Ballet Jeunesse
Signed Media production for in collaboration with
Ballet Jeunesse is an artistic and intellectual examination of the musical, dance and philosophical legacy of classical ballet. The film shows how the hip hop producer Mathias Arfmann,
Prokofiev’s grandson Gabriel, and the dancers Jiri and Otto Bubenicek are re-interpreting the tradition of classical ballet.
Ballet Jeunesse AT Reeperbahn Festival 2016
Successful producer and an interest for ballet music: For seven years Matthias Arfmann has been working hard to rearrange the classics of European ballet music.
He translated composers like Sergej Prokofieff, Erik Satie, George Bizet, Maurice Ravel, Igor Strawinsky and others from the past into the present. In this case ‘present’ means that he blended the original pieces with his own, electronic compositions.
In “Peter and the Wolf” a reggae beat joins the famous original, “Je Reve” becomes a techno hit and “Onegin” turns into a soul piece. He also adds lyrics to the pieces: In “Firebird” a “crazy bitch” pops up out of nowhere. Arfmann bursts all limits and won’t find any friends among purists – but clearly that wasn’t his intention.
At Reeperbahn Festival 2016 his work “Ballet Jeunesse” saw its first performance in cooperation wit the Hamburger Symphoniker.
