Françoise Sullivan
Danse à Cybèle

1976

On first seeing the Temple of Cybele in Rome in 1976, Françoise Sullivan improvised a dance in the spirit of her choreography from the late 1940s, when she was developing her ‘’four seasons’’ project. She eagerly explored Rome’s archeological sites and the architecture of their temples, as well as the contrasting atmosphere of the city’s bustling main arteries and the shelter of peaceful parks and gardens. She examined the Palatine, where, in a thicket of live oak, she came upon the ruins of the Temple of Cybele, a goddess who personified the power of nature. There the artist reactivated the corporeal choreography of impulsive, impromptu accents poetically harmonized with nature that typify The Seasons of Sullivan, conceived and partly executed in 1947 and 1948, and in particular Danse dans la neige.