I was hoping that the online chat with choreographer Dani Levesque would originate from a room at Pavillon Noir, a choreographic center in Aix-en-Provence built specifically for the Ballet Preljocaj group. The architectural design of the building fully expresses the philosophy of the 66-year-old dancer, choreographer and artistic director Angelen Prelzokaz: “A structure made of iron and concrete, whose glass skin allows you to see how dance is born day by day. in rehearsal studios, while at the same time preserving the mystery and feeling of a performance for a 378-seat theater hidden in its bowels.

But Prelzokaz’s thirty-year-old assistant, Dani Levek, was at home. He spoke to “K” shortly before flying to Greece with the Ballet Preljocaj, which is presenting a modern interpretation of the classical ballet “Swan Lake” in the Athens Concert Hall tonight. Speaking of the 26 dancers who will be seen on stage with motherly care, she is excited about the trip and proud of the skill of the incoming multicultural group, consisting of Spaniards, Italians, Belgians, Australians, two Americans and a dancer. from Taiwan. Ms. Leveque comes to Athens as an assistant choreographer, but her special training allows her to pursue another art: “writing” the dance.

How did it happen? “I watch Angelen create his choreography, take notes, and then compose the score of the movements,” he explains. Thus, over the years he has transferred to paper more than 30 of his choreographies, and he can return some of the old ones for revival or new adaptation. Therefore, does she know well how he thinks?

“I know he likes to see what he expects from dancing,” she replies. “He believes that it is an art that speaks to everyone, because we all have a body and we can feel its movements if they are clean and the execution is flawless. However, as far as the final choreography is concerned, I never know what will change at the last moment so that the result expresses it.”

Albanian by origin but born in Paris to immigrant parents, Prelzokaz is an artist with an impressive career. Best known for his choreographic adaptations of classical ballets and other experimental productions, he has established himself for his particular idiom: choreographies that are equally related to classical and contemporary dance. “Swan Lake” was the peak of his career.

“In our native “Lake”, along with an erotic plot, there is an ecological plot. The differences lie not only in the central story, but also in the choreography. There are also small changes in the music: new arrangements of Tchaikovsky’s masterpieces, and we have a lot of good videos,” says Ms. Leveque.

Whether the classical repertoire needs to be updated in order to please the modern public, we ask them. “No, because I think a lot of people like both equally,” he replies. “The music is beautiful, as is Petipa’s classical choreography, but, as is the case with cinema, theater or literature now, we want to artistically re-examine the material from a new perspective.”

However, she admits that this year she saw all the performances of “Swan Lake” and the original seemed heavy and long – it’s 3 hours. In the production that we will see in Megaro, the performance lasts about 110 minutes and the story develops quickly, “everything flows,” he emphasizes. “Angelen’s technique uses some of the classic vocabulary, but it’s more mundane. Our ballet dancers perform two months of classical dance and two months of modern dance throughout the year. When they are chosen for a production, they must be very good in both genres.”

As Prelzokaz said in the past: “Once dance begins to dominate fairy tales and stories, they take on a global dimension, because there are no more words, there are only bodies that speak directly to the nervous system and flow through us like water.”

The next show will take place on 10.04.