French funding overlooks classicists

Dance Magazine, March, 1995 by Roslyn Sulcas

PARIS--Since the early 1980s, dance in France has benefited from an amount of state subsidy that astonishes artists in the United States of America, who are accustomed to the necessity of raising their own funds to carry out the most modest choreographic projects. But the French government has not awarded its support impartially, and, despite its generosity to state-funded ballet companies, it has not regarded classical creation as a priority.

Because of government support, modern dance in France has exploded during the last decade. A number of choreographers throughout the country now head fully supported "choreographic centers" and have developed distinctive styles that have become part of a local canon. Approximately a hundred more companies are partially subsidized by the government in Paris, and an even greater number are funded by regional governments.

The state also fully funds ten ballet companies based in opera houses, the most illustrious of which is Paris Opera Ballet (POB). But while the funding for modern dance has emphasized invention, funding bodies tend to view ballet choreographers as members of a privileged, fully supported class that already possesses its own language.

"Classical dance in France is seen as a museum piece," says Pierre Darde, a member of POB who also works as a free-lance choreographer. "You look after it, but you don't think that it needs reinventing."

Fellow POB member and choreographer Florence Lambert describes the problem as partly one of definition. "What is classical and what is contemporary today?" she asks. "I consider myself a contemporary choreographer who uses classical technique. But the powers that be think that if it's ballet, it can't be new."

Ballet directors in France seem to be thinking along the same lines as their counterparts elsewhere in the world, and though POB presents a biannual program of new work by its classically trained dancers (this year's Danseurs-Choregraphes program will be shown May 17-19), a large number of new pieces for French ballet companies during the last few years have been made by modern dance choreographers. Odile Duboc, Daniel Larrieu, Angelin Preljocaj, Bill T. Jones, Ralph Lemon, Susan Marshall, and Stephen Petronio, for example, have all been invited to create new works for French ballet troupes.

Most of these works are interesting, says Lambert, but the choreographers lend not to know how to use the technical possibilities of ballet dancers to the full. Classical choreography has to be nourished by working with ballet dancers--look at [Marius] Petipa, [and George] Balanchine."

Darde agrees: "As good as it is to have an occasional opportunity to present work at the Danseurs-Choregraphes evenings, it's not enough to significantly further one's development. At the same time, it is understandable that the Opera regards us primarily as dancers, and it would be almost impossible financially to form an independent group devoted to classical creation."

Is there a solution? "One is not going to change easily the mentality that neatly categorizes ballet as an institution and contemporary dance as creativity," says Darde. "You just have to keep hoping that perseverance will pay off."