Maurice Béjart Obituary
Maurice Béjart dies at 80
Maurice Béjart, the French choreographer, died recently in Lausanne, Switzerland after having been hospitalized with heart and kidney problems. Mr. Béjart’s work attracted adulation from mass audiences and skepticism from critics who doubted his ability to choreograph, especially with his Ballet of the Twentieth Century.
Bejart set new standards during a career that started with the 1959 staging of Stravinsky's “Rite of Spring,” in which dancers – clad in sleek, shiny tights – created an erotic aura with impulsive, natural movements that became a standard of his interpretations. After struggling with early attempts at choreography in Paris in the 1950s, he shot to fame at the end of the decade with “Rite of Spring.”
A man of encyclopedic theatrical ideas who staged mixed-media pieces and was interested in Asian and Near Eastern philosophy, he was acclaimed by leading French stage directors. In 2002 President Jacques Chirac of France singled him out as “the great Maurice Béjart” when referring to a branch of the Béjart school in Senegal.
Yet for all such tributes, France’s cultural authorities and Mr. Béjart never found themselves compatible. A budding choreographer in the late 1940s, he had formed a small troupe, Les Ballets de l’Étoile, by 1953. After the success of his “Rite of Spring” in 1959, he accepted an invitation in 1960 to have his company, now the Ballet of the 20th Century, become the resident troupe of the royal opera theater, La Monnaie, in Brussels. From this base, the company embarked on worldwide tours, including Iran and Asia. After a falling out with a new management, Mr. Béjart moved his company and school, Mudra, to Switzerland in 1987, renaming them Béjart Ballet Lausanne and Rudra. The company said yesterday that its tours would continue through 2008.
The name Ballet of the 20th Century was no accident. Mr. Béjart often repeated his creed that ballet and film were the major arts of the 20th century. Although Mr. Béjart was seeking a new form of contemporary dance, he remained loyal to the ballet vocabulary. His dancers were sleek and neo-Classical in style. He had created a new look in dance, and Soviet stars from the Bolshoi like Maya Plisetskaya, Vladimir Vasiliev and Yekaterina Maximova found artistic freedom in appearing as guests with his company. Outside of dance, he directed and wrote theater pieces.
Mr. Béjart is survived by a sister, Claudette.