Art & Culture

Angelin Preljocaj, Playing with Light

Presented in early April at the Théâtre de la Ville-Sarah Bernhardt in Paris and now on tour, dance choreographer Angelin Preljocaj’s new creation plays on contrasts by mirroring Helikopter, the performance created in 2001 and set to the thundering music of Stockhausen. His new creation, Licht, promises to be a ray of sunshine set to original music by Laurent Garnier and featuring the 12 dancers of the Ballet Preljocaj, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

Angelin Preljocaj: dancer, choreographer, and founder of Ballet Preljocaj, based at the Pavillon Noir in Aix-en-Provence.

It’s hard to imagine a piece that could match Helikopter. What was your creative process?

The music written by Stockhausen, with the extremely “wild” score performed by the Arditti Helikopter Quartet, creates a mass of sound that imposes itself like a lead blanket falling over the dancers. After this 30-minute piece, I wanted to pierce the clouds and let in the light with a new creation, which invites us to move towards what binds us together in a spirit of appeasement. It’s called Licht, which means “light” in German, as a tribute to Stockhausen but also to the spirit of the Enlightenment

So the combination of these two creations should be read as a message?

Yes, I approached the ensemble as a metaphor. We’re living in dark times, with clouds often gathering above our heads, but I wanted to offer a glimmer of hope. The tipping point between the two pieces is a reflection of where our civilisation is at and I wanted to transition to something sunnier, something that speaks to connection and human relationships.

How does this translate choreographically?

Stunned by the noise of turbines and violins, Helikopter’s dance is one of resistance, of struggle against the dark shroud imposed by the music. With Licht we are moving towards greater lightness as the movement unfolds and unravels. It speaks to us of the connections that bind humans together and of the moral values promoted by the philosophers of the Enlightenment – values such as openness and freedom, which deserve to be centrestage.

So audiences experience the highs and lows of every emotion?

Yes, but they end on a high!

You worked with Laurent Garnier for this luminous creation. How did you make your choice?

Stockhausen was an avantgarde musician who brought new materials and new textures to music. I see him as the godfather of electronic music. In paying tribute to him, I wanted to call on one of his putative heirs, and I believe that Laurent Garnier is exactly that. The idea was to create a dialogue between the eras with this new composition, whose vibrations carry with them a strong wind of freedom and inclusion – values also carried by the new generation.