Relative calm, Bob Wilson and Lucinda Childs at the Parvis

Two stars of the choreographic scene reinvent, more than 40 years later, one of the pieces that marked their career.

Relative calm, jeudi et vendredi au Parvis / photo Lucie jansch

A choreography with roots stretching back over 40 years arrives on the Parvis stage Thursday evening for two performances, just days after its run with the Théâtre National de la Danse de Chaillot at La Villette in Paris. This re-creation of Relative Calm is by two stars of dance and more: the renowned Bob Wilson, who directs, and the celebrated choreographer Lucinda Childs, who previously performed at the Parvis in 1980. Back in 1976, they were part of the Avignon Festival, where Lucinda Childs danced a legendary solo in Philip Glass's Einstein on the Beach, directed by Robert Wilson. A few years later came Relative Calm, a ballet set to music by Jon Gibson, in which Lucinda Childs was both dancer and narrator, a performance also directed by Bob Wilson.

Forty-two years later, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two artists are reviving the show. But more than a revival, it's a reactivation of the memory of this piece that the two octogenarians are offering. The interplay of repetition and variation is still there, but the lighting, sets, and structure are reinvented to create a ballet in three acts danced by the performers of the MP3 Dance Project company, to the music of Jon Gibson, Igor Stravinsky, and John Adams. It is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the Parvis's dance season.