Edward Clug
Hommage à Stravinsky
Choreographer: Edward Clug
Modern (neoclassical) ballet co-produced with the Maribor 2012 - European Capital of Culture
The project Hommage à Stravinsky is an artistic tribute of Maribor Ballet to Igor Stravinsky, honouring the 130th anniversary of composer’s birth by reviving his work and making it aesthetically accessible to wider audience. Additionally, the project will gain on its importance on the account of the centennial of the world premiere of Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), which will be celebrated around the globe in the year 2013.
Edward Clug [ … ] has achieved the near impossible: a new and meaningful interpretation of Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps.
Maggie Foyer, Dance Europe
Beside the Rite of Spring, the author of the project decided to include a music piece entitled Songs for the mating season by Slovenian composer Borut Kržišnik, alluding to masterpiece by Stravinsky. The piece has been used already in the project Sacre du temps, which was staged for the Dutch dance company Station Zuid in 2007. Author’s decision to reuse Songs for the mating season as the first part of Hommage reflects in the exposure of ritual of a mediocre "hero" of the middle-class, who is unable to resist the temptation of his primeval instincts and desires during the "mating" season.
Songs for the mating season
Music Borut Kržišnik
Dancers Catarina de Meneses, Olesja Hartmann, Evgenija Koškina, Tetiana Svitlična, Mirjana Šrot, Asami Nakashima, Gaj Žmavc, Dénes Darab, Sytze Jan Luske, Tiberiu Marta, Demetrius King, Matjaž Marin, Yuya Omaki
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Le Sacre du printemps
Music Igor Stravinski
Sacrificial Dance Evgenija Koškina, Olesja Hartmann
Women Catarina de Meneses, Olesja Hartmann, Evgenija Koškina, Tetiana Svitlična, Mirjana Šrot, Asami Nakashima
Men Dénes Darab, Demetrius King, Sytze Jan Luske, Matjaž Marin, Tiberiu Marta, Gaj Žmavc
A Note by author and choreographer Edward Clug:
"The Rite of Spring is undoubtedly a masterpiece of cult proportions of the 20th century. It does not just represent a turnabout within Stravinsky’s music poetics, but also in history of music. Furthermore, the entire evolution of the 20th century dance performativity reflects in The Rite, starting with Nijinsky’s staged choreography and onwards, especially in Béjart’s majestic aestheticism and Pina Bausch’s unique creativity and lust for life. The latter two "principles” have become a
distinctive paradigm of the 20th century in their own right, influencing the majority of all subsequent staged choreographies. The original Nijinsky’s production represents an initiation of my own choreography, in respect of its hermetism and "disturbing" avantgardistic character at that time. My interpretation of The Rite could also be perceived as a personal tribute to Nijinsky and the infamous (lack of) "success" of the world premiere in Paris, which has indeed become a dynamic platform of
development for modern dance in the 20th century.
This interpretation of The Rite follows the original libretto and music texture, which both depict a legend from pagan (pre-Christian) Russia. The legend conveys a story about ritual sacrifice of a (virgin) maiden, who has to dance to death, in order to restore fertility of the Earth, and regain the benevolence of the pagan spring deity. In the iconographic aspect, the performance employs the ethnographic symbols of the ancient Russian legend, i.e. women with long braid of hair and rosy
cheeks, and men with full-grown beards – both being sex symbols, transposed into the contemporary world – in which everything is prepared for the new consecration of spring."
Cast
Catarina de MenesesOlesja Hartmann
Evgenija Koškina
Tetiana Svitlična
Mirjana Šrot
Asami Nakashima
Matjaž Marin
Gaj Žmavc
Dénes Darab
Sytze Jan Luske
Tiberiu Marta
Demetrius King
Yuya Omaki
Set Design Marko Japelj
Costume Designer Leo Kulaš
Lighting Designer Tomaž Premzl
Assistant to Choreographer Matjaž Marin
Sound Technician Gregor Mendaš
Stage Manager Peter Krajnc
Photo gallery
Le Sacre du printemps Photo: Tiberiu Marta
Le Sacre du printemps Photo: Tiberiu Marta
Le Sacre du printemps Photo: Tiberiu Marta
Le Sacre du printemps Photo: Tiberiu Marta
Le Sacre du printemps Photo: Tiberiu Marta
Le Sacre du printemps Photo: Tiberiu Marta
Songs for the mating season Photo: Tiberiu Marta
Songs for the mating season Photo: Tiberiu Marta
Songs for the mating season Photo: Tiberiu Marta
