Epigraph:

Surely, the Believers, and the Jews, and the Christians and the Sabians — whichever party from among these truly believes in Allah and the Last Day and does good deeds — shall have their reward with their Lord, and no fear shall come upon them, nor shall they grieve. (Al Quran 2:62)

Presented by Zia H Shah MD

Abstract

Maurice Béjart (1927–2007) was a world-renowned French ballet dancer, choreographer, and opera director who revolutionized 20th-century dance with his visionary approach. He led the Ballet du XXe Siècle in Brussels and later the Béjart Ballet Lausanne in Switzerland, developing a popular, expressionistic form of modern ballet that tackled vast themesen.wikipedia.org. Béjart’s productions – from his electrifying interpretation of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring to the iconic staging of Ravel’s Boléro – won international acclaim for their avant-garde choreography and theatrical flairapacikradyo.com.tr. Yet beyond technical virtuosity and showmanship, at the core of Béjart’s art was a quest for deeper meaning: he envisioned dance as an act of contemplation and unity, seeking to “link people together across racial and ethnic barriers” through love and spiritual expressionapacikradyo.com.tr. This driving impulse eventually guided his personal spiritual journey. After being profoundly moved by the melodic recitation of the Qur’an – its rhythmic, metrical cadences touching him at a level beyond mere words – Béjart embraced Islam in 1973. He openly credited the phonic power of the Qur’anic chant as a “primordial sound” that resonated with the creation of the worldarabmediasociety.com, awakening in him a “supra-musical” spiritual sensibility. In the following biography, we explore Béjart’s remarkable life in two intertwined dimensions: first, his evolution as an artist and innovator in dance; and second, the spiritual odyssey that led him from a Catholic upbringing to Sufi Islam, illuminating how faith and art converged in his life.

Early Life and Artistic Career

Maurice Béjart was born Maurice-Jean Berger on January 1, 1927, in Marseille, Franceen.wikipedia.org. His father, Gaston Berger, was a noted philosopher, and from an early age Béjart was exposed to intellectual and cultural influences that would shape his worldviewen.wikipedia.org. As a teenager, he was enthralled by a performance of the legendary dancer Serge Lifar – an experience that inspired him to pursue ballet passionatelyen.wikipedia.org. Béjart trained in classical ballet with some of the era’s finest teachers in Marseille, Paris, and Londonen.wikipedia.org. He quickly showed exceptional talent both as a performer and as an emerging choreographer, making his choreographic debut in 1945 at age 18 and founding his first dance company, the Ballet de l’Étoile, in 1954.

Béjart’s breakthrough on the world stage came in 1960, when he formed the Ballet du XXe Siècle (“Ballet of the 20th Century”) in Brusselsen.wikipedia.org. There, over a 27-year tenure, he embarked on nothing less than a transformation of ballet into a truly modern, global art form. He believed classical ballet could speak to contemporary audiences as powerfully as cinema, and he set about realizing this vision with bold creativitytheguardian.comtheguardian.com. Rather than rejecting the classical technique he had mastered, Béjart augmented it – infusing ballet with diverse cultural and musical influences. Western ballet vocabulary was enriched with what he called the “sensual and spiritual dance traditions” of other cultures – from the mudras and mythic storytelling of Indian dance to the earthy power of African rhythms, the refined aesthetics of Japanese Kabuki, and even the meditative stillness of Zentheguardian.com. He staged performances not only in opera houses but also in circus arenas and sports stadiums, embracing spectacle and accessibilitytheguardian.com. Music for his ballets ranged from the most ancient sacred songs to cutting-edge contemporary scores, often blended with spoken word and theatrical dialoguetheguardian.com. In Béjart’s hands, the ballet stage became “an Aladdin’s cave” of wonderstheguardian.com – a fusion of ballet, opera, musicals, vaudeville, and world theatre traditions.

One of Béjart’s most famous works was his interpretation of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring (1959), in which he reimagined the pagan ritual with a groundbreaking approach (notably casting a male dancer in the central sacrificial role, breaking classical conventions). Another signature piece was his choreography to Ravel’s Boléro (1961), which became legendary for its hypnotic build-up of energy and sensuality – a performance often remembered for étoile dancer Jorge Donn’s mesmerizing presence on a large round table, surrounded by a circle of slowly awakening dancers. These works, among many others, exemplified Béjart’s ability to marry showmanship with sincerity: they were grand, colorful and popular with audiences, yet also deeply earnest in intenttheguardian.com. Critics sometimes balked at his flair for the theatrical, but few could deny the virtuosity and artistry behind his productionstheguardian.com. Indeed, Béjart managed to achieve that rare feat of bringing intellectual depth to mass-appeal ballet. Under his direction, ballet became, as one observer noted, “an occasion for contemplation” – a medium through which audiences could experience philosophical and spiritual ideas, not just pretty dancingapacikradyo.com.tr.

