Miki Shindo
Professor, Doctor of Business Administration
School of Media Science
Tokyo University of Technology
October 23, 2021
1. Creation of the work
"Ballet for life"(1996) is a modern ballet choreographed by Maurice Béjart (1927-2007), one of the most famous choreographers of the 20th century, to music by Queen and Mozart. The costumes were designed by Giovanni Versace.
Béjart is a choreographer who has continued to innovate ballet, characterized by an enormous scale and powerful style 1).
The first catalyst for Béjart's creation of "Ballet for life" was death of Jorge Donn in 1992, a dancer who embodied Béjart's art. On Donn's death, Béjart wrote "I am thinking of him again. Even during rehearsals, I couldn't stop thinking about Donn's hospitalization. ...He was dying. Every day, I went back and forth between the Metropole Theater and Cecil Hospital. ...On Monday, November 30, 1992, Donn became increasingly unwell. Donn died between 7:00 and 8:00 that night. It was winter. It was dark. I was holding his hand, and he died. Donn wore my mother's engagement ring on his left hand. I had given it to him. Donn was happy to wear it ...I could see Donn dancing, I could see him alive. Donn wanted to die on the stage. But he died in the hospital." 2)
The second catalyst for creation was encounter with Queen's 1995 album. Béjart wrote: "Freddie Mercury and Donn died almost the same year. They had very different personalities, but they had in common an intense desire for life and for self-expression. ...Then I found a villa above Montreux. I sat down in front of Lake Geneva, a landscape that had once fascinated me. A few days later, Queen's last album, the one made after Freddie's death, was released. The cover of the CD of "Made In Heaven" (1995) was the same as the view I had seen from my villa." 2).
2. Theme of the work
Theme of "Ballet for Life" is life and death, and cycle of life and death. Béjart said, "Death is present everywhere in my ballets. I would say that there are two great events in life. The discovery of sexuality and the arrival of death. Everything else is insignificant." Despite being devastated by the Donn's death, Béjart said, " Donn died, but my company had to live. I created as if the creation of a work would be a force to resist death. I created to protect Donn from death." "I listened to Queen, I ate Queen, I danced Queen, and I created. But this ballet is not pathetic. This ballet is connected to a lot of emotions that are still running through me. I think of it is a joyful ballet, not gloomy or pessimistic one. If I don't tell the audience that this is a ballet about death, they won't know it. ...This ballet is not about AIDS, it's about a man who died young." 2)
The work is a tribute to those who died prematurely: Jorge Donn (February 25, 1947 - November 30, 1992, age 45, died of AIDS), Freddie Mercury (September 5, 1946 - November 24, 1991, age 45, died of AIDS), Mozart (January 27, 1756 - December 5, 1791, at the age of 35) and those who died young and untimely all over the world.
3. Structure of the work
The structure of "Ballet for Life" is similar to that of the famous classical ballets "Giselle", "Swan Lake" and "La Bayadère". "Ballet for Life" has multilayered and complex structure, but it follows the orthodox structure of classical ballet. To be more specific about the similarities, all these works depict two worlds, the real one and the afterlife.
Another structural feature of the work is the inclusion of multiple axes of conflict. They are as follows.
The real world - the afterlife
Real figures - Abstract figures (e.g. personification of death)
Past - Future
Béjart often used historical characters in his works. Wagner (1965), Nijinsky (1971)(1990), Heliogabalus (1976), Molière (1976), Duncan (1976), Malraux (1986), Mishima (1988), Piaf (1988), Chaplin (1992), Sissi,(1993), Brel (2001), Barbara (2001), Nietzsche (2005), Chekhov (2006). In "Ballet for Life", Freddie Mercury and Jorge Donn were the subjects. However, all these works describe not biographical portrait of them but their magical image.
"Ballet for Life" also contrasts historically significant male dancers to show past and now.
Nijinsky - Donn – Favreau
Furthermore, after Béjart's death, the first and second artistic directors of Béjart Ballet Lausanne are contrasted.
Béjart - Roman
In this structure, there is vertical movement between the world above and the world below, and horizontal movement of time: past, present and future. The composition of this work is very beautiful and profound.
