Maurice Béjart's death

[drb]

On Russia Today (English Language) TV, "The French King of Ballet" is the lead cultural story. In Moscow, Bolshoi figures Tsiskaridze ("created unforgettably great performances that were copied by many other choreographers"), Liepa ("the talent to shock the audience"), Ratmansky ("sexuality and passion were his mottos") were interviewed, and it was said that his appearance in 1978 caused a revolution in Russian ballet. Click Video on right.

http://www.russiatoday.ru/entertainment/news/17431

(There was also footage, with interviews, of preparation for the Zhakaraova/Bolle Giselle)

Added for those who get RTTV (it is Ch. 135 on Northern Manhattan TWC), it is scheduled to be shown again at 8:46 PM; Culture circulates on a four hour cycle.

[Jack Reed]

(from Washington, DC) I was moved by the tenderness and wisdom of MB's reminiscences of Farrell in "Elusive Muse", and I was glad to see his company perform Rite of Spring in New York years ago (which I saw, incidentally, because I had read of Balanchine's remark, in answer to a question about it, "You can't do it, but it's the best one."), and within the past year, the "Love Scene" from his Romeo and Juliet, performed here in Washington, DC, by The Suzanne Farrell Ballet. So I share some of the sense of loss expressed here, and I am heartened by the thought, as I infer it from some of the posts here (thank you very much) that MB maintained that tenderness and wisdom to the end.

[papeetepatrick]

From an email I just received from one of my best friends and book collaborator/publisher/painter Christian Pellet, who lives in Lausanne. He was responding to something I wrote when exploring ideas for our current project, in which I'd found an image of Baryshnikov in New York last week that I knew I'd include, as one of his residences here (whether or not he still lives in it) does have a certain majestic presence to it that surprised and slightly hypnotized me. (I included that only because I wouldn't have gotten the response about Bejart otherwise--I had no idea Christian was so aware of him):

"Baryshnikov!

Strange that you would mention him so intensely...

Maurice Béjart died yesterday in Lausanne, and although I have seen his choreography only once (on New Years' 2005 in Lausanne), one also feels here the aura of this superb artist. I saw him a few times in the streets of Lausanne, where he settled in 1987, and created the Ballet Béjart Lausanne, and also a school in 1992. I know people who worked with him (mostly photographers) who described him as extremely demanding (the price of his "perfection"). But I really felt in the past two days, that an important creator has left the scene. Many people broke in tears when theys heard the news of his death."

[Lidewij]

I only found out today, when I was going through yesterday's paper. On wednesday my mum ordered my tickets for his "Zarathoustra" in April in Antwerp, and I said to her, "If I want to see something of him, I have to do it now; he's so old, he might be dead tomorrow." And just half an hour ago I found out that he did die that next day. The article said he wanted his ashes to be spread on the beach of Ostend, but spreading on the beach isn't allowed, so probably they'll spread it in the sea. It also said he wanted to take the Belgian nationalty.

[Hans]

How very sad. I remember him as an extremely kind man.

[kfw]

Suzanne Farrell's remembrance is now on the Kennedy Center's web site.