Jour de colère

“The oeuvre of Julius Eastman, a sadly forgotten  figure of American minimalism, transcends his rather tragic life story.  His music is minimal only as it concerns his writing process. Otherwise  it channels a strong rock n’ roll energy, in phase with his political  commitments as a black, gay musician, and in phase with his generation,  which dreamed of attaching collective ideologies to individual freedoms.

The piece Evil Nigger, here in a version for piano and  electric guitar performed by Melaine Dalibert and Manuel Adnot — is  already its own manifesto. When asked about its shocking title, Eastman  went into a rant about personal commitment and the convergence of the  struggle.

This singular and collective characterization is the point of  departure for the 21 different pieces interpreted by the dancers. They  use and abuse their honed bodies, their knife-edged legs, a series of  haphazard pirouettes and grands jetés, piling up into absolute chaos and high‑flying energy, in a mix of trivial and virtuosic movements.

We need young people to rise up: this is the energy I want to use  here, echoing the formidable vitality in this composer’s music, in the  space he himself shows us, between “great” music and popular trends.”

Olivia Grandville

Source: Ballet de Lorraine