One of the essential end-of-year events in the Principality, the Monaco Dance Forum is back this winter with a programme that's sure to be a hit with discerning audiences in search of something new.
A multi-faceted international dance festival, the Monaco Dance Forum is one of the three facets of the Ballets de Monte-Carlo, along with the Compagnie
des Ballets and the Académie Princesse Grace. In addition to performance by some of the biggest names in the discipline, the Monaco Dance Forum also includes workshops, masterclasses, exhibitions, symposiums, and lectures.
The event gets under way tomorrow in the Salle Garnier of the iconic Opéra de Monte-Carlo with 'The
Seven Sins', a ballet on the theme of the seven deadly sins, created by seven different choreographers. Each has fashioned a dance piece for a deadly sin: Aszure Barton for sloth, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui for greed, Sharon Eyal for envy, Marco Goecke for gluttony,
Marcos Morau for pride, Hofesh Shechter for lust, and Sacha Waltz for wrath.
The special evenings continue on 12 December, when the world famous Shantala Shivalingappa will be performing her enchanting show 'Swayambhu', accompanied by an orchestra of musicians: the very best of Indian Kuchipudi dance for a fabulous voyage to the east.
The Principality is brimming with superb venues to host the finest performances, and so the Monaco Dance Forum will continue at the Grimaldi
Forum, where the company Kors’ia y will perform 'Igra' on 14 December. The piece by Mattia Russo and Antonio De Rsa has echoes Nijinsky's 'Jeux' with numerous nods to the great dancer and choreographer.
Following the success of 'Siena', presented at the Monaco Dance Forum in 2014, the company La Veronal returns to the Principality with a hard-hitting show, 'Sonoma', which evokes all our fears and is a homage to Luis Buñuel and surrealism, which it transposes to our contemporary setting.
On 15 December, the festival will invite school pupils in the Principality to a moving performance that encourages the audience to reflect on how disabilities are overcome through inclusive dance.
The Monaco Dance Forum will also feature its traditional workshops and masterclasses, which will analyse and explore the styles of the guest choreographers.
The second part of the event will offer another chance to see some of the greatest works of choreographer Jean-Christophe Maillot, including 'Opus 40' and 'Noces', a celebration of rites of passage, and 'Faust', the ambiguous masterpiece with its forceful choreography.
Photo credits:
AM