A raw, modern tribute to female resilience meets a sacred, candlelit baroque classic as Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo return to the Grimaldi Forum’s Salle des Princes from 19th to 21st December. Staged for the company’s winter residency under the Presidency of the Princess of Hanover, this powerful two-part production promises one of the season’s most evocative theatrical contrasts.
Opening the performance, the 43-minute world premiere Bronia is co-created by Madrid-based collective Kor’sia, led by Antonio de Rosa and Mattia Russo, and set to an original score by Alejandro Da Rocha. The work takes deep inspiration from Bronislava Nijinska (1891–1972), the groundbreaking choreographer and younger sister of Vaslav Nijinsky.
Daughter, sister, wife, mother, and creator, Nijinska’s legacy was deeply intertwined with the physical walls of the theatre. Although often eclipsed in history by the fame of her brother and the influence of Sergei Diaghilev, Nijinska continuously defied the societal and artistic conventions of her era, famously declaring, “I am not a ballerina.”
Moving far beyond the shadow of her family, the choreography explores youth, endurance, and creative autonomy through a striking contemporary movement vocabulary that treats dance as a universal language of survival and resistance.
Altro Canto: Sacred polyphony and Karl Lagerfeld’s couture designs
The mood shifts to sacred mystery with Jean-Christophe Maillot’s 38-minute Altro Canto, presented in tribute to Karl Lagerfeld. Anchored by Monteverdi’s dramatic baroque madrigals, the work immerses dancers in a soundscape of soaring vocal loops and sacred polyphony.
The choreography is described by critics as possessing an arresting, dark-yet-luminous sacrality, that bridges the gap between the statuary of cathedrals and the chiaroscuro of a Georges de La Tour painting. Beneath a canopy of suspended candles designed by Rolf Sachs and illuminated by Dominique Drillot, dancers navigate an androgynous landscape where classical pointe work bends toward early baroque architecture, wearing original costumes conceived by Karl Lagerfeld.
Performance dates, ticketing, and practical information
Staged at the Grimaldi Forum’s Salle des Princes, performances take place on Friday 19th December at 7:30pm, Saturday 20th December at 3pm, and Sunday 21st December at 7:30pm. Bookings can be made directly via the Grimaldi Forum or the Opéra de Monte-Carlo Salle Garnier box offices, as well as online.
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Main photo credit: Alice Blangero