4. Title of the work
By the way, the official title of this ballet is not "Ballet for Life". This is a common name, and the title given by Béjart is based on a verse in the classic mystery novel "Le Mystere de la chambre jaune". (1907) by Gaston Leroux, "Le Presbytere n 'a rien perdu de son charme, ni le Jardin de son eclat' (The presbytery has not lost its charm, the garden is still as bright as before). About this title, Béjart said "I wanted to give this work a title that would not evoke any image. After rereading Gaston Leroux's book, I came up with the idea of titling it after Rouletabille's phrase in "Le Mystere de la chambre jaune":---Someone told me that this was recognized by the Surrealists and spread secretly. In fact, it is a meaningless word, but it is very attractive. It's a very journalistic and beautiful word." 2).
5. Performance of the work
The first performance of "Ballet for Life" took place on December 15, 1996 at Salle Metropole, Lausanne. The performance at Theatre National de Chaillot, Paris on January 17, 1997 is available on DVD. At the curtain call of performance in Paris, the members of Queen (Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon) and Elton John, who was a friend of Freddie Mercury, appeared and performed in the theater.
After its premiere, "Ballet for Life" has been performed again and again by Béjart Ballet Lausanne. It has been performed five times in Japan, in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2008 and 2021 (as of 2021).
As for the dancers, Gregor Metzger danced the leading role of Freddie, the symbol of life, and Gil Roman danced the symbol of death in the first performance. Gil Roman is Béjart's successor and the current artistic director of the Béjart Ballet Lausanne.
6. Timeless Quality of the work
Now, as I have mentioned, "Ballet for Life" was originally created after the death of Donn and Mercury from AIDS. For audiences who had seen and known Donn and Mercury in real time, and were familiar with their lives and works, their memories were still very vivid at the time of the premiere in 1996, when the shock of their sudden deaths was still lingering, and it was easy to share their feelings of mourning.
In addition, at the time of its premiere in 1996, AIDS was a horrible disease that led to death at a high rate, and there was prejudice for AIDS.
However, in 2021, 30 years have passed since the deaths of Donn and Mercury, even in Béjart Ballet Lausanne, there are few members danced with Donn in real time. In addition, AIDS is no longer deadly disease with proper treatment, and prejudice against LGBTQ has been decreased.
In other words, the context of the first performance has already been lost.
Even in such a times, are there any reason to perform "Ballet for Life"? I think there are. I will explain the reasons below.
The first reason is that even if you don't know Donn and Mercury, or even Mozart and Versace, their works have not lost their power and appeal to new audience.
The second reason is that: death, life, and sexuality are universal to human beings.
Timeless Quality of "Ballet for Life" was strongly demonstrated by the performance in Japan in 2021. At this point, COVID-19 had spread changing people's lives drastically, and many people lost their jobs.
The impact of COVID-19 on performing arts was severe. Due to the spread of COVID-19 infection, market size of live entertainment in Japan in 2020 was 183.6 billion yen; the market size in 2019 was 629.5 billion yen, which means that the market shrank by 70% compared to the previous year 3).
The performance of "Ballet for Life" by Béjart Ballet Lausanne was originally scheduled for May 2020, but due to the COVID-19 disaster, it was postponed to September 2020 and then to October 2021.
Gil Roman said "the situation has changed from AIDS to COVID-19, but I think that cycle of life and death and the celebration of freedom have deepened and taken on new meanings under these circumstances. That is the power of Maurice's work. "4)
7. Details of the work
(Names of the performers mentioned are those of the performance in Japan tour 2021 on Thursday, October 14, 2021 at 18:30, Tokyo Bunkakaikan.)
Opening
With all the lights turned off, the stage was in darkness and smoke, and the stage footlights all lit up with white light, the show starts like a rock concert. With Queen's "It's A Beautiful Day", dancers lie on the stage, their bodies covered with white sheets. In the morning light, birds are chirping and the scene of the birth of life is played out. First, Julien Favreau, who plays the role of Freddie, raises his body and pulls the sheet down to his shoulders to reveal his face. After that, one by one, dancers were born. The costumes are white leotards or unitards with black lines, but they are different for each. With electronic sounds, dancers posed as if in stop motion, then, Queen's "Time" is played, and dynamic formation using all the dancers is developed. All dancers throw sheets into the air, and rolled up and passed to the next dancer. Freddie jumps with his mouth open, and all dancers get together around Freddie and shout.
