Midnight in Paris (Kesköö Pariisis)

Ballet in two acts

The production Midnight in Paris was inspired by the music of Gershwin and distinguished personalities active in the fields of fine arts, theatre and fashion in Paris from the 1920s to 1950s. Romain Erte, Elsa Chiaparelli, Josephine Baker and Salvador Dali – those who designed their own era as well as the future have been entwined into an artistic whole. This approach gave much freedom to the production team and enabled them to be playful – the great personalities mentioned above were a source of inspiration when interpreting the visual side and the storylines of characters for the production. In his choreography Michael Shannon emanates from the animal impulse launched by the music. There are no beautiful or ugly movements for him: everything coming from the inside is right. He is very musical and knows how to support the plot with wholesome musical dramaturgy. The visual characters created by me – having real people and their creative work as their prototypes – are torn apart in his language of movement. Hence a new concept and the atmosphere necessary for our production are being born. If the people and creatures on Dali’s paintings could speak in the language of dance, they would be very Shannon-like.

Actually, Midnight in Paris is a simple love story. One could also say that it is a modern romantic ballet that does not lack a lover’s triangle and the accompanying temptations and intrigues.

Mare Tommingas

Premiere on 24 October 2015 at the Vanemuine Small Building