“
We were told, 'Make love, not war.' We made love.
Why does love make war on us? ”
, launches Maurice Béjart, overwhelmed by the AIDS epidemic which is spreading like wildfire.
We are in 1997. He then writes a new ballet:
The presbytery has lost none of its charm nor the garden of its brilliance
.
By repeating this sentence of Gaston Leroux which struck him since childhood, the choreographer signs a ballet in which he reveals himself in a very intimate way.
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A ballet dedicated to Jorge Donn, the solar companion of his best years.
A funeral oration in the shape of a rock high mass, led by Freddie Mercury, the iconic singer of the Queen.
Between Mercury and Donn, the same scourge.
Both died of AIDS.
"Show must go on!"
Devil of Béjart.
Is he playing the paradox?
Do we really offer the deceased companion such a colorful and baroque grand bazaar?
This is because by writing it, the choreographer also writes his message of hope for the youth that AIDS picks up in the prime of their lives.
The party will be stronger.
Life will triumph.
"Show must go on!"
, sings Freddie Mercury.
Béjart puts it on the stage, using video well ahead of its time.
Gianni Versace signs the costumes, as if to add to the excess.
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The dance comes out of this glorified treatment, carrying high the colors of youth and exuberance.
Gil Roman, to whom Béjart bequeathed the company, adapts this great peplum to the current dancers of the company and to the taste of the time.
Thanks to him, the dance does not get old.