Preljocaj takes up residence at Chateauvallon.

CHATEAUVALLON, France - In January Angelin Preljocaj and his troupe of twenty dancers took up residence at the Theatre National de la Danse et de l'Image (TNDI)de Chateauvallon, near Toulon in the south of France, and adopted the name "Le Ballet Preljocaj." The path to state-funded stability and artistic status has not been entirely smooth for Preljocaj, who is considered one of France's most talented choreographers.

Preljocaj has been a distinctive creative presence ever since his first work, Marche Noir, won a prize at the 1985 Bagnolet choreography competition. Working from a small studio in his home town of Champigny-sur-Marne, near Paris, he followed that success with a series of acclaimed pieces for his own company and the inventive Romeo and Juliet (1990) for Lyon Opera Ballet.

In 1994 artistic stability at last appeared to come his way, in the form of an offer to head Ballet du Nord in Roubaix. But even as Preljocaj was receiving critical plaudits for his Le Parc, commissioned by Paris Opera Ballet, he found himself at the center of a controversy over his proposal to integrate his own dancers into the classically trained corps in Roubaix and to change its repertoire to a contemporary one.

"I have never really understood what happened," says Preljocaj. "I was asked to propose my candidature and a restructuring project for the Ballet du Nord, which I did, emphasizing my belief that there was a need for a contemporary dance structure akin to the many classical companies in France. I made it clear that my own dancers were an essential part of this project. The Ministry of Culture accepted my proposal, and then suddenly there was an uproar and I was being asked to go back on almost all my most important premises. In the end I resigned, but if they didn't want my project, why did they accept it in the first place?"

Preljocaj didn't have long to wait before another theater stepped in with an offer: The picturesque TNDI de Chateauvallon, a theater built in 1965 on the site of an old country home, offered the Preljocaj company permanent residence. TNDI director and founder Gerard Paquet had already offered the choreographer temporary residencies during 1991 and 1992, and the title of "artistic partner" in 1993. Chateauvallon offers Preljocaj nearly ideal conditions: the artistic freedom that he desires, large, airy rehearsal space, and structural support. "I am in fact extremely happy with the way things have turned out," he says.

Chateauvallon is closely associated with dance through its annual festival in July. Appropriately, a full-length work by Preljocaj will be the central event of the 1995 Festival de Chateauvallon, which takes place this year from July 1 through 25. For La Voix Perdue, set to music by Bernard Cavanna, Preljocaj has asked well-known French author Pascal Quignard to write a libretto, on which the dance will be based. "The libretto is an old tradition for ballet - think of Theophile Gautier and Giselle - but [it's] almost never associated with contemporary dance. I'm always interested in looking at what one did in the past in order to find new ways to go forward."

[For a complete schedule of the festival, see the Performance Calendar, which begins on page 12.]