‘Maple Garden & Les Noces’

The Provincial Dances Theatre was founded in 1990 in Yekaterinburg and was one of the first contemporary dance theatres in Russia. They have performed in 52 different cities in 19 countries, including The Kennedy Center in the US and the National Theatre of Taiwan. Under the guidance of their chief choreographer and artistic director Tatiana Baganova, they have been the pioneers of Russian dance for over twenty years. Now they come to BOZAR with two intriguing performances as part of the exciting multidisciplinary Russian Turn cycle.

In Les Noces Baganova and her dancers perform to the piece of music of the same name by Igor Stravinsky. The composer aimed to evoke the ritual of the Russian peasant wedding with his folklore-inspired music. The performance builds to a climax: the cutting of the bride’s plait. An idiosyncratic interpretation of one of Diaghilev’s legendary Ballets Russes of 1923.

The performance of Maple Garden occupies a space between a fairytale and a Hieronymus Bosch painting. The mysterious piece creates an ingenious interaction between man and woman that holds you in a state of wonder for thirty minutes. The music by the Belgian group DAAU (die Anarchistische Abendunterhaltung) lends this choreography a special dimension.