In 1987, after a management change in Brussels, Béjart relocated his company to Switzerland and founded the Béjart Ballet Lausanne, which he led for the rest of his lifetheguardian.com. He continued to create new works well into his later years, constantly exploring new themes. For example, in 2000 he staged a daring autobiographical reimagining of The Nutcracker, and in other productions he paid homage to artists he admired (from Mozart to Queen’s Freddie Mercury). His career earned him countless honors – including the prestigious Kyoto Prize and the Erasmus Prize – and widespread recognition as one of the greatest choreographers of the 20th centuryapacikradyo.com.tr. While Béjart was born French, his long residence in Switzerland led to a close affinity with that country; notably, he was granted Swiss citizenship posthumously in honor of his contributionsen.wikipedia.org.

Throughout his artistic journey, Béjart’s fascination with Eastern cultures and spirituality was not only an artistic motif but a reflection of his own inner voyage. His ballets often celebrated Eastern philosophical themes and texts – for instance, Bhakti (1968), inspired by Hindu devotional tradition, or Golestan (1973), a ballet entirely set to Iranian traditional music and named for a classic of Persian Sufi poetryirannamag.comirannamag.com. Such works were more than cultural experiments; they were born from Béjart’s sincere personal engagement with spiritual ideas. As the Guardian noted in his obituary, the choreographer’s “celebration of Eastern cultures in his ballets reflected a personal commitment” – his own spiritual practice “owed much to Sufi traditions” even as he annually retreated to a Buddhist monastery in later yearstheguardian.com. It was clear that for Maurice Béjart, art and spirituality were intertwined, each informing the other. This union became most evident in the dramatic turn of his life in the early 1970s, when his spiritual path led him to embrace Islam.

Spiritual Journey and Embracing Islam

By the late 1960s, at the height of his fame, Maurice Béjart was not only pushing the boundaries of dance but also probing the depths of spiritual thought. Raised in a Roman Catholic milieu in France, Béjart had always been curious about the transcendent. In the 1960s he began seeking wisdom beyond the West, studying Buddhism and even undertaking Zen training under Taisen Deshimaru, a revered Japanese Zen masterapacikradyo.com.tr. This period of Zen meditation taught Béjart the value of discipline, emptiness, and inner stillness – qualities that would later resonate in his choreography and his approach to life. Yet, his spiritual quest was far from over. Béjart described himself as “a little bit of a traveler” spirituallyapacikradyo.com.tr, and it was this open-hearted search that eventually guided him to Islam.

The pivotal encounter came in the early 1970s during Béjart’s interactions with Iran. In 1973, the Ballet du XXe Siècle was invited to perform at the Shiraz-Persepolis Festival of Arts in Iran, where Béjart premiered Golestan, a work choreographed entirely to Iranian musicen.wikipedia.org. Immersed in Persian culture and art, Béjart also came into contact with the spiritual heritage of the region. Most significantly, he met Ostad Elahi (1895–1974), a prominent Iranian philosopher, jurist, musician, and mysticapacikradyo.com.tr. Ostad Elahi was a master of the tanbur (a traditional lute) and a noted thinker in the realm of Sufi mysticism. The meeting had a profound impact on Béjart. Through Ostad Elahi, Béjart was introduced to the esoteric teachings of Sufism and the enchanting beauty of Qur’anic recitation.

Béjart later credited Ostad Elahi as the spiritual master who led him to Islam, recounting that the Iranian sage and the Japanese Zen teacher “were saying the same thing. No difference, you know.”apacikradyo.com.tr Despite coming from different religious backgrounds, both mentors emphasized unity, compassion, and the oneness of being – a message Béjart deeply absorbed. It was under Ostad Elahi’s guidance that Béjart formally embraced Islam in 1973, adopting the path of Sufi Islamapacikradyo.com.trscribd.com. He became, as he described, a Muslim Sufi, delving into the mystical dimension of the faith with great devotion. Notably, his conversion was Shi’ite Sufism, reflecting the influence of Persian/Iranian spiritual traditionscribd.com.

