Obsessive, hypnotic, Ravel’s famous and very popular Boléro was born in 1928, from the collaboration between the composer and the patron and dancer Ida Rubinstein.
This scandalous figure of the Ballets Russes during the Belle Époque asked Ravel for a ballet of “Spanish character”. Ravel chooses the rhythm of the bolero, a traditional Andalusian dance.
In the original version, choreographed by Nijinska, the action takes place in an Andalusian inn. A gypsy woman dances on a table, encouraged by a group of fascinated men.
Back to basics
If Maurice Béjart’s version in 1961 was a landmark in the history of modern and then contemporary dance, the troupe which comes to perform it in Limoges returns to its classical sources.
This ballet is also an opportunity to evoke the life of Ida Rubinstein, and the other composers she met, Saint-Saëns, Massenet… Ravel’s Boléro only lasts 16 minutes.
At the Zénith de Limoges, Friday January 17, 8 p.m., 44 to 69 euros
