QPAC’s International Series returns with French flair
COVID killed the QPAC International Series but now it’s back, rebooted with a return visit by France’s acclaimed Ballet Preljocaj and the promise of free community events to reach more Queenslanders.
The rebooting of the QPAC International Series is a sign that everything is back to normal in a post-COVID world.
Since 2009 the series had featured many of the world’s finest companies from the US, England, Cuba, Germany, Russia, France and Italy. We’ve had the Teatro all Scala Ballet Company, The Royal Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and many others. The American Ballet Theatre, which came in 2014, caused a bit of a sensation because one of the dancers, Melanie Hamrick, was Mick Jagger’s newish girlfriend at the time.
The good news is that former QPAC chief executive John Kotzas managed to reboot the season before handing over his baton to new QPAC boss Rachel Healy. The QPAC International Series was the jewel in Kotzas’ crown and an important part of his legacy.
So this year Ballet Preljocaj is returning for the company’s second appearance in Brisbane, as part of the series. Founded in 1985 by maverick French choreographer Angelin Preljocaj, the Aix-en-Provence-based Ballet Preljocaj last wowed audiences here in 2016 with the sell-out season of Snow White.
Ballet Preljocaj is world renowned for warping the notion of ballet. The contemporary ballet company is fuelled by Preljocaj’s propensity for collaboration, with a roll call of artistic partnerships boasting the likes of costumes by Jean Paul Gaultier and Azzedine Alaïa to scores by Thomas Bangalter (Daft Punk) and Nicolas Godin (Air).
Famed for his iconoclastic deconstruction of great story ballets, Preljocaj’s Swan Lake is a dystopian juxtaposition of corporate greed – in which Siegfried is the son of a wealthy property developer – and the pristine environment of the swans, which sees Odette and the Prince as eco-warriors battling the fossil-fuelled industrialist Rothbart.
While he has leaned on some elements of Marius Pepita and Lev Ivanov’s original choreography, this is Swan Lake reimagined by Preljocaj with “audacity and respect”. It challenges ballet norms with a run time of less than two hours, with no interval.
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Preljocaj was also compelled to dissect Tchaikovsky’s original score and reassemble it with extracts from the Russian composer’s symphonic works. This amalgamation will be played live by Queensland Symphony Orchestra and mixed with music studio 79D’s futuristic house music.
Video design by Boris Labbé, lighting by Éric Soyer and costumes by Igor Chapurin give the ballet an end-of-days decadence – from a penthouse rave to a silent lake at midnight – as the company urges the audience to reflect on the world and its fragility through “dizzying dance and inventive choreography” (Chroniques de danse).
Ballet Preljocaj founder Angelin Preljocaj says presenting the Australian premiere of Swan Lake at QPAC will be an honour for him and his company.
“We fondly remember the enthusiasm Brisbane had for Snow White, so we know we will be welcomed warmly by audiences and I hope they will enjoy this contemporary version of Swan Lake,” Preljocaj says. “We cannot wait to perform in Queensland, especially as we have the chance to perform live with Queensland Symphony Orchestra.”
QPAC has announced a free program of community events to reach more Queenslanders than ever as part of this year’s exclusive Australian season of Ballet Preljocaj’s Swan Lake, which will be staged in the Lyric Theatre from May 31 to June 7.
‘audiences will be challenged and inspired by this new interpretation of a masterpiece’
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QPAC chief executive Rachel Healy says the community program will give more Queenslanders than ever before the opportunity to experience Ballet Preljocaj’s unique style and cultural impact.
“When we bring companies like Ballet Preljocaj to QPAC … we want to ensure as many people as possible have the opportunity to experience their work,” Healy says. “Angelin and Ballet Preljocaj completely throw out the rules of ballet, and whether you are witnessing their magic in the theatre or on the big screen, I am confident audiences will be challenged and inspired by this new interpretation of a masterpiece.
“We couldn’t reach such broad audiences without the collaboration of our partner venues across Queensland; and we’re incredibly grateful for their shared passion for the arts and applaud their commitment to ensuring their communities can experience this internationally acclaimed company.”
The extras will begin June 2 when, in association with Alliance Française de Brisbane, QPAC will present a free exclusive screening of Valérie Müller’s documentary La Force de l’âge (The Prime of Life) in the Lyric Theatre, followed by a panel discussion with film director Valérie Müller and Angelin Preljocaj.
The uplifting documentary follows more than 300 people over the age of 65 as they audition to perform onstage at the prestigious Théâtre National de Chaillot in Paris in a daring new dance production by Preljocaj.
Dance for Parkinson’s Australia director Erica Rose Jeffrey and Queensland Ballet director of the Van Norton Li Community Health Institute, Zara Gomes, will join the discussion hosted by Rebecca Levingston.
The behind-the-scenes insights continue after select performances of Swan Lake when audiences are invited to attend free panel discussions with speakers from Ballet Preljocaj and the fields of dance, orchestral music and academia. These conversations will take place after the performances on 1.30pm May 31, 6.30pm June 3 and 7.30pm June 6.
To extend the reach of the Australian premiere season, between June 13 and June 15, 17 venues around the state will host special screenings of Ballet Preljocaj’s Swan Lake, with music by Queensland Symphony Orchestra, performed and recorded in Brisbane.
The Queensland-only broadcast will be free to attend at Brolga Theatre (Maryborough); Dalby Players Little Theatre; Forest View Residential Aged Care (Wondai); Gladstone Entertainment Centre; Kingaroy Performing Arts Centre; Leichhardt Centre (Miles); HOTA Cinema (Gold Coast); Mackay Entertainment and Convention Centre; Moncrieff Entertainment Centre (Bundaberg); Mount Isa Civic Centre; Nanango Cultural Centre; Proserpine Entertainment Centre; Redland Performing Arts Centre (Cleveland); Roma Cultural Centre; Studio 188 (Ipswich); The Clink Theatre (Port Douglas); and The J (Noosa).
State Minister for the Arts John-Paul Langbroek says the acclaimed QPAC International Series would reach far and wide with delivery through 17 regional venues and communities across the state.
“Since its inception in 2009, the QPAC International Series has engaged almost 185,000 people and injected more than $32 million into Queensland’s economy,” says Langbroek. “QPAC’s free program of community events will support audiences across the state to come together to engage with Ballet Preljocaj’s spectacular interpretation of Swan Lake.”