Queen, Brighton Rock
The guitar solo of 'Brighton Rock' by Brian May rings out and the dancers, led by Solene Burel, begin to dance. Gabriel Arenas Ruiz, who plays Death, appears at the back of the stage with a chair. His body spasms as the guitar strings.
Freddie
In the midst of all this, Favreau wearing a black wig, a black sleeveless top and black pants appear on the stage. Favreau shouts Oh. Yes! and Ruiz hands him a microphone. He says following lines as Freddie.
Excuse me Brian for stopping by your music, I really love "Brighton Rock",
But now it must be "Heaven for everyone". 5)
Favreau takes off his wig.
Queen, Heaven For Everyone
With sound of the wind, the stage moves to heaven. Ruiz carries the body of the dead man into heaven. With the music of "Heaven for Everyone", Mattia Galiotto, who plays the role of the dead boy, comes back to life and starts to dance with some zombie-like gestures in the center of the stage. Although the boy is in heaven, he still has a longing for our world. This boy is an important character who appears in many scenes. He goes backwards in time as the work progresses, from this scene in heaven, the afterlife, to a corpse in the hospital, and then backwards in time to a young man, dancing at the ball and acting out the pure love of his youth.
Then, angels with transparent wings in their hands, angels with wings on their shoulders and wearing monitor clogs walked slowly across the stage, and two female dancers with monitors showing Freddie's image walked across the stage. The scene seems to be a visualization of Freddie in heaven.
Then, Favreau appears. He dressed in a black see-through unitard that covered his shoulders and limbs, but left only his chest wide open. Favreau touches his body down with both hands, laughing convulsively and reveals his eroticism and sexuality. Elisabet Ros appears on the scene wearing a black lace dress. Favreau is drawn to Ros.
Queen, I Was Born To Love You
With sound of thunder, a bride appears, but she is expressionless, like dead person or doll. The song "Born to Love You" starts and Favreau plays the groom. He puts a ring on the bride, but his treatment of her is rough, grabbing her by the neck and swinging her around. At the front of the stage, Ros, as the Angel of Death, dances fiercely and seduces Favreau. The bridegroom, while laughing loudly, is drawn to the angel of death and cannot take his eyes off her. Finally, the bridegroom leaves his bride behind and approaches to the Angel of Death. Favreau and Ros dance beautifully together, as if they were dancing a pas de deux, even though they are far apart on stage. At the end, the bridegroom violently takes his bride and leaves the angel of death, but he cannot hide that his heart is with her.
On Facebook, ballet researcher Yuto Akao commented on the role of Ros in the black lace dress. " "Mystery of the Yellow Room" and the following "The Scent of the Lady in Black" are two of Leroux's most famous mysteries, and the Lady in Black, who is also the title of the latter, is the mother of the main character, Ruletabille. It may be possible to superimpose Béjart's love for his own mother. Although Ros is not the first performer of this role, she is a dancer who has played many motherly roles in Béjart's works. "
Queen, I Was Born To Love You: A second explanation
This scene can be explained in another way. The woman in black, played by Ros, is a widow who has just lost her partner, Favreau. She dances about her grief and love for him. The bride that Favreau escorts is both Ros's past image and an angel who brings him to his death. Favreau loves Ross, but is inevitably drawn into death.
Mozart, Cosi Fan Tutte
With Favreau's "Oh. Yes!", the music changed from Queen's to Mozart's. Mari Ohashi, Gabriel, in classical dresses dance to the vocal music of "Cosi fan tutte", shaking their upper bodies.
Queen, A Kind Of Magic
Several male dancers and a female dancer appear on stage dressed in white or black jackets, shirts, and ties, like the uniforms of British public school students. To the music of "A Kind of Magic," several male dancers move at a fast pace from the back to the front of the stage. Favreau, playing the role of Freddie, appears on stage and dances. At the end of the scene, Favreau says "Magic!
