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drawing upon the universal memory of dance. Rereading dances from the world heritage with today's outlook and with a strictness for invention, allows one to discover other significations and pay tribute to them. For the memory of dance has no meaning unless it is brought back and relived in the present, without nostalgia. It's a springboard for the imagination and a remedy for amnesia. The challenge lies in rediscovering the pleasure we have been denying ourselves. It is admittedly a fairy tale, but it's musical and choreographic fairy tale. If the choreographic aspect of the fairytale cannot be overlooked by anyone, the musical aspect requires some explanation. If Vivaldi and Bach who contribute to the baroque aesthetic of the choreographer's work are still present, we follow the musical thread of this piese to the music in Boushehr, a partially deserted province in the south of Iran, a homonymous town that was the country's main port for a long time and a place for trade between Europe and Asia in the South East. These different forms of music are themselves a melting-pot of African, Persian, Arabic and Indian influences. Arranged and interpreted live by two Iranian musicians, Saeid Shanbeh Zadeh and Habib Meftaboushehri, our guides to the land of Babelle, the music blends happiness with soft threnody from a melody from Purcell or with lyrical flights in an Italian song. Jose Montalvo could adopt this conclusion from Sylvie Parizet, an academic who studied the theme of Babel: »If the erection of the tower has been for a long time thought of as a means of expressing the untimely challenge some three thousand years ago, isn't this the prolific acceptation of the plurality of worlds, languages, cultures and traditions that could nevertheless constitute a new challenge to take on.« Since Paradis, the choreographer has devoted himself to this challenge, at his own level, that of the creator who is attached to the city, constructing the tower of Babel in the form of a baroque and festive portrait. Each piece is a new link, growing more and more colourful, richer and more coherent in its heterogeneousness. Jacky Pailley Extrait du Programme du Theatre national de Chaillot octobre 2002 THE MONTALVO-HERVIEU COMPANY In 1981, the choreographer, Jose Montalvo, met the dancer, Dominique Hervieu, and began choreographing short playful pieces, sorts of choreographic aphorisms, in which Dominique Hervieu took on the principal roles. With Jose Montalvo, Dominique Hervieu elaborated a particular body movement made up of fluidity, rapidity and precision that would lend a unique style to their productions. From 1985 to 1988, Jose Montalvo's compositions were honoured with several international

awards (the Concours de Nyon in 1985, the Danse a Paris in 1987, the Concours choregraphique de Cagliari in 1988). This marked the beginning of an artistic adventure and profound partnership, which would give birth to the Montalvo-Hervieu Company. In November, 1993, they teamed up with the video director, Michel Coste, to create Double Trouble, an introductory piece that united technological imagery with the physical presence of dancers' bodies. Since this period, Jose Montalvo, with the assistance of Dominique Hervieu. have put a lot of effort into creating a collection of works that respond to each other, and although these works are self-sufficient, they could one day be united, like a baroque portrait. These works include Podebal (1992), Double Trouble (1993), Hollaka Hollala (1994), La Glolre de Jerome A (1995), Philhaou Thibaou II (1995), Les Surprises se Mnemosyne (1996) at Maggio Fiorentino for the Teatro Comunale ballet in Florence, La Maitrailleuse en etat de Grade (1996), Paradis (1997), Un nioc de paradis (1999) and Le jardin io io Ito ito (1999). With Paradis and Le Jardin Io io ito ito, the originality of their work has been acclaimed by the entire world and notably by: BAM-New York, the Melbourne International Festival-Melbourne, the Teatro Municipal-Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, RomaEuropa-Rome, the Barbican Center-London, the Internationales Tanzfest-Berlin, the FletMusiekteater-Amsterdam and the Tanztheater-Wuppertal among others. Le Jardin io io ito ito was chosen as the best dance show in 2001 atthe Laurence Olivier Awards for its London performance with William Forsythe's Frankfurt Ballet in 1999, and with Jiri Kylian at the Nederlands dans theater in 2000. Dominique Hervieu was the associate choreographer for Le Jardin io io Ito Ito and for the pieces that followed it. In 1999, they created Le Rire de la Lyre for the danceurs etolles of I'Opera National de Paris and composed Variation au Paradis in May 2000, a piece which was exclusively created for the Ouvertüre of the 53e International Film Festival in Cannes. At the same time, they began organizing events in situ in 1989, creating choreographic pieces especially written for residents in a city. The Danses a voir et a danser united anywhere from three hundred to three thousand people (like in Creteil, for example, within the framework of the Festival International de la Ville) of ail ages and horizons. These events hoped to re-establish a means of mixing celebration with the pleasure of dancing, in a playful mode. In June 1998, they were named directors of the Centre Choregraphique National in Creteil and the Val-de-Marne region, and they continue to work at developing teaching and artistic education through the creation of original actions that favour the access to choreographic art in the area, alongside their mission to create and diffuse their own work. In September 2001, Dominique Hervieu created Mosaique... danse(s) d'une ville, a choreographic show with 190 amateur dancers aged IS to 85, a veritable danced portrait of Creteil's multicultural aspects. In June 2000, Jose Montalvo was named the director and Dominique Hervieu the assistant director, responsible for the youth mission at the Theatre National in Chaillot. Jose Montalvo and Dominique Hervieu respectively received the distinction of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in June 2000 and in July 2001. Their latest show, Babelle Heureuse, a choreographic fairy tale with 21 dancers and two Iranian musicians who play traditional Persian Gulf music on stage, was created at the Maison des Arts in Creteil in January 2002.