Choreographer Bejart dies in Swiss hospital
2007-11-22

Nations Switzerland Belgium City Lausanne Brussels

French choreographer Maurice Bejart, considered one of the great figures in contemporary ballet, died on Thursday in a Swiss hospital at the age of 80, a spokeswoman for Bejart Ballet Lausanne said.

Bejart, a former dancer, had been in and out of hospital in recent months, suffering from exhaustion as well as kidney and heart problems.

"He died early this morning at Lausanne hospital," Bejart Ballet Lausanne spokeswoman Roxanne Aybek told Reuters.

In 1987, Bejart moved along with most of the dancers in his 20th Century Ballet from Brussels to Lausanne, Switzerland. The lakeside city offered better conditions and subsidies to the troupe, which he was still directing at the time of his death.

Its 35 dancers are in rehearsals for a new production called "Around the World in 80 Minutes," to be premiered on December 20 in Lausanne. "We're all upset but the show will go on," Aybek said.

Bejart, born in the southern French city of Marseille, came to prominence with a celebrated production of Russian composer Igor Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" in 1959. Other creations included "Bolero" and "Souvenir of Leningrad."

"With Maurice Bejart, we have lost one of the great choreographers of our time, one of the most famous and one of the most admired," French Culture Minister Christine Albanel said in a statement.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva and James Mackenzie in Paris; Editing by Jonathan Lynn and Paul Casciato)