Mozart, Prelude to Thamos, King of Egypt
Ruiz dances to Mozart's music. This scene was choreographed for Gil Roman. The theme is death, expressing the fear of death striking in the midst of life.
Queen, Get Down, Make Love
Ohashi, Ruiz and others dance and declare that they will make love. The following lines are uttered by Ruiz.
Vous nous avez dit : Faites L'amour, pas la guerre
Nous avons fait l'amour
Pourquoi l'amour nous fait-il la guerre 5)
Favreau makes his appearance. He wears black leather pants, black police cap, and is naked on top. This style is one of Freddie's iconic styles. It is also a typical gay fashion. And the following lines are uttered by Favreau.
Le Presbytere n'a rien perdu de son charme, ni le jardin de son eclat. 5)
Mozart, Piano Concerto N°21
As Mozart's "Piano Concerto No. 21" plays, a beautiful and sentimental ballroom-style pas de deux is performed by a woman in a beautiful multi-colored dress and a man in red sneakers and an elegant black tuxedo-like costume.
At the back of the stage, two pairs of nurses, a man and a woman, carry in a man and a woman in nude style leotards, which indicate that they are dead bodies, lying on two separate stretchers. The beautifully dressed man and woman continue to dance, but they represent the past images of the dead man and woman. They are memories of the dead man and woman. Now they are dead and cannot even hold each other's hands because they are in different places. But they try to move on the stretchers. Finally, instead of the dead body, the two dressed people are put on the stretcher and carried away by the nurses. Only the sound of wind remains behind.
Ros and Ruiz, who are playing the role of death, pull the bodies of a man and a woman and let them hold hands, and let unite them in love. “Ballet for life” depicts death, but it also depicts love even after death. In other words, this ballet gives us a hope that death does not destroy everything.
The man who plays the corpse in this scene is Galiotto, who played the boy in the heaven scene. His posthumous appearance in Heaven, as mentioned above, is chronologically after this scene. Furthermore, in the "Winter's Tale" scene, which will dance at the end part of the work, Galiotto plays the role of the same boy in a younger age.
By the way, in 1979, Béjart created "Mephisto Walzer". In this work, Mephisto brings a corpse lying on a stretcher onto the stage. He brings the body back to life. The body comes back to life and dances. At the end, however, Mephisto becomes a corpse and is carried away by the dead. Motif of exchange of the living and the dead is important for Béjart.
Queen, Seaside Rendezvous
For a change, we see young people enjoying themselves on a bright beach. However, in the corner of the stage, there remains a dead boy, which makes the scene different. Favreau appears cheerfully wearing a banana hat, one of Freddie's iconic styles.
Queen, You Take My Breath Away
A beautiful, mellow dance is performed using silver metallic balls. Favreau appears on stage. He is dressed in a white unitard with a wide chest opening. Favreau confronts a female dancer. She is pointed at by Favreau, moves a few steps backwards, lies down on the floor, and is covered with a white sheet and dies. Favreau stands in front of the sheet-covered body. He then slowly opens his arms in mourning for her death.
Marx Brothers photos, Freddie's voice
At this point, a black-and-white photograph of Marx Brothers, comedians active from the 1910s to the 1940s, is shown on the screens placed on both side of the stage. Critic, Takao Norikoshi said, "In "Radio Gaga" scene, dancers enter a small room surrounded by white walls and the room becomes so crowded that the walls finally collapse. This is a parody of a famous scene in Marx Brothers' masterpiece, " A Night at The Opera" (1935), in which people come into a small cabin one after another. Queen's masterpiece "Bohemian Rhapsody" was in the album," A Night at The Opera". Moreover, it is well known that at the time of the album's release, Queen received a congratulatory telegram from Marx Brothers, wishing them 'the same success as us'." 6). Takao Norikoshi wrote the following on Twitter after watching a performance of BBL in Japan in October 2021: "French people of Béjart's generation love old Hollywood movies. Since old Hollywood movies are one of the sources of their dance, they are essential knowledge for anyone who studies dance."
