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Polish dance theatre in Lyon
Girl with dreams
I was 14, maybe 15, when I visited Lyons for the first time. Though they did not determine my youth, three images left an indelible imprint on my memory: the Opera House and the ballet store (I had never seen one before), the Fourviére Basilica towering over the city, and the conservatoire, the most important place of all, which I attended for classical ballet lessons. The monumental renaissance building featured large ballet halls vibrating with soft piano sounds and light touches of pointe shoes and commanded great respect for Terpsichore. I fell in love for the first time. A love for dancing. Hoping it would last for ever.
Woman with dreams
Until today my faithfulness has never left me. Years have passed and I am still madly in love with dancing, though I have other loves as well. Lyons kindled my love, Lyons is going to bring me to account.
Cold
We arrived on a chilly Tuesday morning. The first encounter with the sloping stage was scheduled for the evening. Having no time to waste, we set out for the Old Town. Passing the gothic Cathedral of St Jean, I am reminded of the 2000-year long history of the city. Its first name Lugdunum dates back to 43 BC. In the Middle Ages the city became an important centre of Christianity. Lyons’s golden age spanned two centuries (the 15th and 16th) when people abandoned God to worship money. Culture and architecture benefited from the rapid development of banking and finances. The splendour of the Renaissance (though mannerist to some extent) still pleases the eye. Painters, architects and poets found their home in Lyons and it was there Rabelais published his Gargantua and Pantagruel. The 19th century, the age of commerce and conflicts, strengthened Lyons’s position as a financial centre. New banks were established (Crédit Lyonnais in 1863), new theatres (Célestins Theatre) and churches were built (the Basilica of Notre-Dame-de-Fourviére in 1895) and new factories were set up (the Lumiére brothers invented their cinematograph in one of them). Money continued to flow in in the 20th century and it is still in great abundance in the 21st century for new investments and restoration works. Lyons is the city of 40 theatres, the National Opera House, the Maison de la Danse, 23 museums and 16 cinemas! There is an airport, many consulates and the underground (with an unusual overground line). Something for every taste. Even for the ecclesiastical one with an abundance of Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox churches. Visiting everything during one morning and afternoon seemed hardly feasible so we hurried to get a glimpse of the Basilica, the Opera and the building nicknamed the Pencil and… went back to see the performance by Andonis Foniadakis. Wow, how I adore such expression, such limit-breaking feast and such dynamics which is both restrained and unrestrained…
Warmer
Tuesday – it is getting warmer and the temperature rise is not simply due to the presence of the most respected dance companies. But yes, they are the best in Europe. Guy Darmet, the artistic director of the festival (and of the Maison de la Danse which he established in 1980) dedicated the Biennale to Europe (as he did with Latin America in 2002 and Asia in 2000). Europe as a myth and a reality with its faith in people as Darmet declared in the programme. He invited 40 dance companies, over 600 performers (dancers, choreographers and musicians) from 21 European Union countries to hold up a mirror in which Europe could see itself and assess its gains and losses. |
Hot
Press photographers, TV stations, journalists, flashes, cameras and microphones. Wow, it is getting hotter. Jacek Przybyłowicz has not left the theatre for three days and with every passing day we start our rehearsals at an earlier hour. The premiere is tomorrow, we are bobbling from nervousness. Only our director seems calm, she is even smiling.
Explosion
We are terrified. Will several months of hard work and Jacek’s sophisticated concept find favour with the audience? Can Europe see itself in the twisted baroque aesthetics; is this the right moment to present the French with the Arab-Jewish relativism of the Dove’s Necklace? We have seen most of the performances at the festival. Apart from safely classical interpretations, the others explore nakedness in the form and existentialism in the content. And we… go for the beauty of movement. In a beautiful content. It will soon turn out whether this beauty appeals to everyone. The premiere is approaching… |
We are inside the dreams
If dreams ever come true, you are inside the dreams. We were inside the dreams. Guy Darmet was delighted, the audience would not let us leave the stage and our director’s mysterious smile proved to be a stoic token of faith in our ability to captivate a cultured and refined audience. Father Rustam Biełow in Poland prayed for our success (thank you, Father). Jacek was happy, our director was happy, we were happy. And so it was. The news spread like wildfire. Among the festival audience at the second performance were members of numerous dance companies. And again they did not want to let us leave the stage when we finished Barocco. The faith in the power of dancing became flesh. It may sound immodest but not in the light of all that applause, ovation and enthusiasm…
Mature woman with dreams
I have a dream: We return to Lyons to perform in the Maison de la Danse where only the best are accepted. After all everything started for me in Lyons, my love was kindled once again there and I am assured that the time when I am brought to account has yet to come. I share Guy’s belief that the Polish Dance Theatre and Lyons will meet again.
Iwona Pasińska |
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Dofinansowano ze ¶rodków 
