Dance in Belgium

The Danse in Belgium has a long story. One of the first known texts describing of the dances of the Rebirth is a manuscript having belonged to Marguerite of Austria and preserved at the royal Bibliothèque of Belgium: the handwritten of the low - dances (towards 1497 - 1500).

At the 16th century, one supposes that the repertory described by Thoinot Arbeau (Chanoine of Langres) in its Orchésographie (1589) was also practiced in our areas, old the Burgundian Netherlands. One knew probably the Branle S, the Courante S, the Pavane S and the Gaillarde S, and one still practiced the Low-dance.

The brotherhoods of Musician S and Danseur S also played an important role in the transmission of the dances, as of the 16th century and until the middle of the 18th century. Exclusive organizers of the Ball S and the Festival S, they jealously safeguarded their privileges until the competition of dancers of internal caliper gauge theater and “foreign” becomes to them fatal. Thus, with Brussels, the brotherhood of saint Job, born with the 14th century, cease any activity after 1756.

The 17th century

In 1599, Jehan Lhermite enumerates some dances applied to the court of the archdukes Albert and Isabelle: one dances there the Low-dance, the German , several Branle S, and especially the Gaillarde. The archdukes gratifient also the “matassins” - or Danseur S of sword - which takes part in the Ommegang of Brussels. One also often gives ballets to the court, like the Weddings of Psyché and of Cupid , represented in 1608 in the big room of the palate, with all its Machinerie S. As of 1632, the gazette of Théophraste Renaudot periodically reports the representations of ballets and the Bal S given to the court of Brussels, as this “ballet of 14 lords, the invention of the Sr of the Greenhouse” represented on December 10th 1634.

In 1649, celebrates it Venetian choreographer Giovan Battista Balbi, which had assembled the ballets of the finta pazza to Paris four years earlier, is at the court of the archduke Léopold-Guillaume; one prepares the festivities there celebrating the marriage of the king Philippe IV of Spain with Marie-Anne of Austria. In this effervescence, Balbi goes up the ballets which he had imagined, in the finta pazza , to divert the young king Louis XIV, then seven years old: the ballet of the ostriches that of eunuques succeeds, of the bears and the monkeys. Work ends in the ballet of the Indians and the parrots. Balbi works then with its new composition: the Ballet of the world , interludes danced in Ulisse ale insulated di Circe , new opera that the archduke ordered expressly with the Italian poet Ascanio Amalteo and the musician of his court Giuseppe Zamponi. This first grand opera with machines is represented on February 24th 1650, on the theater of the court arranged with high expenses.

Several ballets are still given then, like a Pompeux ballet danced in 1664 and a Représentation of comedies and ballet in 1685, but the most important event is the inauguration, on January 24th 1682, of a new permanent lyric scene, established in an old hangar of the Quai to the Hay. The spectacle leaves the court to enter the city on one level, and the public of Brussels can from now on be pressed with the doors of the new “Academy of Music” to attend the philosopher's stones of the French and Italian repertory. Since its opening until 1699, one gives to it all the grand operas of Lully, sometimes very little time after Paris. The danced entertainments are composed by ballet masters French, of which most important are Pierre Deschars, Antoine Desbrosses and François Rodier.

The town of Antwerp has also its “Academy of Music”, very active during this same period and also related to works of Lully. In the last years of the 17th century, the town of Ghent follows the movement, by inviting the director of the Opéra of the Quay to the Hay to go up the operas presented to Brussels.

The 18th century

After the bombardment of Brussels by the French Armies of the duke of Villeroy, the governor of the Spanish Netherlands Maximilien-Emmanuel of Bavaria load one of its officers, Gio Paolo Bombarded, to set up a new theater in full heart of the city: the Théâtre of the Currency is inaugurated towards the end of the year 1700 and will become one of the principal foreign scenes after Paris. The repertory of Lully preserves a dominating place at it and the Ballet quickly becomes the spectacle of predilection of the Inhabitants of Brussels: Billioni, Jean-Benoit Leclair, Jean-Baptiste Pitrot, Jean-Baptiste Hus, Charles Bernardy and other ballet masters goes back to Brussels quantity of works presented to Paris, but they create also origin of many ballets which will turn in all Europe.

