Benjamin Millepied: "It's archaic to make Romeo & Juliet just with a man and a woman"

It was last July, at the Nuits de Fourvière in Lyon, in front of packed arenas and an enthusiastic audience, that Benjamin Millepied kicked off his triptych

to the sublime music of Prokofiev.

Its uniqueness?

The title roles are sometimes held by a man and a woman, sometimes by two women, sometimes by two men.

The gesture recalls that of Béjart with his

and its three versions.

It was in the early 1960s, the transgression was and caused a stir.

Today, the creation of Benjamin Millepied might seem wise.

But if Béjart always used the same decor, the same round table and the same seats, for Benjamin Millepied the scenography is called to evolve according to the places where the ballet will be given.

Read alsoBenjamin Millepied on all fronts

Thus, the action leaves the stage at certain times to reach the wings or, in Lyon, the Roman ruins which surround the arenas.

A camera accompanies the dancers who are then followed on a screen at the back of the stage, with unusual shots, permitted for example by a lens filming from the hangers above the stage.

As for the dance, carried by high-level performers, it is lively, brilliant and finds a nice balance between classic and contemporary.

Millepied wanted

without unity of place but completely in its time.

His work is a success and brilliantly marries the music of Prokofiev.

This excuses the choreographer for taking a few liberties with the original order of the score.

The musical Seine, Boulogne-Billancourt, until September 25 (01.74.34.54.00).