Distribution

Les Noces
Choreography by Bronislava Nijinska

Conception, archives interpretation Dominique Brun with the collaboration of Sophie Jacotot

Historical research Dominique Brun and Sophie Jacotot
Archives photographer Ivan Chaumeille
Archives translation Maria Nevzorova

Interpretation
22 alternating dancers
Roméo Agid, Caroline Baudouin, Marine Beelen, Zoé Bleher, Garance Bréhaudat, Florent Brun, Joao Fernando Cabral, Lou Cantor, Clarisse Chanel, Gaspard Charon, Zoë De Sousa, Massimo Fusco, Judith Gars, Maxime Guillon Roi Sans Sac, Anne Laurent, Clément Lecigne, Vincent Lenfant, Marie Orts, Enzo Pauchet, Laurie Peschier-Pimont, Maud Pizon, Mathilde Rance, Lucas Real, Julie Salgues, Lina Schlageter

Music Igor Stravinsky (1919)
Direction Mathieu Romano
Performed by Ensemble Aedes and Les Siècles
Solistes Renaud Delaigue, basse, Pauline Leroy, mezzo-soprano, Martial Pauliat, ténor et Amélie Raison, soprano
Choir Soprano Laura Holm, Roxane Chalard, Agathe Peyrat, Agathe Boudet Alto Laia Cortés Calafell, Julia Beaumier, Charlotte Naït, Anaïs Bertrand Ténor Fabrice Foison, Florent Thioux, Anthony Lo Papa, Camillo Angarita Basse Sorin Dumitrascu, Pierre Barret-Mémy, Frédéric Bourreau, Pascal Gourgand, Igor Bouin
Russian language coach Marianne Sytchkov
Orchestra Christophe Durant (harmonium), Nicolas Gerbier (percussions), Eriko Minami (percussions), Iurie Morar (cymbalum) et Françoise Rivalland (cymbalum)

Living paintings choreography Dominique Brun
From the paintings of Pieter Bruegel l'Ancien « La danse de la mariée en plein air » (1566) and those of Pierre Paul Rubens « La danse des villageois italiens » (1636) and « La Kermesse » or « Noce de village » (between 1635 et 1638)
Living paintings music
David Christoffel

Costume Marie Labarelle
Scenography Odile Blanchard - Atelier Devineau
Technical manager Christophe Poux
Lighting design Philippe Gladieux
Light production Alban Rouge
Sound Eric Aureau
Running time 40 minutes

CREDITS

Production Les porteurs d’ombre
Coproduction Association du 48 | Le Volcan, Scène nationale du Havre | Chaillot - Théâtre national de la Danse | Les 2 Scènes - Scène nationale de Besançon | Théâtre du Beauvaisis - Scène nationale | Le Quartz - Scène nationale de Brest | Théâtre Louis Aragon, Scène conventionnée d’intérêt national Art et Création – Danse de Tremblay-en-France | Ménagerie de Verre (Paris) | CCN Ballet de Lorraine | La Briqueterie - CDCN du Val-de-Marne | Le Grand R - Scène nationale La Roche sur Yon | Cité musicale-Metz | CCNN dans le cadre de Danse en Grande Forme | Les Quinconces-L’Espal Scène nationale du Mans | Théâtre de Suresnes Jean Vilar

With the support of Mécénat Musical Société Générale, l’Adami et du fonds de dotation du Quartz (Brest)

First performed

19th, 20th, 23rd, 24th, 25th March 2021 | Chaillot, Théâtre National de la danse as part of la Biennale de danse du Val-de-Marne

LES NOCES

Les Noces was first performed on 13th June 1923 by the Ballets Russes, at the Gaité Lyrique. Ernest Ansermet (1883-1929) directed the music, Natalia Gontcharova designed the sets and the costumes. It was based on one of Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)’s libretto’s, whose prose was translated by Louis-Ferdinand Ramuz.

