Note of intent

Leaving behind the festive atmosphere of the salons and brasseries of yesteryear, Johannès Brahms's Hungarian Dances are set in the confines of a social club. Despite this "drift", the music retains its original purpose, inviting dancers to entertain and please, just as they did in the past. Before, a Hungarian peasant would dance in the village square. Nowadays, an ordinary man goes to a dance club for the same reasons as before which are to have fun and be appealing. The Czardas has been replaced by rock ‘n’ roll and the tango, but the music remains the same. We’ve tried to isolate this music from its traditional context to give it the context of our times; it will still however keep its original meaning, that of music written for the pleasure of meeting another person at the crossroads of hope. Thierry Malandain

Press

Blown away after the live performance by the last ballet - a long and loud standing ovation for a breathtaking show, a success both aesthetically and in the emotion that it conveys.[...] Thierry Malandain has energy to spare and infectious humanism. The entire performance could be regarded as a tribute to Mankind. It was Man as poet, very refined, but also social and supportive Man with Gnossiennes. Then it was shy, ridiculous and pitiful Man, with a humorous and soft approach in Danses qu’on croise.

Sud Ouest • 10 April 2001

 

Danses qu'on croise immerses us in the ambiance around a dance barre, by deploying a spatial game that’s more interesting than formal language, to which Malandain adds the important element of weightlessness. In this piece, the dancers were correct, in their description of pure lines, but sometimes lacked in fluidity.

El Diario Vasco, Ana Remiro • May 2007