I am extraordinarily lucky to have incredibly amazing friends. And one of the reasons why they are so amazing, is that they know me very well. For example, when it comes to gift giving for birthdays or holidays, they know that I don’t want stuff. All I want is to spend time with them and go and see cool things. Case in point, this year for my birthday, one of my friends texted me to ask if I was free on a certain day at 7PM. I said yes, but that was all the information I got. When that day rolled around, we got on the Metro, and 25 minutes later we were standing in front of the Théâtre de la Madeleine. She had gotten us tickets to see La Femme Qui Danse by Marie-Claude Pietragalla. As I said, my friends know me so well.
Marie-Claude Pietragalla is one of France’s top contemporary dancers and choreographers. La Femme Qui Danse is her latest solo show, celebrating her 40 years in the industry. That’s right. 40 years! The show traces her life and career, including the moment she fell in love with dance and how she came to be onstage. It was just her, alone on stage with minimal props, telling us her story as she danced. And it was beautiful.
It was also technically stunning. The show used digital projections to brilliant effect. But the technical elements themselves were also flawless. As someone who works in theatre, it’s very hard to surprise me on the tech side of things, but this show managed it. Multiple times. And I loved it.
All in all, it was an amazing night at the theatre and a fantastic birthday present. I don’t know how I got so lucky to have such incredible friends. But I will never forget it.
Suggestions for artists I should check out? Please contact me with your ideas. I hope you enjoyed your daily helping of art!
