The French choreographer Maurice Béjart was called a living classic, a poet of male dance, and a ballet guru. There is an opinion that the master is the creator of the author's philosophy of dance. The numbers he put on are so unusual and complex that they demand from the performer the utmost dedication and enormous physical costs.
Distinctive features of Maurice-Jean Berger's dances are their chaos, philosophicality and modernity. He was called the toughest choreographer of the century. It was the ballet guru who changed the understanding of the art of ballet in the classical sense.
The path to the heights
In his performances, the teacher and dancer focused on body plastic. Both the male corps de ballet and the complete development of the concept of the universality of male dance became his merit.
The biography of the future celebrity began in 1927. The boy was born in Marseille on January 1 in the family of Gaston Berger, a famous philosopher.
The doctor recommended that the parents of the sickly child send their son to sports, but upon learning about Maurice's hobby for theater, he advised him to teach classical dance.
In 1941 he began to study choreography. 4 years later, Maurice made his opera debut in his hometown. He continued his education in Paris, as classical ballet seemed alien to him. At that time, the pseudonym "Bejart" appeared.
Triumph
In order to dance in different groups, the aspiring artist did not enter into contracts with theaters. This contributed to the creation by him of the author's manner of performance, a mix of techniques of various systems of choreography.
In 1951, Bejart, who was well versed in Petipa's choreography, restored a large pas de deux from The Nutcracker for the Swedish capital's opera. As a choreographer, he directed fragments of Stravinsky's The Firebird for cinema.
After 3 years, the artist founded the dance company "Ballet de l'Etoile". The group existed for 4 years. In 1959 the choreographer was invited to the Brussels theater to stage The Rite of Spring to the music of Stravinsky. A troupe was formed for the master, taking a week to rehearsals. The resulting performance about the history of the emergence of human love shocked the whole world.
On a wave of success, the theater director Juisman proposed to Bejart the creation and management of a permanent troupe in Belgium. The troupe "Ballet of the XX century" appeared in 1960 in Brussels, and in 1970 the school-studio "Mudra" was opened with it. With the collective, the master began a large-scale experience in performances that combine dance with pantomime and singing.
Summarizing
Bejart was the first to use sports arenas as performances with an orchestra and chorus, and the action could develop anywhere in the improvised hall. It was supplemented with more and more large screen, providing viewing of the production.
In 1981, in collaboration with Claude Lelouch, the choreographer worked on the painting The Others. Costumes for performances in 1984 were created by Bejart's friend, fashion designer Gianni Versace. In 1987 the name of the troupe was changed to Lausanne Ballet of Bejart. In 1999, viewers saw the autobiographical version of The Nutcracker in Turin.
The master was called both a brawler from ballet and a hoaxer. He himself called himself a traveler. With the audience, the master traveled through the eras, shaking the audience with knowledge in the field of art.
His fantasy was timeless, turning every creation into immortal masterpieces. In his productions, unusual characters often appeared. Some of them were played by the author himself. He created 5 over a hundred ballets and wrote 5 books. The master passed away in 2007, on November 22.
