Adieu Odessa…a nostalgic meditation on exile
by Carol Pratl

Gigi Caciuleanu, since coming to Paris in 1973 from Roumania, has been a dynamic figure in the French contemporary dance scene. Like most avant-garde artists who fled Eastern Europe or Russia in pre-perestroika days, Caciuleanu sought a country where he could freely create modern dance works, which were scorned back in Bucharest.
In France he found compatriots with whom he has never ceased to work, such as the brilliant dancer Ruxandra Racovitza and scenographer Dan Mastacan, who both collaborated on the Sudden Théâtre’s upcoming production“Adieu Odessa.” Caciuleanu began his dance career as a ballet soloist after graduating from Bucharest’s prestigious Choreography School, which only offered training in classical ballet. He went on to work at the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow and returned to join the National Roumanian Opera, before meeting some underground contemporary dancemakers, who influenced his decision to abandon its dusty academic repertoire.
Caciuleanu’s reputation as an inventive modern choreographer grew after winning top prize at one international competition after another, first at the famous Varna International Competition in 1970 with a piece called “Mess Around” set to music by Ray Charles, then two years in a row at the Cologne International Competition. Soon after he was invited to join Pina Bausch’s Folkwang Schule in Essen.
His move to France resulted from a fateful meeting with American pioneer Rosella Hightower, who helped him found the Studio de Danse Contemporaine at the Grand Théâtre in Nancy in 1973. In the same year, Caciuleanu was awarded the coveted first prize at the Bagnolet International Competition, and began inviting talented young French choreographers — such as Dominique Bagouet, Maguy Marin and Jacques Garnier — to perform in Nancy. He founded the Danse-à-Aix summer fest, which with Montpellier, is still one of Europe’s best forums for new dance.
More narrative than his French counterparts, Gigi Caciuleanu’s dance style clearly has an Eastern European touch... His works are always full of invention and punctuated by humor and burlesque moments. His movement is fluid, light and technically solid with a predilection for making props part of the choreography.
“Adieu Odessa” is a nostalgic meditation on the subject of exile, perhaps Caciuleanu’s own. In a cabaret-like setting, it traces the wanderings of a lone westward-bound traveler who is eventually joined by a female companion (Racovitza) who commiserates over a tattered suitcase. Poignant and comical memories of an imagined homeland come to life through a moving music montage: from Khatchaturian’s “Concerto for Violin and Orchestra” to Tchaikovsky melodies, to Russian, gypsy, and Roumanian folk tunes.
“Adieu Odessa” (chor.: Gigi Caciuleanu), Sept 19-23 at 9pm; Sept 24 at 3:30pm, Sudden Théâtre, 14 bis, rue Ste-Isaure, 18e, M° Simplon, tel: 01 42 62 35 00

Selections

“Al compas del tiempo” (Cristina Hoyos Ballet) Sept 12 to Oct 1 at 8:30pm; Sat at 5pm & 8:30pm. Internationally renowned flamenco diva Cristina Hoyos presents her new work, “The Measure of Time,” at the elegant Mogador Theater. Hoyos is appreciated for her unique charismatic style, blending traditional elements of Spanish dance with a refreshing touch of modern movement. Theâtre Mogador 25 rue Mogador, 9e, M° Trinité or Havre-Caumartin, tel: 01 53 32 32 00

“Riverdance – The Show” Sept 18-30 at 8:30pm. Riverdance is back and ready to enchant Parisian audiences once again in an eclectic program of Irish, Russian, Spanish and American character dance. The marvelous 100-member cast of dancers are always amazing and perfectly in sync. The changing rhythms are captivating, the singers magical and the accompanying sound and light show is a delight. Palais des Congrès 2, pl de la Porte Maillot, 17e, M° Porte Maillot, tel: 01 40 68 00 05

Spectacles Sauvages “Paroles en Parabole” Sept 21-24 at 7pm; Sept 30 at 5pm. The fun and informal Spectacles Sauvages events were inaugurated one year ago at the Regard du Cygne Studio to give aspiring dancers billed together in one evening a chance to get feedback from works-in-progress. Held several times a year, the series alternates with Worksweek events, both giving grantless Paris-based performers a rare chance to share their work. For the first time, this edition cincentrates on a theme, intriguingly called A-Voeux: guest choreographers have been asked to put into dance contemporary prose works dealing with wishes and confessions, and guest writers to put into words the dances they’ll see. Studio Regard du Cygne 210 rue de Belleville, 20e, M° pl des Fêtes, tel: 01 43 58 55 93

“Reencuentro,” “Zapateado,” “Movimiento Flamenco” (Antonio Marquez Company) Sept 23, 26, 28, 29 at 8pm. The Paris Opera dance season opens this year with a flamenco program choreographed by Antonio Marquez, whose company will also perform in Massenet’s opera “Don Quixote” at the Bastille Opera, Sept 22 to Oct 13. Contrary to other great flamenco performers of his generation who have dared to stray from tradition, Marquez and his ensemble, including three musicians and two singers, remain purists. Opéra National de Paris-Bastille 2 bis pl de la Bastille, 12e, M° Bastille, tel: 08 36 69 78 68

Gala des Etoiles du XXIe Siècle Sept 25 at 8pm. Dance is one area in which the Russians have never needed international assistance. This star-studded Gala organized by the renowned Russian arts patrons Solomon Tencer and Nadia Veselova-Tencer is yet another example of unrivaled excellence. Opening the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées season, this second edition brings together a mixed program of classical and modern works by some of the world’s most brilliant performers, including Svetlana Zakharova and Igor Zelensky of the Marinsky (former Kirov) Theater, and Anna Antonitcheva and Yuri Klevstov of the Bolshoi. Théâtre des Champs-Elysées 15, av Montaigne, 8e, M° Alma-Marceau, tel: 01 49 52 50 50

“Highway 101” (chor. Meg Stuart/Damaged Goods), Sept 25 & 29 at 8:30pm; Sept 27, 28 & 30 at 7pm and 10pm. Invited by the Festival d’Automne, American choreographer Meg Stuart and her company Damaged Goods are back again in Paris with a new contemporary dance work called “Highway 101,” which is sure to include plenty of surprises and dare-devil choreography. Centre Georges Pompidou/Festival d’Automnepl Georges Pompidou, 4e, M° Rambuteau or Hôtel de Ville, tel: 01 44 78 12 33