Angelin Preljocaj: The Fresco

Angelin Preljocaj: The Fresco Choreography: Angelin Preljocaj Music: Nicolas Godin, with the collaboration of Vincent Tourelle. Costumes: Azzedine Alaïa Decor, video: Constance Guisset Studio Lights: Eric Soyer Assistant artistic director: Youri Aharon Van den Bosch. Assistant rehearsal assistant: Natalia Naidich Choreologist: Dany Lévêque Masks: Michèle Belobradic Decor: Small construction site workshop With Mirea Delogu, Clara Freschel, Nuriya Nagimova, Anna Tatarova, Yurié Tsugawa, Marius Delcourt, Antoine Dubois, Victor Martinez Caliz, Fran Sanchez, Jean-Charles Jousni / Leonardo Cremaschi. La Fresque is a dance performance. This may seem trivial. But today they are so rare that we can only rejoice. Angelin Preljocaj is now one of the only practicing choreographers capable of perfectly mastering choreographic writing and arranging its movements in space. The story of La Fresque, inspired by the traditional Chinese tale The painting on the wall is simple. A young man falls in love with a woman painted on a fresco, crosses the wall and goes inside the painting to live a love story with this woman. By purifying its dramaturgy to the extreme, in particular so that the ballet can be seen by a young audience, from 9 years old, Angelin Preljocaj makes a modern argument, close to a dream. There we find several of the themes that occupied the choreographer in his previous ballets: preparation for marriage, as in Noces, but also the birth of the couple and the notion of the chosen one developed in Roméo et Juliette. This oriental tale weaves a very special link with the fetish of hair, which women wear long. This feminine adornment is valued in many cultures and is reflected in this show by multiple readings. Designer Constance Guisset uses floating locks in black and white to design a very successful visual design for the video show. In other paintings, women play with their hair or twist themselves around ropes to rise into the air. It was the recently deceased fashion designer Azzedine Alaïa who designed the costumes for La Fresque, very feminine dresses and striking warrior costumes. On the dance side, the five male and female dancers involved in this project follow one another in single-sex scenes. Sometimes, they come together in diagonal couples, duets or solos, all figures imposed in contemporary ballet that the choreographer handles with consummate art of composition. Whoever wants to keep it simple takes the risk of being a little simplistic and without rough edges. Nicolas Godin’s electronic music, punctuated by percussion, sometimes stretches a little too much. The show, despite its slow pace, nevertheless holds up thanks to the remarkable choreographic writing and the formidable efficiency of its performers.