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Creators:
Composer: Julien Tarride
Costume designer: Anastasios Sofroniou
Choreographer’s assistant: Christian Denice
Choreographer: Andonis FoniadakisPerformed by:
the dancers of Pécs Ballet
Ballet Pécs is Müpa’s Ensemble of the Season for 2026/27.
© Szilvia Csibi, Müpa Budapest
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Founded in 1960 at the Pécs National Theatre, the Ballet Pécs was Hungary’s first modern ballet company. Since 2017, on the initiative of current artistic director Balázs Vincze, who was then director of ballet, the company continues with its cultural mission independently. The individual, distinctive language of dance that marks the productions of the Ballet Pécs draws on a very broad range of sources, bringing to the stage the finest traditions of dance theatre. Ballet Pécs is Ensemble of the Season at Müpa Budapest in 2026–2027.
© Szilvia Csibi, Müpa Budapest
From its inception, Ballet Pécs has explored how classical technique can be transferred into the language of contemporary dance, and how movement can become an independent theatrical means of expression. VIVO represents and develops this heritage further: alongside its narrative works, the company now opens up a space for a more abstract and experimental creative process involving international artists.
The interwoven voices, tight structure and rapidly changing rhythmic patterns of Baroque music virtually cry out for movement, while strong emotions are at play behind the formal order. Choreographer Andonis Foniadakis builds on this contrast – the tension between structured form and the urge to break free, between discipline and instinct. The title itself promises vitality, and on stage it is all about constant change. The continuous tension between the individual and the ensemble, between the orderly and the explosive, and between discipline and instinct are what give VIVO its unmistakeable pulsating quality.
© Szilvia Csibi, Müpa Budapest
One of the work’s key concepts is the fundamental principle of Baroque music: counterpoint. Just as independent voices interweave in a Baroque fugue, the dancers introduce their own motifs, rhythms and movements. No body dissolves anonymously into the corps: each speaks in its own voice, while a complex shared structure is built from the encounters of the various movements. Solos, duets and group images unfold from one another, only to give way to new forms. Instead of a traditional story, it is the constant rearranging of relationships that guides the viewer’s gaze.
Julien Tarride’s music, placed in a contemporary context and enriched with electronic layers, mirrors this process in sound, while the space is shaped not by traditional sets but by the costumes, the black performance space and the lighting. VIVO does not therefore evoke the past; it shows how vividly an old form can come to life in today’s bodies.
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Creators:
Composer: Julien Tarride
Costume designer: Anastasios Sofroniou
Choreographer’s assistant: Christian Denice
Choreographer: Andonis FoniadakisPerformed by:
the dancers of Pécs Ballet
Ballet Pécs is Müpa’s Ensemble of the Season for 2026/27.
© Szilvia Csibi, Müpa Budapest
-
Founded in 1960 at the Pécs National Theatre, the Ballet Pécs was Hungary’s first modern ballet company. Since 2017, on the initiative of current artistic director Balázs Vincze, who was then director of ballet, the company continues with its cultural mission independently. The individual, distinctive language of dance that marks the productions of the Ballet Pécs draws on a very broad range of sources, bringing to the stage the finest traditions of dance theatre. Ballet Pécs is Ensemble of the Season at Müpa Budapest in 2026–2027.
© Szilvia Csibi, Müpa Budapest
From its inception, Ballet Pécs has explored how classical technique can be transferred into the language of contemporary dance, and how movement can become an independent theatrical means of expression. VIVO represents and develops this heritage further: alongside its narrative works, the company now opens up a space for a more abstract and experimental creative process involving international artists.
The interwoven voices, tight structure and rapidly changing rhythmic patterns of Baroque music virtually cry out for movement, while strong emotions are at play behind the formal order. Choreographer Andonis Foniadakis builds on this contrast – the tension between structured form and the urge to break free, between discipline and instinct. The title itself promises vitality, and on stage it is all about constant change. The continuous tension between the individual and the ensemble, between the orderly and the explosive, and between discipline and instinct are what give VIVO its unmistakeable pulsating quality.
© Szilvia Csibi, Müpa Budapest
One of the work’s key concepts is the fundamental principle of Baroque music: counterpoint. Just as independent voices interweave in a Baroque fugue, the dancers introduce their own motifs, rhythms and movements. No body dissolves anonymously into the corps: each speaks in its own voice, while a complex shared structure is built from the encounters of the various movements. Solos, duets and group images unfold from one another, only to give way to new forms. Instead of a traditional story, it is the constant rearranging of relationships that guides the viewer’s gaze.
Julien Tarride’s music, placed in a contemporary context and enriched with electronic layers, mirrors this process in sound, while the space is shaped not by traditional sets but by the costumes, the black performance space and the lighting. VIVO does not therefore evoke the past; it shows how vividly an old form can come to life in today’s bodies.
