Overview
Maguy Marin
(b. 1951)
Quick Reference
(b Toulouse, 2 Jun. 1951)
French dancer, choreographer, and company director. One of the most significant figures in the French new wave. She studied in Toulouse and Paris, performing with the Strasbourg Opera Ballet before moving to Brussels in 1970 to continue her studies at Béjart's school, Mudra. She joined his Ballet of the 20th Century (1974–7) and choreographed Yu-ku-ri for that company in 1976. In 1978 she won first prize at the Bagnolet choreographic competition and in the same year founded her own company, which in 1984 was renamed Compagnie Maguy Marin, resident first at Angers and from 2006 at Rillieux-la Pape. In addition to making dances for her own company, Marin has choreographed for the Paris Opera Ballet (Jaleo, 1983, for the experimental GRCOP, and 1988's Leçon de ténèbres for the main company); for Dutch National Ballet (Groosland, mus. Bach, 1989) and above all for Lyon Opera Ballet where she was resident choreographer between 1991 and 1994. One of her major successes there was Cinderella (1985), which set the familiar fairy-tale in a doll's house; this was followed by Coppélia (1993) which transferred the ballet to a depressed public housing estate. Marin's slant on the classical aesthetic was also evident in Groosland where a cast of padded ‘fat’ dancers satirized the sylph-like bodies of classical dancers. She also staged the Brecht/Weill The Seven Deadly Sins for Lyon in 1987. A list of her other works includes Contrastes (mus. Bartók, 1980), May B (mus. Schubert, Bryars, 1981, based on the writings of Samuel Beckett), Babel Babel (mus. Mahler, 1982), Calambre (mus. Rayon, 1985), Waterzooi (mus. Denis Mariotte, 1993), RamDam (mus. Mariotte, 1995), Umwelt (2005), and Turba (2007).
http://www.compagnie-maguy-marin.fr Website for the Marin company
Subjects: Performing arts — Dance
