Concert d'Anges

J-Ch. Maillot

The choreographer, that seeker of illumination, works with what is corporal in order to surpass what is manifest, and to draw out the sublime: a process that tries, almost ritually, to effect this divine alchemy.

In this dance «concert», the movements are sketched, drawn out and ordered like the lines traced through the air by a conductors’ baton - an exploration of a universal harmony, the Pays Sage (wise country) that Jean-Christophe Maillot has already described in his last ballet.

Michel Klein - Hiding strength under an air of discretion, Michel Klein possesses the calm of those willing to fight for what they believe in, armed only by their conviction. He is preoccupied by the need to obtain exactly the right effect in his designs - by the idea, for example, that a cardigan is first made for the hands that go into it - and he believes that this way of thinking is by its  very nature immoderate. «A garment must seem to derive from a source. It should follow the body, let it breathe.  If it does not, it is empty, defunct.» Michel Klein chose his profession for the liberty that it allows him. A liberty that is dear to him as is «the pleasure of the memorable encounters» which, throughout his career, have opened new doors, and occasioned many unforgettable experiences. Amongst these have been his meeting, in 1977, with Bob Wilson, for whom he designed the costumes for Death, Destruction and Detroit in Berlin, and for Edison in New York, the later presented in Paris as part of the 1979 Festival d’Automne. Another has been his encounter with Jean-Christophe Maillot for Concert d’Anges, which he has costumed with his habitual sensitivity and sympathy.


Choreography: Jean-Christophe Maillot
Artistic assistant: Giovanna Lorenzoni
Music: Jean-Sebastien Bach - Glenn Gould - Georg Friedrich Haendel
Musical arrangement : Johan Halvorsen
With the Duo Ronald Patterson (Violin) andt Roxanne Patterson (Alto)
Costumes: Michel Klein assisted by Jean-Philippe Tourigny
Scenography and lighting: Dominique Drillot

Created on June 21st 1996 in Genoa, Italy
Premiere held on July 14th 1996, Terraces of the Monte-Carlo Casino