There will be dancing in the Opera House Ruins when the Ballet d'Europe comes to Malta next month
Celebrating its tenth anniversary, the Dance Council in collaboration with the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts, has invited Ballet D’Europe to give two performances, Mireille on Friday 4 August and Mozart:Requiem on Saturday 5 August at 9pm, as part of the Summer Arts Festival, to be held at the Opera House Ruins – Valletta. M. Jean-Charles Gil, the Artistic Director, will also be presenting a choreography with the participation of Maltese dancers selected from local dance schools.
The collaboration between the Dance Council and Ballet D’Europe was initiated in December 2005 when M. Gil visited Malta as a guest of honour for Dance Power 3 held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre. During his stay he worked on a choreographic piece to be presented during the performance as the Finale. This choreography was entitled MA which represents the collaboration between Marseille, the home of the Ballet D’Europe, and Malta.
The second phase of the collaboration between the Dance Council-Malta and the Ballet D’Europe is to develop a transnational co-operation in the fields of training and apprenticeship for the Maltese dancer. This will engage a young Maltese dancer in the last step of his/ her training to be moulded into a professional dancer, with the eventual possibility of integration into the company as a performer.
In Malta there are over 25 dance schools but only a few dance companies. Dancers undergoing vocational training cannot have the necessary apprenticeship to facilitate their integration into the labour market. For the same reason, the promotion of transnational mobility needs to be realised
The Final Phase of the project would work towards the Ballet D’Europe becoming a resident company in Malta. It would therefore work locally with potential dancers, allowing them to understudy choreographies and therefore benefit from training with other professionals in the field as well as building a relationship with their teachers and choreographers. This could eventually lead to the formation of professional dancers and the creation of our own National Dance Company.
In conjunction with this grand affair, two other social events are being organized and are open to the public. A post theatre performance dinner will be held at the Phoenicia Hotel on Friday 4 August at 22.30. This is a fantastic opportunity for dance lovers to meet the dancers of the Ballet D’Europe and their artistic director, in a relaxed atmosphere. The dinner is at Lm8.95 per person. For reservations kindly contact Tel: 21225241 Ext: 4084. Another event being organized by the Dance Council is a beach Party at Paradise Bay Lido on Sunday 6 August. Reservations may be made at the Paradise Bay Lido directly.
Tickets at Lm10 & Lm12 are available from the Festival Ticket Booth in Freedom Square Valletta. Ticket Hot Line: 9999 0145