It is in Brussels that is born and begins the dancer who will become famous in all Europe under the name of “ Camargo ”.

Under the impulse of Noverre and its theories on the Ballet of action, the revival of the ballet gains Brussels and, during the Années 1760 with 1780, it does not occur a week without the directors of the Théâtre of the Currency not putting a creation or a recovery at the poster, encouraged by the governor Charles-Alexandre of Lorraine, large amateur of Article the director of the theater, Ignaz Vitzthumb, regularly sends the troop of the actors and dancers to give representations to Antwerp and Ghent.

In this last city, the internal caliper gauge D' Aubat Saint-Flour composes of the ballets for the theater and the Jésuites; in 1757 it also publishes a collection of one hundred Contredanse S. the fine occupies all the century indeed and one publishes, in the Austrian Netherlands, quantity of printed and handwritten collections gathering French and English fines, for the greatest pleasure of the middle-class of the time, following in that the fashion of Paris and London.

But a good ballet is expensive, and the directors of the Theater of the Currency will be brought to remove the permanent ballet on several occasions. In 1793, the military disorders whose Brussels is the object and the ceaseless changes of theatrical direction put a final term at the existence of the ballet.

The 19th century

Except for some rare representations given by troops of passage, the ballet is non-existent during twenty years and it is necessary to await the arrival of Eugene Hus in 1814 to see reappearing a choreographic activity in Belgium. Engaged initially like manager of the Theater of the Currency then as ballet master, Hus founds in 1818 the first Conservatoire of dance , intended to train the future members of the corps de ballet. In 1826, Jean-Antoine Petipa will reorganize it completely and will equip it with a regulation on the entry of the pupils, their program of teaching and their admission in the corps de ballet.

The independence of the news Belgium corresponds to the period ostentation of the romantic Ballet, movement in which takes an active part the Théâtre of the Currency: end 1832, celebrates it “diou dance” Auguste Vestris comes to regulate with Brussels a Ballet, the uninhabited House , which will be represented the January 10th 1833; Arthur Saint-Leon, raises Albert, begins like First dancer on November 19th 1838; Fanny Elssler gives a series of representations in round from May 31st to July 6th 1843; Fanny Cerrito makes in the same way a few weeks later; Marie Taglioni comes to dance the Sylphid in round from September 20th to October 2nd 1844, it is followed by the return of Fanny Elssler in Gisele ; from September 21st to October 21st 1849, it is Lucile Grahn which dances the essence of its repertory.

The large dancers of the time are Marie Lesueur and M {{the}} Ambroisine.

Under the ballet masters Joseph Hansen and Lucien Petipa, the dance undergoes the same fate as with the Opéra of Paris, of which the Ballet blows itself and nothing any more remarkable produces, the large ballerinas being withdrawn from the scene. The arrival of Gaetano Saracco in 1886 will not modify gives it, but will prepare the upheavals of the next century.

The 20th century

François Ambrosiny, which succeeds Saracco in 1904, is a choreographer curious about nature and opened with all the currents. He will support the rounds of companies and considered artists, like Isadora Duncan in 1907, the Russian Ballets of Serge de Diaghilev in 1910 (with Ida Rubinstein), 1922 and 1928, Anna Pavlova in 1920, the Swedish Ballets of Rolf de Maré in 1921, Alexandre and Clotilde Sakharoff in 1923. Ambrosiny takes part thus in the choreographic revival of its time and encourages the composition of ballets of avant-garde on new works of Paul Dukas, Antonín Dvořák or Igor Stravinski.

At the beginning of the Années 1920 appears a young dancer who will mark the future generations: practical Akarova a free Dance resolutely modern, which will make it qualify “Belgian Isadora Duncan”.

