Cabaret Latin Never has there been a more controversial character in the French dance scene over the past 20 years than the coolly chameleon choreographer Karine Saporta. Hailed by some as a magician and others as a sorceress, her self-styled Madonna-like media image comes off as a double blend of "the iron lady" and a Greta Garbo-ish "I vantto be alone" femme fatale, and all her productions bear the essence of her persona. Saporta, who's always had a penchant for the exotic, the erotic and the sensational, has time and again sparked new polemics about what dance is, or should be, and has caused the Great Divide among ordinarily blasé critics. If there's one constant in her work, it's the desire to stretch, bend and twist dance as far as possible into other domains of art and present it in spaces and contexts that are uncharted territory for other dancemakers. Her new production, "Cabaret Latin,"which will enjoy an unusually extensive run all of March through April 11 in the Cabaret Sauvage complex at the Parc de la Villette, promises to be yet one more mega-event that defies description. Is it performance art, dance-theater or a multi-media happening? German choreographer Pina Bausch was the one who got the dance-theater trend underway, and throughout the '90s, the phenomenon has spread like wildfire. No one has dared to premiere a new work in Paris that wasn't interlaced with texts, enhanced with films clips or video images and sprinkled with haphazard vocalizing. Saporta, one of the big advocates of this genre, has also given objects and stage architecture a leading role: train tracks, ropes, suitcases, flowers, fabrics, etc, like in her award-winning show "La Fiancée aux Yeux de Bois"and more recently "Le Bal du Siècle,"produced for the centenary of cinema in 1995. One of her fortes is that she doesn't leave anything to chance, and every ingredient with all its inherent symbolism, is just as essential as the movement itself. The key to her success is that in each show she creates a different fantastic baroque world often peopled by lithe long-haired beauties in her own image. These worlds are microcosms of Saporta's vivid imagination that live by their own rules, and the public enters each production like the funhouse at a state fair. Around every dark corner there's another surprise or shock. With "Cabaret Latin,"Saporta wanted to recreate a south-of-the-border mood, and the show illustrates her visionary version of the tango and samba in several short sequences that unveil the sensuality in South American legends. Performed in a real cabaret setting, in a space that's been used primarily for circus events until now, each show finishes with audience participation in a grand finale ball led by the nine dancers, proving that the stage is a world and Saporta's world on the Canal de l'Ourcq is a stage of entertainment. Springtime for dance On the other side of town along the Seine banks, you can celebrate a "Prague Spring in Paris" on a unique dance-theater evening inaugurating the Centenary of Modern Dance (1899-1999). This March 26 event is organized by La Bacchanale Modern Dance Company, whose aim is to preserve and transmit original modern dance repertoires such as those of American pioneers Isadora Duncan and Ruth St. Denis, as well as to create contemporary works in the tradition. The program in collaboration with the guest troupe Primavera Company from Prague traces the evolution of modern dance, east and west, in Prague and Paris, over the course of this century. The evening will begin with a premiere of a suite of Duncan reconstructions, "Fantasy Prelude to Chopin," as a double tribute to the 150th anniversary of the composer's death and to the bicentenary of Russian poet Alexander Pushkin's birth, and features guest concert pianist Natalia Fomina of the Moscow Conservatory. The second part of the program highlights the Primavera Company, under the direction of Hana Pivcova, which is making its first appearance in Paris with a program of modern and contemporary works to music by Dvorak, Martinu, Bach and Varèse. The show concludes with the premiere of a creation by The Bacchanale Company, "Enfin, que veux-tu Euridice?"to music of Haendel and Gluck, spotlighting dancers Katia Catlin (France), Teresa Garcia (Spain), Kumemi Hirai (Japan) and Maritza Silva (Peru). Dance-Theater company turns 20 And Dance Théâtre et Musique celebrates its 20th anniversary March 5 with a new episode of "Eve Rêve"by its resident company Tendanse. This pioneer New York-style performance space founded by Bernard Brechenmacher and Elizabeth Schmidt has been dedicated for two decades to promoting high-quality dance-theater and music programs from around the world as well as innovative music and dance training courses for children and adults. "Eve Rêve"is a magical journey in movement, text and video images about the fateful encounter of five characters whose lives are changed by rediscovering the world's myths and legends and reliving the beauty of the unknown. The evening will continue with various gastronomic impromptus and artistic improvisations by guest performers. "Cabaret Latin" Karine Saporta, Feb 26 to Apr 11, Wed-Sat at 8:30pm; Sun at 4pm; Cabaret Sauvage/Parc de la Villette, 19e, Metro Parc de la Villette, tel: 08.03.07.50.75. "Printemps de Prague à Paris," Bacchanale Company (Paris)/Primavera Company (Prague), Mar 26 at 8pm, the American Church in Paris, 65, quai d'Orsay, 7e, Metro Invalides, tel: 01.43.67.31.92. "Eve Rêve" Compagnie Tendanse/Danse-Théâtre Elizabeth Schmidt, Mar 5 (Gala 20th Anniversary Danse Théâtre et Musique), 7pm; Mar 13, 14 27 and 28 at 4pm; Studio-Théâtre DTM, 6, rue de la Folie Méricourt, 11e. Metro St-Ambroise, tel: 01.47.00.19.60. |
