Memorial Page for Maurice Béjart (née Maurice-Jean Berger)

Maurice Béjart (born Maurice-Jean Berger on 1 January 1927 in Marseille; died 22 November 2007 in Lausanne) was a French dancer, choreographer and opera director who later also received Swiss citizenship. He made stage dance visible to a large international public and connected classical ballet, modern movement, theatre, popular culture, ritual and large musical forms.

Training and first companies

Béjart was born as the son of philosopher Gaston Berger. He studied dance in Paris and began his career as a dancer, including with Roland Petit, the International Ballet and the Royal Swedish Ballet. From early on he was less interested in simply preserving classical forms than in asking how dance could make existential themes visible on a large stage. In 1954 he founded Les Ballets de l'Étoile, later the Ballet Théâtre de Maurice Béjart.

Brussels and Ballet du XXe Siècle

The breakthrough came at the end of the 1950s with works such as Le Sacre du printemps. In 1960 Béjart became director of ballet at Brussels' Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie and founded the Ballet du XXe Siècle there. This company became one of the defining ensembles of modern European dance. Béjart relied on large themes, strong body images, international dancers and a form of choreography that also reached people who rarely attended ballet.

Boléro

Béjart became especially famous for his choreography to Maurice Ravel's Boléro. The work concentrates on rhythm, repetition, intensification and a central figure on a table surrounded by a group. Dancers such as Duska Sifnios, Jorge Donn and Maya Plisetskaya shaped the piece, which remains one of the most frequently cited works of modern dance. Its force lies in appearing simple while creating enormous physical and theatrical tension.

Lausanne and school

In 1987 Béjart moved his company to Lausanne and founded the Béjart Ballet Lausanne. There he continued his work with new pieces and revivals. In 1992 the Rudra Béjart school was created, training young dancers in technique, music, theatre, rhythm and stage awareness. For Béjart, dance was never only beautiful movement; he understood it as a total form made of body, sound, myth and the present.

Recognition and criticism

Béjart received many honors, including the Erasmus Prize, the Praemium Imperiale and the Kyoto Prize. His works were shown around the world and celebrated by large audiences. At the same time he remained controversial among critics: some saw his theatre as an opening of ballet, while others found its pathos and large images too direct. This tension is part of his impact. Béjart did not want to keep dance small and exclusive, but to make it an event that reaches people physically and emotionally.

Farewell

Maurice Béjart died in Lausanne on 22 November 2007. He was 80 years old. His work remains connected with a rare stage energy: great music, strong group images, individual bodies at the center and the idea that dance can be popular, demanding and ritual at the same time.