#mats ek

[crystalline-pleasure]

Stéphane Bullion farewell to Paris Opera Ballet stage

Pics by Agathe Poupeney

[hares-pelt-sky]

[inziladun]

Rite of Spring - Mats Ek choreography

[miss-mollys-ballet-blog]

I'm curious why you dislike Mats Ek? Is it personal? Something about his style? Or...?

Disclaimer: I don't know much about contemporary technique and the bones of it, I've only taken 3 years of it and don't really know anything about the different schools so this is based entirely on my opinions of what I see and my ballet-intensive knowledge.

It's his style, especially his connection of his movements to the music. The vast majority of the music he uses is much more legato, smooth and connected and flowy while his choreography is jerky and stiff and sharp so it's all very disjointed and disconnected. It feels as though the beauty of the music is wasted. His choreography always has a feeling of...slouchiness, I guess? I'm not sure how to explain it, except the dancers just seem shlumped over, so it's a weird visual of slouched but too sharp at the same time. He also tends to turn things into caricatures and cartoonish in a way that I find unpleasant, case in point his Giselle. Idk, I can see why people find him to be a genius, but I'm not one of those people. To put into perspective, I would say my favorite contemporary choreographers are probably Ilya Zhivoi, Alvin Ailey (obviously lol), and Matthew Bourne with Ksenia Zvereva a close fourth.

[swanlake1998]

daniela malusardi, ana laguna, and mats ek photographed performing in mats ek’s antigone by lesley leslie-spinks

[despretextes]

Mats Ek, Another Place

Aurélie Dupont, Stéphane Bullion (Paris Opera Ballet, 2019)

Photo: Ann Ray

[strechanadi]

Jiří Kylián, one of the few foreigners  and the first ever choreographer inaugrated to the Académie des Beaux Arts.

photo: Juliette Angel

+ bonus - JMr Kylián with Agnes Letestu (and a sword made especially for him), Mats Ek and Jean-Christophe Maillot

Many other people were there to watch this special moment. Including Paul Lightfoot, Ana Laguna, Nacho Duato, Nicolas Le Riche, Aurelie Dupont, Germain Louvet, Laurent Hilaire, Isabelle Ciaravola, Alessio Carbone or Brigitte Lefevre.

[kneipho]

Mikhail Baryshnikov, Ana Laguna, Mats Ek: Place / Ställe (Trailer, 1:16)

“PLACE is a sensational dance film - a duet especially created for world-famous dancers Mikhail Baryshnikov & Ana Laguna by an outstanding international team of artists. Choreography by world-renowned Mats Ek. Directed by Grammy, MTV & Cannes, Grand Prix award-winning director, Jonas Åkerlund...”  -TenduTV

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In its entirety 28:30:

Mats Ek : Place/Ställe (A. Laguna, M. Baryshnikov),

YouTube Source Channel - Vincent Moulinet