In his latest creation, Cinderella, Thierry Malandain reinterprets Charles Perrault’s fairy tale, which has been adapted as famous dance pieces, from Petipa to Maguy Marin and Noureev. Set to the music of Prokofiev, Thierry Malandain enhances the ordinary and invites the audience to enter the humanity and magic of the fairy tale with its mixture of the burlesque and fantasy.
This book invites readers to follow the creative process behind a dance work and to discover what goes on behind the scenes of a production acclaimed by a large audience.
For the first time Thierry Malandain, who is at the forefront of neoclassical creation in France, put pen to paper and tells about his creation work in a very personal, musical style, sharing his vision of dance and ballet.
His writings come with a rich iconography (exclusive photos of the shows and rehearsals, costume sketches) and testimonies: Laurence Liban, a journalist who was present during the creation process, Laurent Brunner, Director of ‘Château de Versailles Spectacles’, who scheduled the piece in the ‘Opéra royal de Versailles’ and finally Gabriel Prokofiev, grandson of composer Serge Prokofiev.
After a career as a dancer (Paris Opera, Ballet du Rhin, Ballet théâtre français de Nancy), Thierry Malandain founded the company ‘Temps présent’ in 1986. His work includes over 75 ballets that met with real success with the audience and critics. He has been the Director of the ‘Centre chorégraphique national de Biarritz-Malandain Ballet Biarritz ’ and Art Director of Le Temps d’aimer dance festival since 1998.
Photographs: Elizabeth Carecchio, Olivier Houeix, Johan Morin, Frédéric Néry
Graphic design: Frédéric Néry