Continuing her research on the most important figures of modernity, Dominique Brun turned to Bronislava Nijinska (1891-1972), the first and only female choreographer of the Ballet Russes. She draws on a thorough reading of the archives of the 1923 performance of Les Noces, but also focuses on Nijinska’s 1966 recreation of Les Noces, a dance which was performed many times during her life. It is the confrontation between these two interpretations of Les Noces which is at stake. She looks at the annotations on the 1923 score and the notebooks which trace the piece’s second life from the 1966 recreation. In fine, these archives communicate with the choreographic score recorded by Tom Brown in the 1980s (in Labanotation). Recreated with most of the dancers from Sacre #2, Les Noces is a piece which is characterised by its grounded group movements. Its choreography is as ritualistic as it is earthy, for it borrows its dynamics from Russian peasant dances.

Dominique Brun complementsS Nijinska’s dance with an original dramaturgy. She inserts three “tableaux vivants” between Les Noces’ four tableaux of. They represent Pieter Bruegel’s The Peasant Wedding (1567) and Pierre Paul Rubens’ The Village Fete (1635-38). On stage, dancers and musicians assume the attitudes that we see in these two paintings. The relative immobility of these “tableaux vivants” comes into tension with Nijinska’s choreography, where the sharp movements are like real knocks and the use of spikes metaphorically represents the piercing of the hymen.

She brings the archives into the modern day, updates them, and makes performances out of them. Brun’s revival rereading of Les Noces pays tribute to Nijinska, an avant-garde choreographer who was influenced by the constructivism and modernism of her famous brother, Vaslav Nijinsky (1889-1950).

creation file

CALENDAR

* The creation Les Noces can be found in the programs entitled Nijinska | Voilà la femme and Ballets russes

2021-2022
30th November 2021 Nijinska | Voilà la femme | Le Grand R - Scène nationale La Roche sur Yon
4th December 2021 Ballets Russes (Les Noces, Un Bolero, Sacre # 2) | Festival de Danse Cannes
7th and 8th December 2021 Nijinska | Voilà la femme | La Comédie de Valence, Centre Dramatique National Drôme-Ardèche
18th January 2022 Nijinska | Voilà la femme | Les Quinconces-L’Espal, Scène nationale le Mans
21st January 2022 Nijinska | Voilà la femme | Théâtre Louis Aragon, Scène conventionnée Danse - Tremblay-en-France
25nd and 26nd January 2022 Nijinska | Voilà la femme with l’Ensemble Aedes and Les Siècles orchestra | Les 2 Scènes - Scène nationale de Besançon
29th January 2022 Nijinska | Voilà la femme with l’Ensemble Aedes and Les Siècles orchestra | Cité-musicale Metz
1st and 2nd February 2022 Nijinska | Voilà la femme with l’Ensemble Aedes and Les Siècles orchestra | Le Volcan Scène nationale du Havre
5th February 2022 Nijinska | Voilà la femme | Scène nationale du Sud Aquitain
8th February 2022 Nijinska | Voilà la femme | Le Parvis, Scène nationale Tarbes-Pyrénées
11th and 12th February 2022 Nijinska | Voilà la femme | Théâtre de la Cité, CDN de Toulouse
8th and 10th April 2022 Sacre du Printemps (Les Noces, Sacre #2) | Théâtre de Suresnes Jean Vilar

2020- 2021
September 19th, 2020 Les Noces (extract for 4 dancers) | Parc forestier de la Poudrerie as part of 3D Danse Dehors Dedans | Théâtre Louis Aragon, Tremblay-en-France
March 19, 20, 23, 24 and 25th 2021 Nijinska | Voilà la femme with 25 musiciens | Chaillot, Théâtre National de la danse as part of la Biennale de danse du Val-de-Marne
April 9th and 11th 2021 Ballets russes | Théâtre de Suresnes Jean Vilar
June 17th 2021 Nijinska | Voilà la femme | Théâtre Paul Éluard, Bezons