The Rite of Spring : in the Footsteps of an Extraordinary Work

Dcumentary project

2020

Project description

For its first collaboration with Danse Danse, Filigrane Archives completes the programming of the webcast of the film Dancing at Dusk - A Moment with Pina Bausch's The Rite of Spring, where Pina Bausch's choreography is performed by the dancers of the École des sables in Senegal.

First, in the documentary The Rite of Spring : In the footsteps of an extraordinary work, lasting 8 minutes, Valérie Lessard, professor of dance history, transports us through the history of this emblematic work. She presents magnificent choreographic archives from some twenty dance companies, while interviewing Montreal choreographer Marie Chouinard, known worldwide thanks to her own Rite of Spring created in 1993. An exceptional chance to see never-before-seen images of Rite of Spring from different dance styles, different countries and different eras.

Then, a 12-minute interview where Valérie Lessard talks with Germaine Acogny, artistic director of the École des sables, and Jorge Puerta Armenta, former member of the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch and rehearsal director of the Rite of Spring at the École des sables . They recount the stages of the project and the impact of the pandemic on their process and on the making of a dance film.

The art work at the heart of the documentary

Pina Bausch's emblematic choreography The Rite of Spring danced in an extraordinary setting, on the beach of Toubab Dialaw, in Senegal. Filmed as the world entered lockdown, this dance film captures the final rehearsal of 38 dancers from 14 African countries and documents a unique moment in their preparations for an international tour.

With the participation of

Marie Chouinard - choreographer and dancer

With dance archives from
Salvatore AIELLO - Kenneth ARCHER & Millicent HODSON - Pina BAUSCH - Hélène BLACKBURN - Marie CHOUINARD - Molissa FENLEY - Jean-Claude GALLOTTA - Emanuel GAT - Johan INGER - Xavier LE ROY - Daniel LÉVEILLÉ - José NAVAS - Régis OBADIA - Nathalie PERNETTE - Denis POULIN & Martine ÉPOQUE - Yvonne RAINER - Tero SAARINEN - Sasha WALTZ - Mary WIGMAN

Reviews and mentions

Habilement documenté par Valérie Lessard, je découvre le "Sacre du Printemps" a fait scandale à ses premières présentations.  Qu'il a été repris dans différentes déclinaisons à travers le monde dont quelques unes d'ici dont certaines que j'ai eu l'occasion de voir. Une présentation fort claire et instructive sur cette chorégraphie intemporelle avec en prime, le témoignage lumineux et allumé de Marie Chouinard !

Thanks

Équipe de production FILIGRANE ARCHIVES

Direction and research Valérie Lessard
Direction and research assistant Claudia Chan Tak 
Documentary DOP, sound and editing Cédric Conti et Guillaume Blanchet
Narration Guillaume Blanchet
Documentary technical assistant and reviewer Gennaro De Pasquale
Interview editing Gennaro De Pasquale


This interview and this documentary from Filigrane Archives were produced as part of the Webcast programming of the film Dancing at Dusk - A Moment with Pina Bausch's The Rite of Spring.
This webcast is an initiative of Danse Danse (Montréal).