In January 1933 is presented to the Palais of the Art schools of Brussels the ballet of Kurt Jooss the green Table , created with Paris, with the Théâtre of the Fields-Élysées, on July 3rd 1932. It will be the revelation for many dancers of this generation.

But the Guerre is the occasion of all the artistic handing-over in question and of all the claims of autonomy of the dance compared to other arts, and also of a certain “Flemish dance ”: Lea Daan, Elsa Darciel and Jeanne Brabants insists on the need for founding a Flemish choreographic identity, while Paul Grinwis and Hanna Voos misent more on a Belgian identity.

During Years 1940, several Proclamation S, plates and Pamphlet S are published to support these claims. Let us quote:

Elsa Darciel, Naar een vlaamsche danskunst ( Towards a Flemish art of the dance , Brussels, 1941)
Paul Grinwis, Terpsichore in Belgium (Ghent, 1941)
Madeleine Lebbe, dance, creative art (Brussels, 1942)

Belgium of the Post-war period, too occupied with the national rebuilding, neglects to give body to the hopes of at one time. In 1959, Lydia Chagoll recalls it in its Plaidoyer for the Belgian ballet , in which she preaches the constitution of a “national Ballet”. Little time afterwards, it is Maurice Béjart which will carry out this dream.

In same time, the movement of the inns of youth (Re) discovers the folk dances of Flanders and Wallonia, in particular via the professors of physical education who are the first vehicles: many investigations and reconstitutions give rise to groups of dance which give to the honor the practice of these lost dances or, at least, forgotten.

In 1938 already created for itself with Antwerp Volksdanscentrale voor Vlaanderen (VDCV) and 20 years later in Wallonia the Walloon Federation of the Groupings of popular Dances was based (FWGDP) which will become then the DAPO. Of 1962 with 1978, 10 volumes of Walloon dances transfer the day, at the instigation of the musician Pink Thisse-Derouette and the dancer Jenny Falize: approximately 150 dances were published by the Belgian royal Commission of Folklore (institution depending on the Minister of education main road and the Culture), accompanied by discs.

The Béjart era

Arrived to Belgium in 1958 for a representation of its ballet Orphée at Liege, during the festival of the Nights of September , Maurice Béjart is filmed by the Belgian television and is noticed by Maurice Huisman, director of the Théâtre of the Currency.

The following year, Béjart gives the Rite of Spring to Brussels and founds there the Ballet of the XXe century. During twenty years, creations of Béjart go rythmer the artistic life of Brussels and Belgium, and the choreographer really “will educate” the Belgian public with the dance. In parallel, it creates the school Mudra, in which it will form several generations of interpreters and choreographers of quality.

Leaving Brussels in 1987, Béjart leaves behind him an “orphan” public and dancers, but also an open door and new prospects for the young choreographers.

After-Béjart

At the end of the Years 1970 already, some “mudrists” had presented their work as a public, sometimes in a confidential way, sometimes in important theaters of the capital: Pierre Droulers presents some parts to the Plan K directed by Flemish Frederic, Nicole Mossoux watch her research in a bar and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker creates Asch with the Beursschouwburg. Two years later, Fase will make of it the most outstanding personality of these years.

At the beginning of Béjart, Gerald Mortar, then director of the Currency, decides to replace the choreographer by the American Mark Morris: it is a fiasco! As regards public, the reactions are virulent because Morris is regarded as a Iconoclaste and an agitator. As regards choreographer young, indignation makes rage: why to have been to seek with the the United States an artist whom one could have found here? Little by little they are organized and end up obtaining a public and official recognition: in the north of the country, the Flemish Communauté has supported three choreographers for a few years (Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Wim Vandekeybus and Alain Platel); in the south, a service of the dance is made up within the Ministère of the French Community and of the Subvention S are allocated with the companies and creations.

The 21e century

External bond

Little story of the dance in Belgium (1930-1995)

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