You shall go to the ball!
Monuments were once places of revelry and celebration and traces of their festive past have been preserved within their walls. But stay tuned–the music is still playing if you listen hard enough...
A waltz around the dancing monuments of the Centre des monuments nationaux!
The tambourine dance
Depicted on the château's door lintels, the tambourine and flute will accompany you back to the mid-18th century. Bring out your flowers, don your gowns and make your way to the groves!
To see at the château de Champs-sur-Marne.
The shepherd and the shepherdess
A bucolic fable, the Love Affairs of Gomnbault and Macée depicts in a few episodes the meeting, courtship and tragic fate of a shepherd and a shepherdess. This dance scene illustrates the country balls where the threads of romance, just like tapestry threads, were woven or came undone...
To see at the château de Montal.
Heroes on marble
The Pantheon is known as the resting place of many great men and women. Peace and tranquillity reign there all year round. But in 2015, a troupe of colourful dancers assembled in this Parisian institution and, to hip-hop moves choreographed by Radhouane El Metteb, reinterpreted the space, introduced a fresh kind of music and opened the doors to the monument for a one-of-a-kind performance.
Each year, the Centres des monuments nationaux organises the Monuments en mouvement (Monuments in Motion) programme to bring the sites to life and give the stage to contemporary choreographers.
The ball beneath the ramparts
Emeric Feher captured every moment of everyday life at the turn of the last century. His lens would wander through the ramparts of Carcassonne to immortalise joyful moments of a ball, decorations, music and dresses spinning against the backdrop of a city wall. His prints exude freedom and the holiday spirit...
More photos by Emeric Feher in Regards, banque d'images des monuments (the monument image bank).