Gracefully twirling like wings of a bird soaring through the sky, a plethora of pleated skirts shimmer in the surroundings of the décor of Thierry Malandain’s production of Daphnis et Chloé. Here, the choreographer pays homage to two of his greatest influencers, choreographer Michel Fokine and composer Maurice Ravel.
Composed for Ballets russes in 1912, Daphnis et Chloé is an ode to the stalwarts of Ancient Greece in the form of néo-classique ballet and recounts the story of two young lovers. Under the watchful eye of the greek god Pan (who seems to guide the couple throughout the evening), the passion that draws Daphnis and Chloé to one another is abruptly put to the test by the temptress Lycéion and the head of the vengeful pirates, Bryaxis. Reflecting the programme from the work’s première in 1912, Thierry Malandain’s modern adaptation calls upon aspects of Nijinsky's comic ballet, L’Après-midi d’un Faune, replacing the traditional rocky landscape with a giant box of tissues upon which the fantasies of the Faune are spread out, juxtaposed with the music of Claude Debussy.
Throughout this production, Thierry Malandain attempts to destabilize the traditional ideas of classical ballet. Chloé, far from being a fragile young girl, becomes a powerful woman, master of her own destiny, and the leader of her relationship with romantic dreamer Daphnis. The evening’s protagonists are brought to life by the sublime pairing of Natalia de Froberville and Ramiro Gómez Samón.
