4/4/22 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: White Night Opening Credits

The opening ballet sequence, Le Jeune Homme et La Mort, originally choreographed by Roland Petit in 1946 and performed anew by Baryshnikov and Florence Faure, was filmed at the Bristol Hippodrome.  Continue reading

6/7/19 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Le Jeune Homme Et La Mort

Le Jeune Homme et La Mort, the iconic masterwork choreographed by Roland Petit featuring Nicolas Le Riche and Marie-Agnès Gillot as Death.

With a libretto by Jean Cocteau and choreography by Roland Petit, the 1946 ballet Le Jeune Homme et la Mort is a highly theatrical mix of post-war existentialism and chic. It has an explosive star part for a male dancer, all soaring jumps and writhing gymnastics, and a vampish figure of death. This rendition set in 2005 for the Paris Opera is a very sensual interpretation probably staged by Petit who died in 2010. 

Le Jeune Homme Et La Mort

7/26/18 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY ENCORE PERFORMANCE: Le jeune homme et la mort by Roland Petit (Zizi Jeanmaire & Rudolf Nureyev)- 1966

ENCORE

jeune-homme-mort-rudolf-noureev

Le Jeune Homme et La Mort was choreographed by Roland Petit  choreographed in 1946 to Bach’s Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582, with a one-act libretto by Jean Cocteau. It tells the story of a Young Man driven to suicide by his faithless lover. Sets were by George Wakhevitch and costumes variously reported as being by Karinska or Cocteau. Continue reading

11/6/15 O&A NYC Shall We Dance Friday: Le Jeune Homme et la Mort- Rudolf Nureyev or Mikhail Baryshnikov? You decide

Petit

Le Jeune Homme et la Mort (1946) choreography by Roland Petit, set to Bach’s Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582, with a one-act libretto by Jean Cocteau. The story of a young man driven to suicide by his faithless lover. Two of the most memorable interrupters of the male role (both stage and film) have been Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov.  Continue reading

5/1/15 O&A Shall We Dance Friday- Encore Performance: Le jeune homme et la mort by Roland Petit (Zizi Jeanmaire & Rudolf Nureyev)- 1966

ENCORE

jeune-homme-mort-rudolf-noureev

Le Jeune Homme et La Mort was choreographed by Roland Petit  choreographed in 1946 to Bach’s Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582, with a one-act libretto by Jean Cocteau. It tells the story of a Young Man driven to suicide by his faithless lover. Sets were by George Wakhevitch and costumes variously reported as being by Karinska or Cocteau. Continue reading

Shall We Dance Friday: Le Jeune Homme et la Mort – Mikhail Baryshnikov

Shall We Dance

White-Nights

White Nights is a 1985 American film directed by Taylor Hackford and choreographed by Twyla Tharp and stars Mikhail Baryshnikov, Gregory Hines, Jerzy Skolimowski, Helen Mirren and Isabella Rossellini. The movie opens with an abridged version of Roland Petite’s Le Jeune Homme et la Mort. The ballet was given the full Hollywood treatment. Continue reading

11/29/17 O&A NYC DANCE: Rudolf Nureyev and Zizi Jeanmaire: Le Jeune Homme et La Mort by Roland Petit (1966)

jeune-homme-mort-rudolf-noureev

Le Jeune Homme et La Mort was choreographed by Roland Petit  choreographed in 1946 to Bach’s Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582, with a one-act libretto by Jean Cocteau. It tells the story of a Young Man driven to suicide by his faithless lover. Sets were by George Wakhevitch and costumes variously reported as being by Karinska or Cocteau. Continue reading