Choreographer Spotlight: Jean-Christophe Maillot
Jean-Christophe Maillot in rehearsal with Les Ballets De Monte Carlo. Photo by Alice Blangero
When I first witnessed Jean-Christophe Maillot’s work I was with my mom. We sat at New York City Center and shed awestruck tears watching Les Ballets De Monte Carlo perform Maillot’s Cendrillon (Cinderella). Though nearly a decade has passed, I can recall our hushed and huddled conversation during intermission involving the conviction that this was the pinnacle of dance. Holding hands, we savored the rest of the ballet cloaked in a blanket of gratitude. Watching Maillot’s choreography triggered a sense of exhilaration that soon gave way to a revelation; dance has the power to portray humanity and desire if carefully crafted by the right storyteller.
A little bit of background about said storyteller: Born in 1960 in Tours, France, Maillot began his dance career at the Conservatoire National de Région de Tours. He went on to train at Rosella Hightower’s International School of Dance in Cannes. Maillot won the Prix de Lausanne in 1977 and was then hired by John Neumeier to join the Hamburg Ballet. After five years with the company, his career came to an end due to injury. In 1983, he was made choreographer and director of Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Tours, which later became a National Centre of Choreography. There he choreographed around twenty ballets and founded choreographic festivals. In 1993, he was appointed director of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo by the H.R.H. the Princess of Hannover. Maillot has been choreographing for the company since and has created upwards of 45 ballets, many of which are now set on companies across the globe.
Maillot articulates movement as a vessel for yearning and love through a contemporary ballet language that is entirely his own. His choreography enables his dancers to embody qualities greater than beauty alone, imparting their characters with a complexity that can sometimes fail to appear in more classical ballet repertoire. In this video, Prima ballerina Olga Smirnova tells us, “He [Maillot] always tells us action first, then reaction.” (1:04) showcasing his dedication to intertwining acting and dance. We can see in this rehearsal clip of La Belle, Olga Smirnova and Semyon Chudin spurred on by Maillot’s questioning and narration. He shouts, “What’s happening to you?” as Smirnova gazes at Chudin, inciting further exploration—not just of movement, but of its emotional foundation and narrative significance (3:42). In this clip from The Taming of The Shrew, the fleeting glances from Smirnova to Chudin cause a chain reaction of elation melded with timidity. Maillot nurtures emotional entanglement choreographically as their character's feelings for one another unfurl before us. The floodgates have opened– illustrated by way of arms extended outwards and heads released back throughout their pas de deux (0:29, 1:23, 2:06).
Olga Smirnova and Semyon Chudin in The Taming of the Shrew. Photo by Alice Blangero.
Emotional complexity isn’t only showcased in instances of ardor, but in times of inner and outer turmoil. In this clip of The Taming of the Shrew, we are privy to narration by the Bolshoi’s ballerina, Ekaterina Krysanova. We learn Katherine and Petruchio, danced by Ekaterina Krysanova and Vladislav Lantratov respectively, have a fight scene that gives way to a moment of reflection for Katherine. Krysanova tells us her character Katherine, “is a woman in love…she can’t even forgive herself for feeling this way.” The rest of the stage freezes accordingly, leaving Katherine to explore her admiration for Petruchio alone. This storytelling, through trembling hands (4:11) and a pocket of privacy, demonstrates a knack for unveiling the innermost world of the characters at play. It’s evident Maillot respects and aims to excavate the inner workings of those he brings to life on stage through dance. Often his choreography appears so naturalistic on his dancers, it seems to flow from the soul onto the stage…it’s tough to think of anything better than that.
Ekaterina Krysanova and Vladislav Lantratov in The Taming of the Shrew. Photo by Alice Blangero