Chambre d'amour

#hopeful #mythical

The »Chamber of Love« is a cave on the Basque coast which used to be flooded by rough seas at high tide. Since the 18th century, legend has it that a sentimental tragedy occurred there, involving two lovers named Ura and Ederra (Water and Beauty). In the very moment they were enjoying life and love to the full, the ocean, with its caresses and threats, its tranquillity and fury, swallowed them up. The next morning their bodies were found on the sand, still locked in an embrace.

For this sentimental tragedy, which joins other universal tales of star-crossed lovers like Romeo & Juliet, Othello & Desdemona, Orpheus & Eurydice, the young Basque composer Peio Çabalette wrote an original score. His CHAMBRE D’AMOUR is a great cry of love for the audience and the wider world, reminding us that we are, above all, beings created to love.

With CHAMBRE D’AMOUR, Thierry Malandain has come full circle. This ballet was the first that he choreographed for Ballet Biarritz, back in 2000. Now 25 year later, Malandain is bringing this great myth of love back to the stage in a new version. With this ballet, the choreographer offers a reflection on the canon, the repertoire and the transmission of works from one generation to the next.

Malandain has devoted his life to dance and has the following to say about ballet: »My culture is that of classical dance, and I have no qualms about remaining attached to it. Although I readily admit that some of its artistic and social codes are from another time, I also believe that this heritage from four centuries of history provides the dancer with invaluable resources. That’s why my dance is a vehicle for variation, classical for some, contemporary for others. I’m simply looking for a dance that I love, a dance that doesn’t just leave a trace of pleasure, but that reconnects with the essence of the sacred as a response to the difficulty of being.«

The Malandain Ballet Biarritz most recently appeared in Bonn with MOSAÏQUE in 2024 and LES SAISONS in 2023. The new choreography CHAMBRE D’AMOUR, which has its world premiere in September 2025, will receive its first performance in Germany in Bonn.

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