Don't Shoot at Bluebeard
With a substantial eighty followers (the youngest being 8 years old and the oldest 18, making the group almost entirely adolescent), the Groupe Grenade has been recognized, at least in France, as a spokesperson for its own style defined as "the Grenade style," symbolizing energy and openness towards diversity. Since 1992, thanks to the dedication of Josette Baïz, it has accumulated extensive experiences—works specifically created for children and adolescents, pieces for more mature performers—all underpinned by increasingly solid project planning, showcased at festivals in Marseille and beyond. Barbe Bleue – created in November 2005 (preceded by another version of the same title dating back to 1983, when Baïz was solely involved in animation activities in the neighborhoods of Aix-en-Provence) falls into the first category. It was born with very young dancers—aged 10 to 14—but is intended for an audience beyond adolescence, reaffirming the "social" perspective that the French choreographer consistently promotes even in her work with Compagnie Grenade. This time, the aim is to overturn the coordinates of a cruel fairy tale that is difficult to understand, yet which the youngest members of Groupe Grenade have managed to approach and disrupt with enthusiasm. Bluebeard, the wicked castle lord who murders all his wives, might no longer be considered a monster but a suffering man driven to extreme acts due to the unhappiness and lack of love that marked his life. The morbid curiosity of his wives, unable to resist the temptation to open the forbidden door, has prompted the choreographer and her young dancers to venture far beyond the fairy tale, seeking possible analogies, such as with the original sin committed by Adam and Eve. As is well known, Pina Bausch also gave her unforgettable and masterful interpretation of the fairy tale in Blaubart (1977) within the realm of high Tanztheater – but at its creation, painfully centered on the negativity of masculine power, came the music of Duke Bluebeard's Castle by Béla Bartók to the rescue (indeed, the full title of the piece is: Blaubart. While listening to a tape recording of Béla Bartók's opera "Duke Bluebeard's Castle"). Naturally, any comparison between Wuppertal Tanztheater and Groupe Grenade would be a futile stretch. However, it is worth noting that here the original music by Marc Artières, Yves Miara, and Alain Bordes contributes to emphasizing the disoriented and unfortunate aspect of the male element. Conversely, femininity in this young and unrestrained piece is strong, provocative, and tempted by a lightness in action that becomes unbearable for the various Bluebeards populating the scene. Indeed, all performers in Barbe Bleue are potentially "protagonists": they are males and females who recreate the leitmotif of couple's lack of communication, yet without giving rise to a true narrative. They primarily dance their own selves: young people who observe the story of Bluebeard with a fresh perspective, discovering and rediscovering his secrets.
