The biggest splash a ballet company can
make in its debut appearance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music
is by giving a fresh spin to one of the most popular and enduring
ballets.
That’s what choreographer Jean-Christophe Maillot and Les Ballets
de Monte Carlo will do when they bring their version of Sergei
Prokofiev’s "Cinderella" to the Howard Gilman Opera
House April 29-May 3.
Maillot took time out from his busy rehearsal schedule to give
an exclusive interview to GO Brooklyn, explaining his reinterpretation
of Prokofiev’s musical fairy tale.
"It’s always interesting when you give a new take on a story-ballet
that’s very familiar, combining that with a new form or new way
of telling the story," Maillot said. "The original
idea was to keep it as a fairy tale – which we all need in these
difficult times – but also give it a new human dimension so audiences
can see themselves in it."
That new human dimension stems from a simple idea: Cinderella’s
real mother (who died before the story begins) returns as our
heroine’s fairy godmother.
"We start with Cinderella’s mother and father together,
then we see her mother die, and the mother becomes the fairy
godmother who follows her all her life," Maillot explained.
"It may be that fairytales have more reality than we usually
see, and maybe these kinds of fairy tales happen every day."
Prokofiev’s dazzling music gave Maillot the inspiration to seek
a new approach. "Prokofiev’s score is more complex than
the score for his ballet of ’Romeo & Juliet,’ and I wanted
to see if I could explore the story in a more complex way through
this complex music."
Maillot’s idea of Cinderella’s mother as guardian angel was also
inspired by a real-life tragedy.
"My father died seven years ago, and he was the person who
made me love what I’m doing today," Maillot said. "His
death was a big shock, but curiously, I had a feeling of release
and freedom, which sounds terrible. But I realized that he was
a ’fairy godmother’ for me, and still is!
"I’m always thinking about him, but the difference is that
now, I cannot ask him his opinion, so I have to invent the answer
for myself."
Another Maillot innovation is to deny what audiences expect from
classical ballet, like eye-catching sets and costumes. "I
want to take away big costumes and big sets from this kind of
ballet, which have less to do with the dancing and the performers,"
he said. "I want to make a fusion between dance and lighting
[by Dominique Drillot], since the aesthetic aspect is most important.
"I want to make the choreography disappear into the story,"
said Maillot. "I want audiences to not be impressed by the
technique but by the emotions. I’m preoccupied with the idea
that the audience must become emotionally involved with the story.
I don’t like doing ballet for specialists but for the general
public."
Maillot believes passionately in art’s pre-eminent cultural role.
"It’s our obligation to disturb people – not to shock, but
to make audiences think in new ways, so they can perceive new
things," he said. "Usually, the performance continually
stops as the audience applauds the dancers, which to me is wrong.
I want to force everyone to think more, I want to give everyone
pleasure without trying to seduce them.
"Pleasure is not an enemy of creation, but boredom is. I’m
trying to restore that balance – giving what people expect, but
also more than what they expect. They expect Prokofiev and ’Cinderella,’
but I want to give them something more. Sometimes a little evolution
is better than a big revolution."
That "evolution" includes a technical innovation: instead
of a glass slipper, Maillot spotlights his dancer’s foot. "What’s
most difficult is to give a dancer a glass slipper to put on
and try to dance," he points out. "The true ’glass
slipper’ for a dancer is her bare foot: that’s the most important
part for a dancer. We use lighting and slight-of-hand for her
glass slipper. Her whole foot shines when we put [glitter] on
it, then a spotlight."
Maillot and his troupe’s BAM performances are part of a weeklong
celebration, "Monte Carlo Takes New York," featuring
visits by Princess Caroline. The French-born choreographer is
overwhelmed by their inclusion.
"We feel honored to have been asked to perform here,"
he says. "It shows that, although there is glamour, there
are also simple, passionate people who enjoy their work immensely.
We hope that passion is apparent to the audience."
Les Ballets de Monte Carlo performs
Prokofiev’s "Cinderella" at BAM’s Howard Gilman Opera
House, 30 Lafayette Ave. at Ashland Place in Fort Greene on April
29 at 7 pm, and May 1-3 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $20, $40 and
$60.
The April 29 performance is also the BAM Spring Gala, to be attended
by Princess Caroline and Prince Ernst August of Hanover and HSH
Hereditary Prince Albert; call (718) 636-4182 for gala information.
There will be a BAM Dialogue with choreographer Jean-Christophe
Maillot on May 1 at 6 pm. For more information, visit www.bam.org
on the Web.
