At a pioneering performance on 14th December, the Monaco Dance Forum will showcase an original piece entitled ‘C’est Beau !’ that features the talents of dancers both with and without disabilities. Here’s the story behind the landmark “inclusivity” creation from choreographers Cécile Martinez and Sophie Bulbulyan.
Back in July, during the highly successful F(ê)aites de la Danse event in Monaco, a wonderful idea was put in motion. The concept was to create a unique piece featuring dancers with and without disabilities. The result, which will appear on stage for the first time on 14th December, is a truly compelling and spell-binding production.
“We wanted to explore the notion of beauty by seeking to understand what makes it a carrier for personal, collective or even universal emotion,” says a spokesperson for the Ballets de Monte-Carlo of the production, which has received support from the Monegasque Association for the Aid and Protection of Disabled Children (AMAPEI), the Monegasque Association for Motor Disabilities (AMHM), Monaco Disease Power and Happy Hand.
ORIGINAL WORK
Choreographers from dance troupes 6eme Sens and DK-BEL, both companies that work with disabled dancers, selected seven people from the aforementioned Monegasque organisations to take part in creating a 70-minute original dance piece. The dancers were chosen for their talent, and the work has been a labour of love for all involved.
The philosophy of the piece centres around the how five senses are innate to humans, but it is the “sixth sense” that is most important in that it is “not what life offers us, but the meaning we give to it, however imperceptible it may be, like the simple desire to live”.
The show, which will be performed twice on 14th December, once at a 2pm special presentation for students and then again at 7.30pm as part of the Monaco Dance Forum, at the Salle Camille Blanc of the Grimaldi Forum. For tickets, click here.
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