Aleatorio

Aleatorio was born of Jean-Christophe Maillot's ambition of reworking three existing productions (Men’s Dance, Men’s Dance for Women and Presque Rien) by altering the essential component that is music. By changing the music, our entire interpretation of the ballet is transformed. A simple shift in melody is all it takes to overthrow our emotional response. Conversely, Jean-Christophe Maillot demonstrates that choreography can also distract, altering the way in which we perceive the music. The choreographer reuses the same Bach score on several occasions throughout the ballet, each time with a different intent expressed through the dancing, resulting in the audience not noticing the same music has been used.

In many ways, this is an Aleatorio in form but also in content: Jean-Christophe Maillot sees chance and happenstance as part of what keeps us alive. With this in mind, two options emerge: either we live in fear of the future, or we accept it as something we become rather than something we inhabit. This approach forces us to accept this sense of contradiction and to take into account what does not sit easily alongside our thought processes. With Aleatorio, the choreographer chooses to illustrate the concept through a theme he holds dear: romance. Despite their very evident love for one another, some couples are not meant to be. The reason for this is that with love comes complexity and artifice. But once the uncertain, reptilian, erotic nature of love gains the upper hand, the rules are overturned and everything we believed to be true evaporates.

Choreography: Jean-Christophe Maillot
Music: Jean-Sébastien Bach, Bertrand Maillot
Lighting: Dominique Drillot
Costumes: Jean-Christophe Maillot and Jean-Michel Lainé
Video: Alice Blangero and Grégory Sebbane
Duration : 55 min

Premiere on December 16th 2016, Salle Garnier Opéra de Monte-Carlo