Summary
Bejart Ballet Lausanne's "Ballet for Life," which illuminated the Beiteddine Art Festival stage Friday, was a beautiful and bewildering show. Created by Swiss choreographer Maurice Bejart in 1996, the work's combination of Queen, Mozart and ballet continues to raise eyebrows and pique interest for its sheer novelty.
The show is by no means a tour of Queen's greatest hits, though many were included. Yet it was in the four segments choreographed to Mozart that the dance really shone.
During the pieces accompanied by Mozart, the performers seemed to be on more equal footing, moving through the music, instead of on a backdrop overwhelmed by Mercury & Co. Mozart was a giant in his own right, but there is more distance now between the man and the music, leaving space for Bejart's choreography and the dancers' interpretations.
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