Bal Moderne is a delightful blend of dance artistry and amateur practice. Internationally renowned contemporary choreographers such as Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Fatou Traoré, Damien Jalet, and promising young creators have come together to craft short choreographic sequences, each no longer than three minutes, aimed at a diverse audience eager to have fun. But how does Bal Moderne work? Each event night includes the teaching of three choreographies, with each session lasting forty-five minutes and interspersed with a fifteen-minute break for participants to dance freely. Once the choreographies are learned, a lively dance evening unfolds with accompaniment from a DJ.
The audience is guided step-by-step by the choreographer themselves or a professional dancer, supported by proficient dancers who provide friendly assistance. Bal Moderne originated in Paris in 1993, conceived by Michel Reilhac, then director of the Forum des Images. Since then, the event has been successful across many European countries including Belgium, France, Germany, Portugal, Denmark, Switzerland, and England, as well as overseas in Canada. During the Brussels celebrations as the European Capital of Culture in 2000, over 10,000 people participated in two series of Bal Moderne, marking a significant achievement.
This widespread success has inspired Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker's company Rosas, which hosted the first Bal Moderne in Brussels in 1996, to become a leading organizer in collaboration with the KunstenFESTIVALdesARTS. In Rovereto, under the grand dome of the Mart Museum, five different choreographies will be presented over two evenings. The lineup includes Moonlight Shadow by De Keersmaeker, set to the iconic 1980s song by Mike Oldfield; More Action by the young Hungarian choreographers Rozsavolgyi and Varga, celebrating rock and roll with Elvis Presley's music; Maria by the Belgian De Vlieghe, a passionate dance for solo or duo performance to Astor Piazzolla's music; Codesa by George Mxolisi Khumalo from South Africa, offering rhythmic and energetic movements; and Ziva, a group dance evoking the flow of a calm and voluptuous river, set to original music by Hamza El Din.
Whether alone, accompanied, or with the whole family, Bal Moderne welcomes everyone to the Mart Museum's square for an evening of joyful entertainment.
