Contemporary view on classical ballet opens Arts Festival

Thomas Besnard and Raphael Cottin

Lied Ballet,” the show headlining the Macao Arts Festival’s grand opening tonight, is a contemporary piece inspired by 19th-century-style ballet.
Divided into three acts, the piece is more emotional rather than intellectual and leaves some freedom for the performers, allowing audiences to leave with their own interpretation.
Presented by French group Centre Chorégraphique National de Tours, “Lied Ballet” is a physical interpretation show choreographed by Thomas Lebrun.
Pianist Thomas Besnard and dancer Raphael Cottin provided a glimpse into the show yesterday, stressing that, “it is not a neo-classical piece, but really a contemporary view based on two different structures from the Romantic period.”
“The first part is really dramatic, with dark costumes. The second part is more lyrical with live music, with piano and singer, with solo and duets. And the last part is built on contemporary music creation,” said Raphael Cottin.
Cottin added that the show’s first part “is more of an expressive narrative,” with dancers being asked to physically interpret lyrics. The last part, however, entails a more abstract approach, bringing all the dancers together on stage.
“If you are looking at the piece, it may seem like the three acts don’t have very much in common, but if you look closely, Thomas [Lebrun] was very careful in using little bits and pieces that really bind the acts together,” said Thomas Besnard.
Introducing live music and blending it with the choreography is also part of the show’s uniqueness. However, Besnard highlighted that “for us musicians, it means a great responsibility, because we can’t just go out there on stage and play slower one day. We need to be fairly consistent (…) otherwise it will have repercussions on the dancers and the whole choreography.”
He added that, “we are all really connected and it comes across in the second act that we are very intensively listening to each other and trusting one another.”
Asked upon whether the audience might feel tempted to look for a story behind their performance, they assured that, indeed, the show’s up for interpretation. “Every time we have a Q&A after the show, people ask Thomas [the choreographer] what [a certain piece] means, but he never answers. He says: ‘What does it mean to you?’” Besnard recalled.
“He likes to leave that little area of freedom: what do you think? What do you make of it?” he stressed.
For its premiere in Asia, “Lied Ballet” takes the Macau Cultural Center (CCM) grand auditorium stage tonight at 8 p.m., returning on Saturday at the same time.