One of the catalysts for Béjart’s conversion was the sheer sonic beauty of the Qur’an and Islamic devotional practice. As a choreographer, Béjart had an extraordinary sensitivity to rhythm, cadence, and sound – and it was the sound of religion, as much as the doctrine, that spoke to him. “Chant is the origin of all spiritual traditions,” Béjart once observed, “The Qur’an in Islam or the Upanishads in Hinduism are sacred texts that are chanted, like Psalms. Behind this chant, the primordial sound links us to the creation of the world.”arabmediasociety.com Through these words, Béjart expressed how the act of chanting holy words transcends their literal meaning, creating a direct resonance with the divine. In Islam, he found this particularly moving: hearing the Qur’an recited in melodious Arabic – perhaps in a Tehran mosque or at a Sufi gathering – struck Béjart to his core. The intricate metrical and phonic patterns of Qur’anic recitation stirred something in him beyond intellect, a “supra-musical” vibration that, in his view, united the listener with the creative force of the universe. This aesthetic and spiritual epiphany helped draw him into Islam’s fold. Béjart described that experience as being “beyond semantic meaning,” a direct communication to the soul through sound. It is no coincidence that music and dance were his life’s work; he perceived the divine music in the Qur’an itself.

After converting, Maurice Béjart did not become a sectarian or exclusive in his beliefs – quite the opposite. He saw all true religion as one. “The word religion means relationship,” he explained, “and now the religions are fighting. It’s stupid. Because if you are for one religion, you must be for every religion. It’s not opposition, it’s not difference… Because religion is not made to make war.”apacikradyo.com.tr In interviews, Béjart emphasized that his embrace of Islam did not mean he rejected Christianity or Buddhism; rather, he had simply found another path to the same truth. “For me, it doesn’t make a difference being a Christian, Buddhist or Muslim,” he said. “At the end of the book, it’s exactly the same. The important fact… was unity. Unity of things, unity of people, unity of religions.”apacikradyo.com.trapacikradyo.com.tr This was the crux of Béjart’s spiritual philosophy – Unity. He believed all religions, when understood deeply, converge on the same fundamental wisdom and love. His Sufi practice reinforced this idea, since Sufism often teaches that “wherever you turn, there is the face of God” (a Quranic sentiment). Béjart’s Islam was therefore universalist and inclusive.

He also did not shy away from speaking about issues within religion. As a Muslim, Béjart was pained by the rise of extremism that he felt distorted the very faith he had grown to love. He openly criticized religious fundamentalists – whether in Islam or any other faith – for their intolerance and ignorance of spirituality. “In Islamic countries… some fundamentalists deny all [the richness of culture]. Why? Because they are wrong. Because they don’t understand the religion and the culture,” Béjart remarked bluntly in 2002apacikradyo.com.tr. He pointed out that Islamic civilization historically flourished with music, poetry, beauty and knowledge, epitomized by ages such as the grand Abbasid era in Baghdad – achievements that fanatics today often reject. “Now they have nothing to do with the great stuff. I think their practice is not really Islam,” Béjart said of extremist movements, comparing their mindset to the dogmatic zeal of Europe’s Wars of Religionapacikradyo.com.tr. By calling out puritanical militants as “not really [practicing] Islam,” Béjart aligned himself with a more compassionate, enlightened understanding of the faith – one that values art, culture and love, very much in line with Sufi ideals. These views also underscored Béjart’s lifelong stance that art (including dance, music, and literature) is a holy expression, not anathema to religion.

In his personal life as a Muslim, Béjart remained a devotee of Sufism, often visiting or referencing Sufi shrines and teachings. Interestingly, he continued to draw inspiration from other traditions as well – symbolized by his annual retreats to a Buddhist monastery in Greece even after his conversiontheguardian.com. Far from seeing this as contradictory, Béjart viewed it as complementary: the Buddhist practices of meditation and the Sufi practices of dhikr (remembrance of God) both fed his soul in different ways, and both, to him, pointed to the same summit of Truth. In interviews he mentioned that his two spiritual masters – the Zen teacher Deshimaru and the Sufi master Elahi – “were saying the same thing” despite coming from East and Westapacikradyo.com.tr. This conviction in the harmony of wisdom across cultures became a cornerstone of his outlook.

