Ballet Biarritz since 1992. The documentary Voyage (Travel), produced in 1996 during a tour in Morocco, in collaboration with the French Cultural Institute and with the ground-breaking participation of Antoine Livio and of Yvette Chauviré, introduces us to the character and creations of the choreographer and demonstrates Flores’ links to choreography. He also regularly works with other contemporary choreographers who create unique artistic worlds. Flores has also produced a great deal of images used in set designs for music, dance and opera. His first piece of international work saw him take part in the season opening of the Teatro Massimo in Palermo in January 1993, as part of a new production of Esclarmonde by Massenet, directed by Giannandrea Gavazzeni. Alongside this work on live shows, he creates documentaries for non-specialist audiences in the field of Scientific, Technical and Industrial Culture (CSTI), aimed at the education sector. Today, Flores dedicates his time to producing and creating projects that are important to him, as well as faithful collaborations for television or renowned arts organisations. His portfolio now includes the recordings of over fifty great lyrical works.


Source : Georges Flores

L'Après-midi d'un faune

Artistic direction / Conception : Thierry Malandain

Interpretation : Christophe Roméro

Original music : Claude Debussy

Lights : Jean-Claude Asquié

Settings : Jorge Gallardo

Duration : 10 minutes

Our videos suggestions
02:56

Ligne de crête

Marin, Maguy (France)

  • Add to playlist
03:01

Hard to Be Soft

Doherty, Oona (France)

  • Add to playlist
03:04

Lobby

Zebiri, Moncef (France)

  • Add to playlist
01:39

Mirages — Boreal souls

Ben Aïm, Christian & François (France)

  • Add to playlist
03:01

Peekaboo

Goecke, Marco (France)

  • Add to playlist
02:48

Questcequetudeviens ?

Bory, Aurélien (France)

  • Add to playlist
01:27:28

Inanna

  • Add to playlist
03:31

Panorama

Decouflé, Philippe (France)

  • Add to playlist
03:05

Panorama

Decouflé, Philippe (France)

  • Add to playlist
03:15

Sketches From Chronicle

Graham, Martha (France)

  • Add to playlist
03:21

La Création du monde 1923-2012

Börlin, Jean (France)

  • Add to playlist
03:13

Rose - variation

Monnier, Mathilde (France)

  • Add to playlist
05:16

Bruit de couloir

Dazin, Clément (France)

  • Add to playlist
07:42

Coupé décalé [1ère partie] - Robyn Orlin

Orlin, Robyn (France)

  • Add to playlist
08:17

Impair

Brabant, Jérôme (France)

  • Add to playlist
06:20

Flat/grand délit

Lheureux, Yann (France)

  • Add to playlist
07:13

Bonhomme de vent

Charmatz, Boris (France)

  • Add to playlist
03:13

Debout !

Delaunay, Raphaëlle (France)

  • Add to playlist
02:59

Japan

Tanguy, Simon (France)

  • Add to playlist
03:42

Lucinda Childs

Childs, Lucinda (United States)

  • Add to playlist
Our themas suggestions

LATITUDES CONTEMPORAINES

Exposition virtuelle

fr/en/

James Carlès

Exposition virtuelle

fr/en/

The committed artist

In all the arts and here especially in dance, the artist sometimes creates to defend a cause, to denounce a fact, to disturb, to shock. Here is a panorama of some "committed" choreographic creations.

Parcours

fr/en/pl/

The BNP Paribas Foundation

Exposition virtuelle

fr/en/

La part des femmes, une traversée numérique

Exposition virtuelle

fr/en/

Qudus Onikeku - Reclaim a forgotten memory

Exposition virtuelle

fr/en/

CHRISTIAN & FRANÇOIS BEN AÏM – VITAL MOMENTUM

Exposition virtuelle

fr/en/

Indian dances

Discover Indian dance through choreographic creations which unveil it, evoke it, revisit it or transform it!

Parcours

fr/en/

[1970-2018] Neoclassical developments: They spread worldwide, as well as having multiple repertoires and dialogues with contemporary dance.

In the 1970s, artists’ drive towards a new classic had been ongoing for more than a half century and several generations had already formed since the Russian Ballets. As the years went by, everyone defended or defends classical dance as innovative, unique, connected to the other arts and the preoccupations of its time.

Parcours

fr/en/

DANCE AND DIGITAL ARTS

Exposition virtuelle

fr/en/

Black Dance

James Carlès, dancer and choreographer and specialist of Afro-American dance, evokes the origin of current-day urban dances. From Africa to the United States via Europe, he emphasizes their hybrid style and puts their social and political dimension into perspective. A myriad of videos, photos, illustrations and additional resources complement this interview.

Webdoc

fr/en/

Why do I dance ?

Social dances, anti-establishment, protest dances, rhythms or identities, rituals or pleasures... There are a myriad of reasons for dancing and a myriad of points of view. A webdoc to discover, enhanced with extracts from performances and accounts from amateurs... all the right reasons for dancing!

Webdoc

fr/en/

Artistic Collaborations

Panorama of different artistic collaborations, from « couples » of choreographers to creations involving musicians or plasticians

Parcours

fr/en/

Meeting with literature

Collaboration between a choreographer and a writer can lead to the emergence of a large number of combinations. If sometimes the choreographer creates his dance around the work of an author, the writer can also choose dance as the subject of his text.

Parcours

fr/en/

Dance and performance

 Here is a sample of extracts illustrating burlesque figures in Performances.

Parcours

fr/en/

Round dance

 Presentation of the Round’s figure in choreography.

Parcours

fr/en/

The Dance Biennale

Exposition virtuelle

fr/en/

Exposition virtuelle

fr/en/

Female / male

A walk between different conceptions and receptions of genres in different styles and eras of dance.

Parcours

fr/en/es/de/pl/pt-pt/

Dance and visual arts

Dance and visual arts have often been inspiring for each other and have influenced each other. This Parcours can not address all the forms of their relations; he only tries to show the importance of plastic creation in some choreographies.

Parcours

fr/en/es/de/pl/pt-pt/
By accessing the website, you acknowledge and accept the use of cookies to assist you in your browsing.
You can block these cookies by modifying the security parameters of your browser or by clicking onthis link.
I accept Learn more