It’s promised: they won’t wear tights! When their Corps Commander, Commandant Tony Varo, supported by Sergeant Fabrice Matgé, spoke to them about ballet, dance, and audience, volunteers were not lacking. Trust in the leaders surely played a part. On the 3rd and 4th of July, seven young firefighters from the Monaco fire station will contribute, in their own way, to Act III of the celebrations, through the Monaco Dance Forum, of the Centenary of the Russian Ballets that Diaghilev wanted to be creative, professional, and playful. As these lines are being written, none of them knows yet “what they will be in for” by the famous Dutch choreographer Krisztina de Châtel, who is concocting this world premiere. The rehearsals are delayed. And the choreographic “instructions” as well. From the Commander to the Artist, how will the hierarchical transfer occur?
Accustomed to daily operational training, to “drills,” the exercises “intended to familiarize them with the procedures,” the renowned “life-saving gestures while preserving their own”, explains Commandant Tony Varo, the firefighters will likely have to accept a larger margin of spatio-temporal uncertainty than those required by their life-saving maneuvers. Despite their psychological training, the human dimension might just as easily bite into the field of intimate sensitivity.
“I am happy,” recounts Fabrice, a former high-level athlete recently recruited, “because I already know the artistic environment of the Opera from having played acrobats in The Flying Dutchman in 2009.” “For me, it was good news.” Older in the organization, Manuel expresses “his pride to be part of these ballets for the Centenary celebrations.” “Seeing something different, better promoting our profession” explains the reasons for his volunteering. Admittedly, “he would have required a fireproof hood if he had been forced to dance in tights,” he jokes. More cautious in his remarks, Gildas highlights his specialty: rope climbing. “I was assured that this discipline would be represented in the show,” he insists. A show he describes as “special”: “It is not the same style,” he argues. “Originality, sharing, and the feeling of having a new experience” are also at the heart of Jean-Philippe’s and Eric’s motivations: “this show will demonstrate our way of working,” says the former who had already performed acrobatics on ladders attached to the Salle des Etoiles for the firefighters’ centenary. Eric, for his part, mentions the “good group cohesion” even if others look at their comrades’ adventure with a “curious and amused eye.”
Directly under the orders of the Sovereign Prince, on duty an average of 160 days a year, recruited also for their manual specialties, which allows them to benefit from perfectly maintained facilities, the firefighters of Monaco are thus taking on this additional challenge. “No worries,” reassures Commandant Tony Varo, an auditor of the 167th Regional Session of IHEDN and himself “engaged in the trade since the age of 11”: “physical endurance, humanistic relationships, listening to others, and team spirit are their daily lot.” Soldiers of fire who might ignite the stage.
SATURDAY, JULY 3: KRISZTINA DE CHÂTEL and THE MONACO FIRE DEPARTMENT – Creation, The Dance of the Firefighters; 7:00 PM – Chapiteau de Fontvieille
EMIO GRECO AND PIETER C. SCHOLTEN / ICKamsterdam
Para | diso – Creation; 8:30 PM – Salle Garnier
SUNDAY, JULY 4: KRISZTINA DE CHÂTEL and THE MONACO FIRE DEPARTMENT – Creation, The Dance of the Firefighters
7:00 PM – Chapiteau de Fontvieille
ITZIK GALILI / Dansgroep Amsterdam
Flatland – Creation
10:00 PM – Terrasses du Casino
Tel +377 97 70 65 20
www.monacodanceforum.com
www.balletsdemontecarlo.com
