Dominique Bagouet Catherine Legrand

It was long overdue. Thirty years after its landmark premiere, So Schnell, one of Dominique Bagouet’s masterpieces, is back on stage. In the meantime, it has entered the repertoire of the Ballet de l'Opéra de Paris and the Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève, and is recreated today by Catherine Legrand, a long-time collaborator of the French choreographer, So Schnell reveals the subtle writing of one of the great names of French New Dance to a new generation. A work “whose primary subject is dance”, asserts Catherine Legrand, So Schnell articulates Johann Sebas-ian Bach’s cantata BWV 26 – as well as silences and sound effects – with a choreography that is both fluid and virtuoso. Dominique Bagouet continued to refine this piece up to his death in 1992. For this new production, Catherine Legrand, who regularly revives and performs Bagouet’s works, has chosen twelve dancers, mixing generations. The colourful costumes and pop scenography of the original make way for a new sobriety and a lighting design by Begoña Garcia Navas that under-lines the architecture of this piece, the work of an artist who has influenced the entire contemporary scene.

Born in 1951, Dominique Bagouet is one of the leading figures in French contemporary dance. Having trained in classical dance, then in modern and postmodern dance in the United States, in 1980 he became artistic director of one of France’s first national choreographic centres, in Montpellier, where he also founded the Montpellier Danse festival. His death in 1992 durably affected the world of French dance. The association Les Carnets Bagouet was founded the same year with the mission of passing on his work.