Mozart, Maurerische Trauermusik
Several huge x-ray photographs are hung from the ceiling. They are x-rays of human hands, pelvis, spine, legs, etc., and they remind us of fear, anxiety of death and deadly diseases in hospitals. Béjart's own experience and anxiety when Donn was hospitalized, are strongly reflected in this scene. Then, to Mozart's music, Ruiz dances about a human being fighting against death. At the end, however, the protagonist, or perhaps Béjart, has accepted death and leaves the stage, heading for heaven.
Queen, Radio Ga Ga
Freddie's voice of "eeeeo, eeeeo" and the voices of the audience from the past concerts ring out in response. Then scene of "Radio Gaga" begins. A small room surrounded by white walls is set up on the stage, and male dancers in black pants enter the room one by one. One by one followed by a dancer in red tights and Favreau, who plays Freddie. Favreau is wearing a red unitard with a wide chest opening and a red leather jacket. The audience started to clap their hands, as they do at Queen concerts. In the middle of the performance, Freddie grabs the wrist of a dancer in red tights and steps into a box to perform sex scene. The scene ends with the bride bringing in a classic radio.
Queen, A Winter's Tale
The small white-walled room used in "Radio Gaga" is left untouched, and scene changes to express romantic love between two young couple. The man takes a feather out of a feather pillow and throws it high, and the feather sprinkles them like snow. They are almost completely naked. Dreamlike youth and beauty are presented fantastically. We already have seen this man and woman in heaven. Audience knows that they are moving towards a predetermined future.
At the end of this scene, Ruiz appears and scatters many white flowers, as if to celebrate their young love, and to mourn their future and death.Ruiz talks about AIDS.
La lettre S : silence, solitude, spectacle
La lettre I : incertitude, isolement, ideal
La lettre D : derision, douleur, distance
La lettre A : analyse, angoisse, amour
(SIDA is French for AIDS) 5)
Female dancers call out names of those who have died from AIDS or from other illnesses. Favreau walks slowly across the stage. Favreau's costume at this time is Freddie's iconic style, a crown and leopard print cape.
At the end, women who are mourning the dead shout Freddie's name. Favreau, in his flamboyant costume, is no longer a man of this world, but a vision of Freddie in the eyes of his fans and the public.
The Platters, The Great Pretender
Next, as an interlude, music, not by Queen, but by the Platters, is played.
Queen, The Millionaire Waltz
Then a male dancer wearing a Union Jack appears, shouted "God Save the Queen!" and dances Millionaire Waltz. Favreau wears black see-through pants, silver belt, and black leather jacket over his bare chest, laughs loudly. He confronts Ruiz and is pushed against a wall. Then, Ruiz gives Favreau microphone stick and Favreau dances with it. This microphone stick is also one of Freddie's iconic goods, a microphone stand that broke during one of Queen's early concerts. Freddie loved to use it. At the end, Favreau is lifted high by male dancers and leaves the stage.
Queen, Love of My Life
Two couples dance beautifully.
Queen, Brighton Rock
Brian's guitar piece used at the beginning of the work is played again, announcing that it is time for the work to end and the circle of life and death to close.
Then, Favreau comes running in. Favreau is dressed as a woman, with blonde wig and see-through black baby doll, reminiscent of Freddie in his music video. He turns back around in the center of the stage, wiggles his hips, screams, and leaves the stage. After that, dancers in white costumes used at the beginning of the piece appear, carrying sheets.
Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody
At last, Queen's signature song "Bohemian Rhapsody" is performed. Favreau appears in the center of the stage. He is wearing a see-through white unitard with his chest wide open with a large silver medallion. He wears bohemian shoes with thick soles, which restrict his movements. It seems like Japanese Kabuki shoes. His movements are slow like still images and strikes various poses with his hands. Finally, his body is covered with a bohemian pattern cloth.
A screen comes down in the center of the stage. Ruiz, wearing black tights, appears and dances in the backlight. The way his shadow is projected on the screen looks like a movie and also like a ritual of death. At the end of this scene, Ruiz spreads his arms out to the side, makes a cross, and leaves the stage.
