Angelin Preljocaj, de La Creation a la Memoire de La Danse

How is dance notated? Unlike classical dance, which has been using the same names to designate the various steps since Louis XIV’s era (“sissonne,” “saut-de-chat,” “fouetté,” etc.), contemporary dance has no such dedicated glossary. Each creator has his own terminology, images, metaphors, and uses his or her own body to communicate to the dancers positions which are so precise that even a glance can be significant. The choreographic work is conveyed from master to pupil, sometimes to the detriment of its integrity. Although dancers typically memorise choreographies, sometimes resorting to video recordings, some companies call upon a choreologist to transcribe each movement onto a score by means of a notation system whose guidelines were laid down by Rudolf Benesh (1916-1975). This is the work which Dany Lévêque has been doing for Angelin Preljocaj for nearly twenty years.After offering readers a concise history of the use of various dance and movement notations, Dany Lévêque introduces the Benesh system, as well as its applications in today’s dance world and in dance instruction. She relates how this form of movement notation is applied daily in the Ballet Preljocaj, from the first day of studio work until a choreography is finalised. In fact, the score becomes essential during the restaging of choreographies in the troop’s repertoire, or in that of other companies. Readers will thus also learn how responsive the method is and how it enables the notator to keep track of the scenic aspects of a production by allowing the music, staging and even – where applicable – the text and the choreography, to be transcribed. Moreover, this journey behind the scenes of dance creation reveals some of the research methods of this choreographer, who resides in Aix-en-Provence. The book provides invaluable and purely technical advice on both her dance technique and on the interpretation of some of her choreographies.