It will be a year in May that Laurent Hilaire arrived in Munich.
A year since Serge Dorny, new director of the Grand Opera of Bavaria, offered Laurent Hilaire to direct the ballet.
At that time the war in Ukraine was reshuffling the cards in the world of company directors.
In February, forty-eight hours after Russia invaded Ukraine, Hilaire had returned from Moscow, where he ran the Stanislawski.
He had no job in sight, and was torn to abandon a company he had, in five years, reassembled and modernized.
In Munich, the liaison of the director of the ballet, Igor Zelenski -no connection with Volodomyr-, with the second daughter of Vladimir Putin, made his maintenance impossible.
Zelensky returned to Russia with wife and child, and Hilaire took his place in Munich.
“
I feel good in Munich.
The company is very in demand of what I propose, the dancers have the desire to work and improve, I insist on the work of the precision of the lower leg.
They adhere to the project and seem happy.
I learn things with them.
We are progressing little by little
, ”says Laurent Hilaire who presents his first season this Saturday.
Read alsoLaurent Hilaire, the steps taken away from discord
On the menu, 82 performances instead of 64: "
A happy dancer is a dancer who goes on stage
", says Laurent Hilaire.
And some new pieces for the repertoire.
First, on November 25,
Le Parc
by Angelin Preljocaj enters the repertoire: “
the first time I sat down in the room, I realized that it was calling this piece.
And also because I am curious to know how the dancers from here will slip into this French story taken from Les
Liaisons Dangereuses,
marked by French elegance
", says Hilaire, who had created the piece at the Paris Opera with Isabelle Guérin in 1994 at the Palais Garnier.
On April 12, another series of firsts:
by Nacho Duato and
Autodance
by Sharon Eyal: “
A piece that I had entered into the repertoire in Moscow.
I love it so much that I can't live without it.
To complete the evening, I ordered a creation from Andrew Skills.
He wants to work on two casts of 20 dancers
.
This Canadian choreographer, twice applauded at Suresnes Cités Danse, continues his journey.
His latest creation for the Nederlands Dans Theater is a milestone.
This evening will open Dance Week, with a different program each evening, the revival of Tchaikovsky Overture created this year by Ratmansky and the appearance of Peeping Tom as a guest company.
“
I will present on July 18 an evening dedicated to young choreographers, thought a little differently.
I ask a mature choreographer to program those that interest him.
They create their pieces for the company.
Next season Angelin
Preljocaj will be the choreographer who will choose and give a small piece to open the evening
”, says Hilaire.
The rest of the season works on the revival of the house classics:
Oneguine
by Cranko,
Alice in Wonderland
by Christopher Wheeldon,
La Bayadère
by Patrice Bart and a tour with
Cendrillon
by Wheeldon...
“
The company is characterized by its way of dancing very classical but also very contemporary pieces.
Many classics are signed Cranko, a choreographer whose every step must be brought to life.
In two years,
Le Lac
by John Neumeier, written on the figure of Ludwig II of Bavaria, will enter the repertoire
,” says Hilaire
.
However, a piece like this
Lac
really takes time to be reassembled
”.
Information: www.staatsoper.de