Maurice Béjart: L'âme de la danse

"Dance is a phenomenon of religious order, a ritual, both sacred and human," said Maurice Béjart. He believed in the ritual nature of dance and sought to strip it of the courtly aesthetics of classical ballet. Béjart aimed to revive and revitalize a universal choreographic tradition. This was his lifelong pursuit, a path that was far from easy.

It's hard to imagine how many times the young Béjart was told his dancing career was over. Indeed, he never became a great dancer. Instead, he became a great choreographer, one of the most significant of the 20th century.

The son of a Senegalese father and a Catalan mother, "Bim" (as the choreographer called himself; his real name was Maurice-Jean Berger) became a citizen of the world. He searched for his place in dance for a long time, moving between teachers (his foundation was laid by Russian émigrés, including the famous Lyubov Yegorova). He never fit into the classical world, despite dancing with the Marseille Opera, in London, and for Roland Petit.

He choreographed his first piece at 24 and founded his own company at 27. He then forged his own path, creating great and unforgettable works like "Boléro", "Symphony No. 9", "Songs of a Wayfarer", and many others that are now part of dance's golden repertoire.

The documentary "Maurice Béjart: L'âme de la danse" ("Maurice Bejart, the Soul of Dance") explores how Béjart worked, his relationships with those around him, and his life on and off stage. It features Brigitte Lefèvre, Carolyn Carlson, Gilles Roman, Claude Lelouch, and dancers of the "Ballet du XXe Siècle".