Danse a la bordelaise. (News).

Although one would likely head to Bordeaux for its fine wines and gastronomic wonders, those lucky souls who happened to be in this bustling southwestern France city during the month of November could not only savor its spirits, they could also take in the cutting edge of creation during the groundbreaking new contemporary arts festival, Novart Bordeaux.

From the familiar dances of Paul Taylor to those of experimental French choreographer Catherine Contour, this eclectic, monthlong festival offered forty-eight different shows ranging from theater to music, cinema, dance, and visual arts. Performances took place in seventeen vastly different locations throughout the city.

Festival organizer Gerard Lion refers warmly to Taylor, a frequent visitor to the stages of Bordeaux, as the city's "twofold godfather." The 72-year-old choreographer was one of the original and regular guests at the city's former contemporary arts festival, SIGMA, which expired in 1997 after a thirty-year history, and he remains a great inspiration for young dancers in France. The Taylor triple bill of Arden Court, The Word, and Piazzolla Caldera proved a highlight of the festival. It was performed one short month after Taylor's Aureole and Le Sacre du printemps (The Rehearsal) were danced by the Bordeaux Ballet, as part of the company's all-American opening bill.

Another major event was the arrival of Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, who introduced Drumming (1998) to the festival. This hypnotizing, whirlwind piece kept the dancers spinning in circles against the complex musical score by Steve Reich. Bordeaux Opera Director Thierry Fouquet, who was responsible for De Keersmaeker's presence at Novart, was particularly impressed by the synergy of the dancers with Reich's marathon 1971 composition.

On the outskirts of Bordeaux lies an abandoned shoe factory. A hulking, concrete structure dating from the 1930s (the place hadn't seen a pair of shoes since 1985), the building remained empty until its 1998 transformation into Le TNT-Manufacture de Chaussures, a haven for blossoming artists. This was the ideal setting for some of Novart's more audacious artists, including Japanese choreographer Carlotta Ikeda. Togue, an experimental piece united Ikeda's Ariadone, her all-female, Bordeaux-based butoh company, with Spina, an industrial-techno hard-rock group whose music was composed in an enormous World War II submarine base on the outskirts of Bordeaux. Theirs was an unlikely combination. However, after three years in the works, the five butoh dancers' confrontation with three hard rockers resulted in a wild burst of energy.

Also on the menu of Le TNT was breakfast with choreographer Catherine Contour, when spectators were invited to participate in a 7:00 A.M. performance of tres tres bien (very very good). For Contour, known for her unusual improvisations in tiny hotel rooms, such a timeframe would provide the public with the opportunity to integrate an unexpected dance experience into their daily ritual. Additional performances took place at 4:00, 8:30, and 10:00 P.M., stretching such possibilities. This choreographic "happening," designed by Contour and fellow choreographer Olivier Gelpe, was inspired in part by the writings of John Cage, in particular, by the translation of Richard Kostelanetz's Conversations with John Cage. It was the discovery of this book and Contour's deepening interest in the relationship between body and sound, enhanced by her study of hypnosis, that led to the creation of this event.

The first edition of Novart Bordeaux, in all its eclectic wonder, left spectators confident that a new arts festival had finally settled into France's wine country.