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| Musée de la danse | |
|---|---|
| Name | Musée de la danse |
| Type | Museum |
| Collections | Dance, choreography, costume, music |
Musée de la danse is an institution dedicated to the preservation, study, and presentation of dance as a performing art, with collections spanning choreography, costume, notation, and media. Founded to document both historical and contemporary movement practices, the museum engages with practitioners, companies, and archives across Europe and beyond. It functions as a site for exhibitions, research collaborations, and public programming linking choreography with visual culture, music, and theater.
Founded in the late 20th century, the museum emerged amid renewed interest in ephemeral arts following festivals and institutions such as Avignon Festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Festival d'Automne à Paris, and initiatives from the Ministère de la Culture (France). Early partnerships included exchanges with Comédie-Française, Royal Opera House, Teatro alla Scala, Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques, and archives from the estates of choreographers like Rudolf Nureyev, Martha Graham, Pina Bausch, Maurice Béjart, and Merce Cunningham. The collection grew through donations from companies including Ballets Russes, Paris Opera Ballet, Béjart Ballet Lausanne, New York City Ballet, and individuals associated with institutions such as Institut National de l'Audiovisuel, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Victoria and Albert Museum, and Library of Congress. Landmark exhibitions drew comparisons to retrospectives at Musée d'Orsay and collaborations with centers like Centre Pompidou and Kennedy Center.
The permanent holdings encompass costume collections from houses such as Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior, and theatrical workshops linked to Comédie-Française; notation manuscripts by proponents of Labanotation, Rudolf Laban, and Benesh Movement Notation; audio-visual archives documenting performances by companies like Royal Ballet, The Bolshoi Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Batsheva Dance Company, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Rotating exhibits have featured figures including Isadora Duncan, Anna Pavlova, George Balanchine, José Limón, Alvin Ailey, Pina Bausch, and contemporary choreographers affiliated with Trisha Brown, William Forsythe, Akram Khan, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, and Crystal Pite. The museum also displays scenography and lighting designs by collaborators such as Sven Nykvist, Es Devlin, and collections of scores associated with Igor Stravinsky, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, and librettists linked to Jean Cocteau and Serge Diaghilev.
The museum's building juxtaposes historical restoration of a 19th-century structure with contemporary interventions inspired by projects at Pompidou Centre, Tate Modern, and Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Architectural references and collaborations have evoked names including Jean Nouvel, Renzo Piano, Zaha Hadid, Norman Foster, and conservation methods paralleling work at Palais Garnier and Opéra de Lyon. Gallery spaces are configured to accommodate installations by artists associated with Robert Wilson, Marina Abramović, William Kentridge, and to house stage reconstructions similar to those staged for productions at Teatro Real and La Scala.
The museum maintains research ties with academic and training institutions such as Conservatoire de Paris, Juilliard School, Royal Academy of Dance, École des Beaux-Arts, Université Paris-Sorbonne, and research centers like CNRS and Institut de recherche en musicologie. Scholarly projects address choreography histories of figures like Vaslav Nijinsky, Loïe Fuller, Kurt Jooss, and intersections with composers Maurice Ravel, Igor Stravinsky, and theater-makers Bertolt Brecht and Antonin Artaud. The library and archive support doctoral theses, catalogues raisonnés, and digital humanities collaborations with partners including Europeana, Getty Research Institute, and Digital Public Library of America.
Programming blends lecture-demonstrations, residencies, and performances featuring ensembles such as Opéra national de Paris Ballet, Sasha Waltz & Guests, Hofesh Shechter Company, Russell Maliphant Company, and guest choreographers from Rambert Dance Company and Sadler's Wells Theatre. The museum curates festivals inspired by models like Jacob's Pillow, Sadler's Wells, and La Biennale di Venezia to present cross-disciplinary commissions with composers, visual artists, and filmmakers connected to Philippe Garrel, Chris Marker, Maya Deren, and Derek Jarman. Educational seasons include masterclasses drawing teachers from Martha Graham School, Balanchine technique, Vaganova Academy, and programs for youth linked to UNESCO cultural initiatives.
Located in an urban cultural district near transport hubs comparable to Gare du Nord and landmarks like Place de la Concorde and Jardin des Tuileries, the museum offers timed-entry tickets, guided tours, and accessible facilities aligning with standards promoted by ICOM and Culture 21: Actions. Services include bookstore holdings referencing publications from Tanz Archive, Dance Research Journal, and collaboration-driven merchandise with publishers such as Thames & Hudson and Gallimard. Visitor amenities emulate those found at institutions like Musée Picasso, Musée Rodin, and Musée du Quai Branly.
Category:Museums of dance Category:Performing arts museums