The acronym G.U.I.D. stands for Groupe Urbain d'Intervention Dansée and identifies a special project initiated by Angelin Preljocaj with dancers specifically selected for this type of 'urban interventions.' Bringing contemporary dance—usually confined to theaters—into public spaces such as stations, supermarkets, and squares is an adventure that the French choreographer has supported since 1998, the year G.U.I.D. was created. This group is composed of professional dancers and young participants from the pedagogical and professionalization program within the Ballet Preljocaj, now led by Guillaume Siard, a former dancer with the company. Since the early 2000s, Siard has been interested in repertoire transmission and teaching. He is the one who restages excerpts from Angelin Preljocaj's famous works for the group, both pieces created for the company and for large international ensembles, as is the case with La Stravaganza, a ballet created for the New York City Ballet in 1997. The value of this operation lies in the fact that no changes are made to the choreography: the choreographic writing remains ‘demanding,’ rigorous, and supported by formal inventiveness. This is the core challenge: to offer ‘refined’ dance to everyone.
Each season, G.U.I.D. presents a selection of excerpts, and in addition to the aforementioned work, the festival will feature pieces from: Peurs Bleues (Blue Fears, 1985), a performance that depicted the childhood game of scaring oneself in relation to the adult world, set to music by Beethoven; Personne n’épouse les méduses (No One Marries Jellyfish, 1999), inspired by the burning sensation jellyfish cause when they come into contact with the skin; L’Anoure (The Frog, 1995), based on Pascal Quignard's original novella La Voix Perdue with a musical mix of aquatic recordings and Rameau; Suivront mille ans de calme (A Thousand Years of Calm Will Follow, 2010), drawn from a verse in the Apocalypse, reflecting on the blind drift of bodies caught between ideals and beliefs; and Paysage après la bataille (Landscape After the Battle, 1997), where two antithetical figures from the art world meet: writer Joseph Conrad and visual artist Marcel Duchamp.
