A Myth Reborn: “Sept, les anges de Sinjar” Illuminates the Penultimate Evening of ModComFest 2025
Commissioned originally by the Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo Festival in 2022, the ballet revisits the Yazidi creation myth, recounting how Xwede brought forth the seven angels of the world. Yet, in Petrossian and Hovhannisyan’s telling, time itself runs backward, since the ballet does not open with the first angel, Malek Tawus, but with the last, Nouraïl, gradually retracing creation to its divine source.
As the dancers embodied each angel through a series of striking solos and ensemble moments, Mantovani’s orchestra shaped a breathtaking landscape of mystery and intensity. In reflecting on this inversion of time and narrative, members of the company noted that, “this inversion allows us to delve deeper into Yazidi mysticism, since Malek Tawus, the supreme archangel, is the sum of the six other angels who, placed before him, fit into a dramatic logic.”
The theme of duality, embodied in the figure of Malek Tawus found powerful expression in the choreography, with the ensemble remarking that “the Malek Tawus of darkness that we all are to some extent is still constrained by the presence of cloaks that both limit movement and create group cohesion, while the Malek Tawus of light that we are all called to become is freed from this constraint to give each being the space of their own expression, until the final love.”
What struck many in attendance was how Sept, les anges de Sinjar bridges the sacred and the contemporary, which is a hallmark of ModComFest itself at large. As the dancers observed, “what the audience takes away from a work is always unpredictable, since there is not one audience but many. Each person will therefore experience the imbalances of these friction points between music, myths and dance in the joy of discovery. This is the function of contemporary art, and it is our joy!”
Echoing that sentiment, Konstantin Ishkhanov, President of ModComFest, praised the evening as “a perfect example of what the festival strives to achieve, and that is the renewal of timeless human stories through the languages of today. Sept, les anges de Sinjar reminds us that creation is never static; it is a dialogue between past and present, and we saw it in its finest incarnation here this evening.”
With its synthesis of sound, movement, and myth, Sept, les anges de Sinjar proved to be one of the most powerful evenings of the 2025 edition, and a moving testament to Michel Petrossian’s visionary artistry and to the festival’s enduring mission: to celebrate the living pulse of contemporary creation while honouring the sacred echoes of history.
For more information about ModComFest 2025, make sure to visit the official website at petrossian.modcomfest.com today.
