The annual Festival de Danse is back in Cannes this coming November, with an eclectic line-up of contemporary performances and shows.
Since its creation in 1984, the annual Cannes Dance Festival has become one of the leading global events of its kind, its foothold strengthened by the presence of the famous École Supérieure de Danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower in the city.
For the last 20 years, the festival has focused its attention on contemporary dance, presenting new talents and innovative works from many international dance companies.
The theme for the 2013 edition is ‘Traces et Reflets’ (Tracks and Reflections), and the festival runs from Tuesday 19th to Sunday, 24th November, under the artistic direction of Frédéric Flamand, choreographer and manager of the National Ballet of Marseille.
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The programme for the festival is as follows:
Tuesday, 19th November
The festival opens with the French première of ‘Sequel’, performed and choreographed by Jonah Bokaer. The performance takes place at 6pm in the Théâtre La Licorne. This is followed at 8:30pm in the Grand Auditorium of the Palais des Festivals by the ‘Rite of Spring / Near the terrace’, performed by the Shen Wei Dance Arts and choreographed by Shen Wei himself.
Wednesday, 20th November
The Théâtre Croisette is the venue for the 6pm French première of ‘A Ballet Story’ featuring choreography by Victor Hugo Pontes. The second performance of the evening is ‘Les 24 Preludes de Chopin / Henri Michaux : movements’, by the Marie Chouinard Company at 8:30pm in the Théâtre Debussy.
Thursday, 21st November
The Théâtre La Licorne hosts two performances on the one bill at 6pm. The first is entitled ‘Black Pulp’ performed by the XIN Company, with choreography, music, and costume design by Martin Harriague. The second performance of the evening is ‘SIWA The retinal persistence of a dream Eden’, with choreography, stage design, and imagery by Michel Kelemenis. Meanwhile, the Ballet National de Marseille perform ‘Titanic’ with choreography by Frédéric Flamand at 8:30pm in the Grand Auditorium.
Friday, 22nd November
Système Castafiore (pictured above), performs the impressively titled ‘Renée en botaniste dans les plans hyperboles’, with choreography and costumes by Marcia Barcellos at 6pm in the Théâtre Croisette. The second performance of the evening sees the French première of ‘De Anima’ by the Virgilio Sieni company, with production, choreography, set and costume design by Virgilio Sieni. This performance takes place at 8:30pm in the Théâtre Debussy (Palais des Festivals).
Saturday, 23rd November
Sharon Fridman provides the choreography and also dances in ‘Al menos dos Caras’, described as a hypnotising duo for three. The performance takes place at 6:30pm in the Théâtre de Grasse. ‘Drumming Live’ with Rosas & Ictus (pictured in lead image) and featuring the choreography of Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker takes place at 8:30pm in the Grand Auditorium.
Sunday, 24th November
The Cannes Jeune Ballet, made up of students from the École Supérieure de Danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower and the École Nationale Supérieure de Danse de Marseille, will be giving a performance of ‘Myth of the Green Table’ by Kurt Jooss at 3pm in the Théâtre Croisette. This will be followed by a conference with dance historian Geneviève Vincent, and a performance of excerpts from Stravinski’s ‘Rite of Spring’, which celebrates its centenary this year.
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The festival comes to a close with a performance of ‘Robot!‘, featuring actual musical robots! Choreography and artistic direction is by Blanca Li, with the assistance of Maywa Denki. The performance takes place at 6pm in the Théâtre Debussy.
Tickets for the festival range in price, depending on the performance and seating requirements. Reduced tariffs are also available for students and the unemployed. There is also a Festival Passport available for €100 or €150 (depending on seat selection), allowing access to all performances.
Tickets may be purchased at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes – phone 04 92 98 62 77 (10am – 6pm), from all the usual outlets, or reserved online.
CONTACT DETAILS
Palais des Festivals et des Congrès
1, boulevard de la Croisette
06400 Cannes
Théâtre Croisette
50, boulevard de la Croisette
06400 Cannes
Théâtre de Grasse
2, ave. Maximin Isnard
06130 Grasse
Théâtre La Licorne
25, ave. Francis Tonner
06150 Cannes La Bocca
All images courtesy Festival de Danse de Cannes; lead image Rosas & Ictus (Drumming Live 2012) © Herman Sorgeloos; Système Castafiore image ® Karl Biscuit
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