One of Maurice Bejart’s most noted works, Bolero shows a woman dancing hypnotically on a tabletop. Sylvie Guillem performed its sinuous caressing and beckoning movements as if she were making incantatory gestures as a high priestess of an erotic ritual. Men seated motionless on chairs at the sides of the stage fall under her spell and slowly come to life. As Ravel’s familiar score mounts to a mighty climax, they dance around the table and at last jump on it to join the woman. The ballet is a remarkable image of awakening desire. Continue reading