This scene is reminiscent of the last dance of Nijinsky's life. At his last dance, in 1919, Nijinsky made a cross out of white cloth. And there he was martyred like Jesus Christ. Béjart used white sheets in his "Ballet of Life" following Nijinsky legend.
Queen, I Want to Break Free
Various images of Donn are projected on the screen. They have been edited by Béjart to synchronize perfectly with "Break Free," like Donn is dancing before us. These excerpts are taken from "Life and Death of Marionettes" and "Nijinsky, the Clown of God". There is a scene of Christ's martyrdom on the cross. At the time of the first performance of "Ballet for Life", it had not been long since Donn's death, and his martyrdom images shocked the audience. Also, "Break Free" made audience think if Donn and Freddie were now free in heaven.
Dancers are sitting on both sides of the screen when the image of the Donn was projected. They are watching it with audience. In this scene, Favreau, who played Freddie, stared into the distance with a serious expression on his face, thinking about life and death of Donn and Béjart. He performed outstandingly in this scene. Favreau was 20-year-old when he first played the role of Freddie. Now, he is a principal dancer and big star at the age of 43, almost the same age as Donn in the film. Favreau is in good condition, but, in general, his career is nearing the end. And we can clearly see that he has image that someday he would reunite Donn and Béjart in heaven. The scene showed that Favreau is not only fascinating dancer, but also outstanding actor who can create a wonderful scene just by sitting and showing his facial expressions.
Queen, The Show Must Go On
The screen comes up and all dancers, wearing the same white costumes and holding white sheets as in the opening scene, appear on stage. Favreau is still in the white unitard he has worn since "Bohemian Rhapsody". As "The Show Must Go On" plays, the same movement as in the opening scene is repeated, like throwing a sheet into the sky. This scene is the final scene of this show and depicts death of human being, but it is directly connected to the birth scene of the opening of this show. This show clearly expresses that life and death are in cycle. At the end, every dancer lies down, sheet is pulled over their bodies, and they sink into the sleep of death. But there is no despair. There is hope for he next life. The scene darkens, and audience is told that show is over. Then dancers get up, remove their sheet, and receive applause.
Curtain Call
When the stage darkens and the dancers leave, Roman, who leads the company as Béjart's successor, stands alone on the stage. "Show must go on" is played again. At Roman's invitation, dancers appear on the stage, one by one or in pairs. They shake hands with Roman. Favreau, who plays Freddie, is welcomed by Roman with particular care. When all dancers are together, they square their shoulders and slowly walk toward the audience.
This scene clearly shows that Donn and Béjart are still alive among us, and their works have an eternal life. The legacy is passed down through the ages to younger and younger generations. For the curtain call at October 17, 2021, Favreau and Ros, who were not performing that day, appeared and stood on either side of Roman, as if to support him. Favreau wore a black shirt, black pants, and red sneakers that he uses for the role of Freddie, and Ros wore a beautiful black top with a flower pattern that looked like a kimono. These three, Roman, Favreau, and Ros, are the last generation to have been directly taught by Béjart, and they are the present Béjart Ballet Lausanne itself. The curtain call clearly showed that Béjart is alive in them.
For NBS, the inviter and organizer of Japan tour, this scene is particularly significant in the context of the COVID-19 disaster of 2021. NBS wrote, "The dancers' dedication to their art, even in the face of the COVID-19 disaster, and their overcoming of many difficulties to come to Japan, responds to the powerful lyrics of Freddie's shout that the show must go on, and make audience exited. " It seems to inspire the world of the performing arts, which is still suffering from the COVID-19 disaster.
8.Principal dancer, Julien Favreau
Lastly, we would like to mention Julien Favreau, the principal dancer who played the role of Freddie. He joined the company in 1995. He performed as ensemble at the premiere of "Ballet for Life" in 1996. Then he began to play the role of Freddie and has continued to dance this role over 23 years.
