Béjart Ballet Lausanne to celebrate Béjart's centenary and its 40th anniversary
Béjart Ballet Lausanne will celebrate the centenary of the eponymous creator's birth and the company's 40th anniversary in 2027.
Maurice Béjart was born Maurice-Jean Berger on 1st January 1927 in Marseille, France. He trained as a dancer and joined the corps de ballet of the Opera de Marseille.
It is said that Maurice started using the last name, Béjart, as a stage name and eventually changed his name because his father, Gaston Berger, was an already well-known academic. It was probably taken from the maiden name of French playwright Molière's wife and because it sounded somewhat similar to his original name, according to the Transcend Media Service.
After setting up and dissolving two ballet companies in France and Belgium, he moved to Lausanne, Switzerland, and founded Béjart Ballet Lausanne in 1987. He passed away in 2007 aged 80.
Béjart created various classical-yet-ground breaking, iconic ballets throughout his career, such as Boléro (1961) -- arguably his most famous work, Songs of a Wayfarer (1971), The Rite of Spring (1959), La Luna (1984) and Ballet For Life (1996) to name a few.
Béjart Ballet Lausanne will host a Mozart-themed double-bill programme to celebrate the opening of the anniversary seasons in 18th-23rd December 2026 at the Théâtre de Beaulieu in Lausanne. The company will perform Béjart's Morzart Tangos (1990) and Etienne Béchard's new creation Lux Æterna, which is set to Morzart's Requiem.
A few other companies, including Teatro alla Scala in Italy and The Stuttgart Ballet in Germany, will perform programmes dedicated to Béjart next year.