Dying on stage by Christodoulos Panayiotou
March 12, 2016
Tonight Jérôme Bel invited his audience to the public opening of his laboratory at the National Center for Dance, where he is in residence for the season. With an unabashed charm and a neon pink hat, the choreographer enjoys presenting the thing (in French le truc) of his guest, the Cypriot Christodoulos Panayiotou. Was I hoping for a queer event? I can’t recall, but the event details were selling it for me: “for a reading-performance titled Dying on Stage, a meditation on the theatrical representation of death.” To cut it short, it was an extremely interesting evening. Christodoulos Panayiotou shares with an expanded audience what resembles an evening among friends, where YouTube through Chrome recreates the magic of a gathering. I say this without malice. The lecture does not shy away from its English connotation. It is a well-conducted lecture, and the choice of film and music excerpts hits the mark. That's where the magic lies. Because Panayiotou's reflection, his observations, his interests, join our conversations in a startling way.
"Oh, Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars."
I'll briefly touch upon the joy of watching Isabelle Guérin dance Nikiya's death in Rudolf Noureev's Bayadère (1992), or Laurent Hilaire reminiscing about Noureev for his final steps on stage. In doing so, the creator of the piece accomplishes something significant. The emotion is there. Laurent Hilaire sketches the shoulder lift of a frail, feeble Noureev, regaining the posture of the ballet star through the touch of the stage. And it's exactly the shoulder lift I was discussing a few days ago with friends. I'll also briefly touch upon this recording of Sarah Bernhardt in Hamlet. Once again, in his choice and the angle with which he approaches and supports his argument, one understands Jérôme Bel's desire to share, in turn.
Another remarkable moment was the appearance of Big Bird at Jim Henson's memorial. Only yesterday, we were precisely discussing the meeting of tragedy and comedy, and we were saying how funerals - and consequently the stage - allowed or called for that.
I am green and it'll do fine, it’s beautiful!
And I think it’s what I want to be. - Big Bird, It’s not easy being green
Finally, there’s Jean Capeille. Christodoulos Panayiotou wanted to contribute to La Bayadère and propose an alternative ending. Jean Capeille interprets it without music before an audience that is decidedly silent. There’s so much to say about this. The dancer casts his gaze for a quarter of a second on Nureyev’s grave as if paying homage. For the rest of his performance, he has the gaze that Le Clézio attributed to the writer. Except to see the malevolent princess and Solor. The air enters and lifts his chest. That’s what has always drawn me to the stage. We’ll have to discuss it again another time. In short, a rare moment and some food for thought in the end.
Links:
Christodoulos Panayiotou http://www.christodoulospanayiotou.com/
Jérôme Bel http://www.jeromebel.fr/
Lafayette Anticipation http://www.lafayetteanticipation.com/
Centre national de la danse http://www.cnd.fr/
Dying on stage | Morir a escena | Morir en escena | Morir en scèna | Morire in scena | Mourir sur scène
