Circle of life: A scene from Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring re-created by French choreographer Jean-Claude Gallotta is to be performed in HCM City tomorrow. — Photo by Guy Delahaye

HCM CITY (VNS)— French choreographer Jean-Claude Gallotta will re-create Igor Stravinsky's 100-year-old ballet The Rite of Spring for a performance to be staged in HCM City tomorrow.

The ballet – in two parts, The Adoration of the Earth and The Sacrifice – is about the mystery and great surge of the creative power of spring.

It premiered in Paris in 1913.

The Rite of Spring has since been adapted by several leading choreographers like Maurice Bejart (1959), Martha Graham (1984), and Xavier Le Roy (2007).

In 2011 Gallotta presented his version of the ballet, but kept the original music by Stravinsky.

In his version, The Rite of Spring is preceded by two pieces, Tumulate and Pour Igor.

Tumulate invites audiences to take notice of the primitive silence of the dance, while Pour Igor is the choreographer's tribute to Stravinsky.

The show at Ben Thanh Theatre will feature dancers from the National Choreographic Centre in Grenoble, France.

It is meant to commemorate 40 years of diplomatic ties between Viet Nam and France.

After the show in HCM City, the ballet will be performed at the Youth Theatre in Ha Noi on Saturday.

Gallotta, born in 1950 in Grenoble, was inspired by Stravinsky after listening to his music as a schoolboy.

He studied in New York from 1976 to 1978 with Merce Cunningham, who is considered one of the greatest creative forces in American dance.

In 1979 he and his companion Matilda Altaraz founded the Emile Dubois Group in Grenoble, which became the National Choreographic Centre in 1984.

He was its director between 1986 and 1989.

Gallotta has written many famous works like Ulysses, Mammame, and Dr Labus that have been performed in France and other countries.

This year he presented his re-creation of The Adventure of Ivan Vaffan, a contemporary dance first performed in 1984.

The performance will begin at 8pm at the theatre at 6 Mac Dinh Chi Street, District 1.

Tickets costing VND80,000, VND100,000, and VND120,000 – with a 50 per cent discount for students – can be bought at the Institute of Cultural Exchange with France (IDECAF), 28 Le Thanh Ton Street in District 1.

For the Ha Noi show, tickets at the same price are available at the Youth Theatre, 11 Ngo Thi Nham Street and half discount for student card and L'Espace membership card holders. —VNS