Maurice+Béjart

Maurice Béjart- Choreographer



**Maurice Béjart** was originally born Maurice Jean Berger on January 1,1927. He was born in the town of Marseille in France. Maurice was the oldest of three children and he was the son of a philosopher, Gaston Berger, and his wife Germaine. When he was young he was taken by his mother to live gypsy style in the woods outside Marseille when the Nazi’s invaded. His died when Béjart was seven, and was from then on an inspiration for his works. **Béjart** was given a baccalaureate cum laude from the lycée de Marseille at 16, and went onto graduate from the faculty of philosophy with a bachelors of letters degree in Aix-en-Provence. **A doctor** recommended that he play a sport or have some form of physical activity or exercise because he had such a slight physique. Béjart was really only interested in two things, reading and the theatre. So, instead of playing a sport he chose dancing. He was amazed with a recital by Serge Lifar, and decided then to devote his life towards dance. **Béjart** studied with many famous people while still in France such as Mathilda Kschessinska, Madame Rousanne, Leo Staats, and Olga Preobrajenska, plus more. He loved dancing so much that he eventually opened his own company called Béjart Ballet Lausanne in Switzerland, which became one of the most famous ballet companies in the world. Maurice took the name Béjart after 17th century french playwrite, Moliere’s, wife. After many years of choreographing ballets and dancing, Béjart started having heart and kidney problems and died from them at age 80 on November 22,2007. He was cremated and his ashes we spread in the sea. **Béjart** was a very unusual ballet choreographer. His was thought to be a modern-dance choreographer but all his dancer’s had classical technique training. His choreography was definitely provocative and he would depict nudity through costumes. **Béjart** didn’t just choreograph ballets, he even wrote his own. He redid ‘ The Nutcracker’ by basing it on his life story, and brought it to stage in 2000. Béjart often revised many already famous ballets making them original and personal. He sometimes wrote about sexual fantasies and nudity. Béjart would depict shocking images such as a womb, and he even had a suicide by drowning in a toilet bowl in a ballet. He really targets younger audiences and is known as one of the greatest choreographers of all time. **Béjart** really likes to change and mix things up. His company was the first to use multi-media. Béjart uses quite unusual music for a ballet. He has created ballet’s that mix pop with classical music. He also likes to use abstract music,mystical sounds and rock ‘n’ roll. His favorite singer is Mick Jagger and the band Queen was a huge inspiration for him. Béjart even created a ballet to honor Queen and Elton John. **A lot of people**,mainly big fans of the classical ballets, criticized his work but so many loved it. It was definitely something new and exciting. Though London didn't benefit as much as other cities, Béjart was known throught many countries. He really captured an audience with his unusual music and choreography. Béjart was given the Prix Benois de la danse award in 2003, for his many lifetime achievements.

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**In many of Béjart’s ballets**, he blended western and eastern culture. He brought all cultures around the world into his plays, and travelled the world with them. He would sometimes even ‘honor’ celebrities with his ballets. Béjart would create ballets while at places such as football stadiums, arenas, and on the empty stage. His works continued over forty years. Béjart was known to work with other famous ballet names such as Maya Plisetskaya, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Sylvia Guillen, and Suzanne Farrell. **He set up dance schools all over** the world in places such as Brussels, Lausanne, and Dakar. Some of the first schools he set up were Ballet de l'Etoile and the Ballet Du XXe Siécle in Brussels. He brought modern ballet to french speaking parts of Europe, Switzerland, and Belgium. At 18, he joined the corps de ballet of the opéra Municipal de Marseille. Then he went off to study with other companies around Europe. Bejart worked in London, Paris, and Sweden, but never found a place for himself in US. He started making his own ballets at age 19 in 1949. Many of Béjart’s ballets became theatrical. He used tools such as speech, song, design, and other theatre elements along side ballet in his choreography and companies. Béjart explored many cultures and religions through his ballets such as Islam, African, and others. He created about six or seven ballets a year, in his life he produced around 120 in all. Béjart also wrote a play, a novel, and his diary series “Béjart by Béjart.” **For his** 80th birthday and golden anniversary, Béjart celebrated his life and work by creating more new ballets: L'Art d'Etre Grand-père, Zarathoustra, Le Chant de la Danse, and Around the world in 80 plays. His work reached many audiences and touched many people. His changed the world of ballet by adding new styles and ideas. He brought together different cultures and countries, and set up dance schools around the world. Because of his achievements, Maurice Béjart is now known as one of the most famous choreographers and dance directors of all time, and wil be remembered throughout history. []
 * 1 Symphony of a Lone Man. **
 * 2. The Right of Spring **
 * 3. Bolero **
 * 4. Nijinsky the Clown of God **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">5. Ballet for life **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">6. The Nutcracker **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">7. Tour of the world in 80 minutes **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">8. Firebird- **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">his first ballet
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">9. Sonata for Three **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">10. Bugaku- Tokyo **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">11. The Kabuki- Tokyo **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">12. “M”- Tokyo **

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