In classic ballet production, influence of individual dancer is not so big, but in Béjart's work, the influence of the individual dancer is extremely significant. Béjart said: "Great dancers excite me so much... If they smile, their smile seems more wonderful, more interesting, than my choreography. ...Only the gifted dancer can make me excited. I like great overwhelming professionals." "They have a talent for making mundane into the frenetic."2) In this sense, Favreau is a dancer who deserves to be called a "great dancer.".
Favreau said: "There are many roles that Jorge Donn danced that I have taken over. But I've always tried to do my own version." 9). Favreau is not only Donn's successor. Now, he became a greater dancer more than Donn. Favreau also became Nijinsky's successor. He is not such a great dancer from the beginning of his career. Of course, from the beginning, he has a beautiful, strong body, has a great talent. Through nearly thirty years of training, mastery of technique, understanding for the work and role, stage experience, and deep contemplation, he creates himself as a "great dancer. "
The role of Freddie is a difficult one, requiring both qualities and training. Favreau describes when he first performed the role of Freddie as follows: "The dancer who played Freddie in premiere quit the company. He was physically similar to Freddie Mercury. Maurice Béjart was thinking about who he should give the role to, and it was Roman who suggested that Béjart should cast me in the role. And Maurice Béjart came to me and said, 'I don't want to see Favreau the dancer, I want to see the rock star in you!' " 9).
Freddie is a rock star, not a ballet dancer, so dancer who plays this role has to have the acting skills to express that. The way Favreau uses his body is different from usual dance. For example, the position of his shoulders must be changed from the smooth line used in ballet to the craggy line of a rock star. To play the role of Freddie means to have to dance for two hours with ballet technique but with non-ballet lines. This is not an easy request. But he achieved it.
On Japan tour 2021, (Thursday, October 14, 2021 at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, October 16, 2021 at 2:00 p.m.), Favreau danced Freddie in a bright, joyful, energetic, and overwhelming way. He danced as if he were cherishing each moment. He danced the joy of being alive, of being able to dance here and now, of being able to share time with the audience.
Favreau is now 43 years old. Under normal circumstances, he is close to retirement as a dancer. Favreau said: "If you ask me if I'm tired of touring, I'd say No. I love it and it's the life I deserve. And I want to enjoy it some more. I'll be 42 this year (as of 2019), so I dance a little less than I used to. If I were at L'Opéra national de Paris, this year would be my retirement year. I want to do the best I can …I want to dance as long as I can." 9).
Favreau has matured as a dancer and an artist. And when he plays the leading role in "Ballet for Life," he shows a dazzling glow of life. On Japan tour 2021, his dance as Freddie became extraordinary masterpieces, and all the audience was enthralled.
Reference and Citation
1)Takao Norikoshi(2006),Contemporary Dance: Thorough Guide HYPER, Sakuhinsha
2)Maurice Béjart, translated by Makoto Maeda (1999), Maurice Béjart Memoirs: Whose Life Is It Anyway? Autobiography II, Gekishobo
3)PIA Research Institute (2020) "PIA Research Institute releases"
URL: https://corporate.pia.jp/news/detail_live_enta_20200630.html
4)Interview with Gil Roman (2021), Dance Magazine, November 2021, Shinshokan
5)NBS (2021) "Ballet for Life"
URL: https://www.nbs.or.jp/publish/news/2021/10/post-866.html
6) Takao Norikoshi(2006),Contemporary Dance: Thorough Guide HYPER, Sakuhinsha
7) NBS (2021) "After two postponements, the soulful ballet choreographed to Queen's masterpiece is finally realized.18 years old and under are invited for free! Maurice Béjart Ballet's 2021 Japan Tour to Open Soon! " PR TIMES
URL: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000030.000042570.html
8)NBS (2021), Béjart Ballet Lausanne 2021 Japan Tour Program
9) Jean-Frédéric Saumont (2019), Interview with Julien Favreau,"I don't know what state I'll be in at the end of 'Bolero'"
DALP, November 4, 2019
URL:https://www.dansesaveclaplume.com/pas-de-deux/1100960-julien-favreau-je-ne-sais-jamais-dans-quel-etat-je-serai-pour-la- dernierene-phrase-du-bolero/
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