"A dance of masterpieces"
JASON and MEDEA,
CUPID and PSYCHE,
HECTOR and ANDROMAQUE,
APOLLO and DAPHNE...
What a joy to work to put sculpture and Greek mythology into dance!
This new show - commissioned by the city of Holstebro , Denmark - pays homage to the work of Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844) and his muse, Ida Brun .
The show explores Bertel Thorvaldsen's relationship with the artist-dancer Ida Brun, whose aesthetic attitudes and way of combining dance and mime, then particularly renowned, largely inspired Thorvaldsen and other world-famous artists in their work.
The various tableaux in the show are thus inspired by Thorvaldsen's own sculptures, from which their respective myths are evoked:
" Jason of the Golden Fleece " immerses us in the story of Medea; " Venus with the Golden Apple " reveals the terrible consequences of the Trojan War, with the farewells of Hector and Andromache ; then it is the nocturnal love of Cupid and Psyche which is represented, before giving way to the tragic pursuit of Daphne by Apollo ...
Behind each statue lies a story, sometimes happy, often tragic: over the course of the performance, the sculptures come to life and tell us, through music, dance and the simple beauty of the gesture, the thrilling story hidden beneath the apparent coldness of the marble.
Thorvaldsen , but also the sculptors Canova and Bernini, are on the call... as are ceramics and the countless Greek sculptures that have remained anonymous.
The show proposes to approach Greek sculpture and the mythological stories it represents, without words, only through the visual prism of mime and dance. A dance that is " a succession of masterpieces ", as Madame de Staël liked to describe the way Ida Brun danced, whose talent she greatly admired.
The performance of " metamórphōsis " took place at Sygehusgrunden, in Holstebro, September 1, 2024.
With the excellent musicians Fernando Viani on piano, Teophil Dan on violin, and Simone Tolomeo on bandoneon and musical direction.
All three performed themes by Debussy, Mendelssohn, Weise, as well as original compositions by Simone Tolomeo.
Before the show, art historian Margrethe Floryan from the Thorvaldsen Museum in Copenhagen gave a lecture and guided the tour of Thorvaldsen's reliefs.
DIVERTISSEMENT...
And here is also a little final "divertissement", in homage to Hans Christian Andersen who published in 1845 The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep (in Danish: Hyrdinden og skorstensfejeren ).
A tale that Paul Grimault adapted into animated film form on two occasions, first with the film The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep (in 1953), then with the masterpiece The King and the Mockingbird (in 1980).
Finally, the opportunity for Los Guardiola to do a bit of tourism too :-)
With the famous sculpture by Giacometti in Holstebro
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