Equilibrium and architecture
Valentine Colasante, The prima ballerina at the Paris Opera, on the terrace of the 30th floor of the East Tower.
Jean Nouvel described these buildings as “two counterbalanced dancers in equilibrium,” which implies bringing movement to what is, in principle, a rigid structure. Do you think this challenge has been met? In your opinion, what do architecture and dance have in common?
The image of two dancers in equilibrium is very telling. There’s movement in the expression of these two towers, with the interplay of pivoting, off-center heads that seem disconnected from the rest of the buildings. In classical dance, when performing a pirouette, the dancer’s head must be detached from the rest of their body if they want to create this whirling movement. These towers also generate a sense of elevation, a theme frequently encountered in discussions about art as a way to escape from everyday life in the execution of a light and graceful movement.
Dance and architecture also share the notion of equilibrium. It’s true that these leaning towers are quite impressive: you feel that they’re about to fall yet, at one and the same time, they seem to be hanging in the air. It’s static movement, the perfect point of equilibrium, a magical moment. In both our disciplines, this is exactly what we’re looking for: those moments of ineffable grace.
Finally, the fact that there are two towers, a duo, is very similar to the pas de deux in dance. A certain harmony is created out of difference. It’s the same for these towers. Taken separately, these towers wouldn’t create the same effect; they create an osmosis, a certain dynamic, each responding to the other… just as if they were dancing.
The prima ballerina at the Paris Opera
