Julia Gragnon presents an exhibition in her Galerie de l’Instant entitled Corps et Âme. She wrote this text:
I was as close as possible to Dance, even before I was born! Indeed, my mother Tessa Beaumont, star dancer, danced until more than 5 months of pregnancy… her male partners could no longer carry us! So I spent my childhood surrounded by tutus and slippers, in the smell of rosin, the sweat of dance studios and the delicious dust of theaters. I always feel at home behind the scenes, which atmosphere reassures me… It is to dance that I owe my sensitivity to the beauty of bodies and gestures. These bodies that some consider immodest are for me the tools for expressing the most complex emotions. The discipline that is imposed on dancers every day, for years, at the cost of insane effort and sacrifice, upsets and fascinates me. It is time for me today to link this love of bodies and their expressions to my passion for photography, and to reconnect my mother a dancer and my father a photographer . In doing so, it was obvious to me, while preparing this exhibition, that it could not be done without images of the one who in my eyes is the absolute dancer: Sylvie Guillem! Any spectator who has had the chance to see her on stage knows the thrill of amazement in front of her talent and her total commitment. Of all the dancers I have met, she is the most of EVERYTHING for me! The most talented, the most demanding, the most artistic, the most intense and the most beautiful! We are very fortunate that her husband, the photographer Gilles Tapie, entrusts us with his sublime images, witnesses of the perfection of this unique artist.
Whether she is on stage, backstage, or in rehearsals, her presence and grace are extraordinary. I am so proud to be able to share these photos with the public. Of course in this exhibition there is not only Sylvie Guillem, we have brought together several wonderful artists: Rudolf Nureyev by Cecil Beaton, Serge Lifar or even Yves Saint Laurent working on a costume with my mother, by Boris Lipnitzki, the choreographer Maurice Béjart, his favorite dancer Jorge Donn in the famous “Bolero”, and obviously several images taken by my father, François Gragnon of my mother. The circle is complete !
Julia Gragnon
Corps et Âme
from April 5 to July 3, 2024
La Galerie de l’Instant
46 Rue de Poitou
75003 Paris, France
www.lagaleriedelinstant.com
