Figure émergente de la chorégraphie en Suisse romande, Cisco Aznar a relevé un défi de taille en acceptant de revisiter ce ballet pour Le Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève. Inspiré du plus célèbre conte d’Hoffman, ce chef d’œuvre sur la partition de Léo Delibes a déjà bénéficié de relectures marquantes. D’origine catalane, Cisco Aznar et son complice Luis Lara, qui signe les fantastiques décors et costumes, lorgnent du côté de la BD kitsch, de la folie tragique et d’Almodovar. Leur mission délicate de remettre en piste la poupée Coppélia est une formidable réussite! Ils transposent le ballet d’Arthur Saint-Léon dans un univers d’une modernité et d’une originalité époustouflantes.

Source: Programme de la Maison de la Danse de Lyon 

Born in 1972 in Catalonia, Cisco Aznar graduated from the School of Dramatic and Choreographic Art in Barcelona. At the end of his studies, he represented Spain at the Choreographic Workshop of the European Union in Luxembourg. In 1992, in Lausanne, on a scholarship from Maurice Béjart's Atelier Rudra, he participated in the creation of the ballets Autour de Faust and Mister C with the Béjart Ballet. From 1993, he worked as a dancer and choreographer in Europe and Latin America, notably with the Grand Théâtre du Liceu, Julio Bocca, Anna Maria Stekelmann, Paco Decina, Philippe Trehet, Redha and Philippe Lizon. In 1998, he assumed the artistic direction of the Compagnie Buissonière Lausanne and created a large number of shows. His plays have been presented in the following theaters and festivals, among others: Théâtre National de Chaillot-Paris, Maison de la Danse-Lyon, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Opéra de Lausanne, Opéra de Vichy, Auditorium de Dijon, Théâtre de Vidy-Lausanne, Teatro Arriaga de Bilbao, Festival GREC-Barcelona, ​​Festival Latinidades-São Paulo, F.I.T Belo Horizonte, Escena Contemporánea-Madrid, Virginia Woolf Festival-London, FILO Londrina, Berner Tanztage Festival, Porto Alegre Em Cena, Esplanade Theatre-Singapore. He was, with his Buissonnière company, in residence at La Grange de Dorigny from 2006 to 2009 and was also one of the directors invited to produce a skit for the 25th anniversary in 2017.

Author, filmmaker and video artist Charles Picq (1952-2012) entered working life in the 70s through theatre and photography. A- fter resuming his studies (Maîtrise de Linguistique - Lyon ii, Maîtrise des sciences et Techniques de la Communication - grenoble iii), he then focused on video, first in the field of fine arts at the espace Lyonnais d'art Contemporain (ELAC) and with the group « Frigo », and then in dance.
   On creation of the Maison de la Danse in Lyon in 1980, he was asked to undertake a video documentation project that he has continued ever since. During the ‘80s, a decade marked in France by the explosion of contemporary dance and the development of video, he met numerous artists such as andy Degroat, Dominique Bagouet, Carolyn Carlson, régine Chopinot, susanne Linke, Joëlle Bouvier and regis Obadia, Michel Kelemenis. He worked in the creative field with installations and on-stage video, as well as in television with recorded shows, entertainment and documentaries.

His work with Dominique Bagouet (80-90) was a unique encounter. He documents his creativity, assisting with Le Crawl de Lucien and co-directing with his films Tant Mieux, Tant Mieux and 10 anges. in the 90s he became director of video development for the Maison de la Danse and worked, with the support of guy Darmet and his team, in the growing space of theatre video through several initiatives:
       - He founded a video library of dance films with free public access. This was a first for France. Continuing the video documentation of theatre performances, he organised their management and storage.
       - He promoted the creation of a video-bar and projection room, both dedicated to welcoming school pupils.
       - He started «présentations de saisons» in pictures.
       - He oversaw the DVD publication of Le tour du monde en 80 danses, a pocket video library produced by the Maison de la Danse for the educational sector.

       - He launched the series “scènes d'écran” for television and online. He undertook the video library's digital conversion and created Numeridanse.

His main documentaries are: enchaînement, Planète Bagouet, Montpellier le saut de l'ange, Carolyn Carlson, a woman of many faces, grand ecart, Mama africa, C'est pas facile, Lyon, le pas de deux d'une ville, Le Défilé, Un rêve de cirque.

He has also produced theatre films: Song, Vu d'ici (Carolyn Carlson), Tant Mieux, Tant Mieux, 10 anges, Necesito and So schnell, (Dominique Bagouet), Im bade wannen, Flut and Wandelung (Susanne Linke), Le Cabaret Latin (Karine Saporta), La danse du temps (Régine Chopinot), Nuit Blanche (Abou Lagraa), Le Témoin (Claude Brumachon), Corps est graphique (Käfig), Seule et WMD (Françoise et Dominique Dupuy), La Veillée des abysses (James Thiérrée), Agwa (Mourad Merzouki), Fuenteovejuna (Antonio Gades), Blue Lady revistied (Carolyn Carlson).

Source: Maison de la Danse de Lyon

Artistic direction: Philippe Cohen    

Creation: 1962

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the major ballet companies were invited to Geneva to perform on the Théâtre Neuve's stage, and notably Isadora Duncan and Nijinsky with the Ballets Russes. It was only when it reopened in 1962 that the theatre founded its own ballet company. Its direction has been entrusted successively to Janine Charrat, Serge Golovine, Patricia Neary, Peter van Dyck, Oscar Araiz, Gradimir Pankov, François Passard and Giorgio Mancini. From the outset, this company has aimed to explore the plurality of twentieth-century dance styles, which has led it to work with famous artists such as Georges Balanchine (artistic advisor from 1970 to 1978), Mikhaïl Baryshnikov, Rudolf Noureïev, Jiri Kylian, Ohad Naharin, William Forsythe and Lucinda Childs.    

Directed today by Philippe Cohen, the Ballet of the Grand Théâtre consists of 22 dancers of various nationalities. Classically-trained, they are all capable of performing neo-classical and modern choreographies. Each season, they generally offer two new works, revivals of pieces from repertoire, tours, schools projects and choreography workshops.  
Since Philippe Cohen’s nomination as the manager of the Grand Théâtre de Genève Ballet Company in 2003, the Geneva Ballet undertook a radical reshaping of its repertoire and image, based on two principles apparently worlds apart: tradition and creation. Tradition in the sense of claiming one’s part in a historical narrative; creation in the sense of actively taking part in writing that narrative for tomorrow.

By cleaving to these principles, the Grand Théâtre de Genève Ballet Company seeks not so much to cultivate the richness of its position as to position itself measuredly in a state of creative imbalance, of permanent questioning. This explains the Company’s original and daring artistic choices, resolutely modern and ambitious, and our preference for young choreographers who show the promise of great things in the years to come. By inviting these young choreographers to come and work with no restrictions in Geneva, we hope to establish a momentum of modernity that does not break with the past, but rather echoes its riches and creates a dynamic towards the future. The Grand Théâtre is proud to have served as a launching pad for artists destined to become the star choreographers of our time: Saburo Teshigawara, Benjamin Millepied, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Andonis Foniadakis, Emanuel Gat, Gilles Jobin, Ken Ossola...

Sources: Maison de la Danse show program ; the Grand Théâtre de Genève Ballet Company 's website

More information : geneveopera.com