CCN Malandain Ballet Biarritz

There are the famous ones by Antonio Vivaldi. But the Four Seasons were also set to music by his contemporary Giovanni Guido, who had a career in Paris under the regency of Philippe d'Orléans and the reign of Louis XIV. While the score of the former, which was immensely popular, has become a veritable catchphrase, that of the latter, based on four anonymous poems entitled the Caractères des saisons, has remained virtually unknown. Thierry Malandain has taken up this double challenge with brio and sensitivity in a ballet presented as a world premiere at the Cannes-Côte d'Azur Dance Festival. The idea of bringing the two works together was suggested to him by Laurent Brunner, director of the Château de Versailles Spectacles, and by the conductor Stefan Plewniak, who two years ago made it the programme of a concert at the Opéra Royal. It could not fail to appeal to the author of Noah (2017) and the Pastoral (2019), who is always keen to put his musical intelligence at the service of humanity and the living. At a time when the degradation of the environment is a tangible threat, no less than eight seasons will celebrate nature, a word that Thierry Malandain opportunely recalls comes from the Latin verb "to be born". Like a promise of renewal, and a reason for hope.

Thierry Malandain
While claiming his "classical ballet culture", choreographer Thierry Malandain has been offering a contemporary view of academic dance for 35 years - and more than 80 ballets. At the head of the Biarritz National Choreographic Centre since 1998, he has received numerous international awards and distinctions, including several nominations for the Benois de la danse. A connoisseur of the history of dance, he has been elected in 2019 to chair n°1 of the brand new Choreography section of the Académie des beaux-arts.

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