Maurice Béjart’s conversion to Islam was not a mere footnote in his life, but rather a flowering of the spiritual seed that had long been present in him. After 1973, elements of Islamic spirituality became more pronounced in his works and public statements. He maintained close ties with his friends and patrons in the Muslim world – for example, he stayed connected with Shahbanou Farah Pahlavi (the former Empress of Iran who had supported the arts festival) even after the Iranian Revolutionen.wikipedia.org. Béjart also collaborated with Muslim artists: he worked with traditional musicians from Morocco and Turkey, and famously praised the sublime singing of Umm Kulthum (the Egyptian icon whose music was rooted in Quranic recitation techniques) and the mystical qawwali of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Always, Béjart gravitated to sounds that conveyed spiritual ecstasy. He once exclaimed that Ostad Elahi’s music was “the greatest [he] had ever encountered in [his] life”overgrownpath.com – high praise from someone who worked with the world’s top composers and orchestras. Clearly, what touched Béjart most were those art forms that carried a sacred fire.

Even as a Muslim, Béjart remained cosmopolitan and proudly so. He did not adopt an Arabic name or flaunt his religion in public; he lived it quietly and genuinely. When asked if it was difficult to live in a mostly Christian country as a Muslim, Béjart shrugged off the notion of national or cultural boundaries: “I never thought I was born in France… I never sought to belong to any country. If I work well with people, it is my country… I don’t feel I belong to any country.”apacikradyo.com.tr In essence, Béjart saw himself as a citizen of the world and a child of the universal Spirit. His identity as a Muslim was deeply personal and spiritual, not political or ethnic. And true to form, he continued to respect and celebrate all forms of religious expression. In one of his later works, he might incorporate a verse of the Upanishads; in another, a verse from the Qur’an or a line of Christian liturgy – all woven into the grand dance of life.

Epilogue: The Dance of Unity

Maurice Béjart’s life reads like a choreography of intertwining themes – art and spirituality, East and West, body and soul. He was a man who danced on stages illuminated by spotlights, yet all the while he was following an inner light as well. From the glitzy premieres of Paris and Brussels to meditative evenings listening to Sufi music, Béjart moved fluidly between worlds. This fluidity was not an accident; it was his philosophy made manifest. He once said, “I can only believe in a God who knows how to dance.” And in a way, Béjart found that God – not in any one religion exclusively, but in the rhythm of creation itself.

It is fitting that what ultimately drew Béjart to Islam was not a theological argument but the music of the Qur’an. A dancer attuned to rhythm, he perceived in the Quranic recitation the ultimate rhythm – a cosmic heartbeat that spoke directly to him. In that sacred cadence, Béjart felt the unity that he always sought to create in his ballets: a unison of different instruments, bodies, and cultures moving as one. He often reminded people that at the end of all spiritual seeking, “it’s the same meaning… one source”apacikradyo.com.tr. His life was a testament to this credo. A Frenchman by birth, a Swiss by adoptionen.wikipedia.org, a Sufi Muslim by faith, a Zen practitioner by discipline, an artist by calling – Béjart managed to be all of these without contradiction. He showed that identity can be a mosaic, and harmony can emerge from diversity.

On stage, Béjart’s legacy is preserved in the vibrant productions that continue to be performed by the Béjart Ballet Lausanne and other companies worldwide. Dancers today still feel the electric charge of his Boléro or the spiritual solemnity of his Bhakti. Off stage, his legacy lives on in the way he bridged worlds. He proved that ballet need not be Eurocentric or elitist, but can be a global language of human emotion and spirit. He also demonstrated that spirituality need not be narrow; one can pray with one’s feet as well as one’s words, and one can find God in a dance as well as in a mosque or temple.

In the end, Maurice Béjart’s life can be seen as a devotional dance in itself – a dance that began with youthful curiosity, leapt through the heights of creative fame, bowed in humility before wisdom from all corners of the earth, and finally twirled in ecstasy to the music of the divine. “Deep in the heart of his approach is love,” said the citation of one of his major awardsapacikradyo.com.tr, and indeed love – for dance, for humanity, for God – was the rhythm that Maurice Béjart danced to all his life. His journey from Marseille to Lausanne, from the theatre to the tarīqa (spiritual path), from applause to prayer, reminds us that art and faith are perhaps just two languages for the same basic human yearning. Béjart spoke both fluently, and in doing so, he left behind a legacy as grand and harmonious as a well-orchestrated ballet: a legacy of unity in diversity, and of finding the divine within the dance of life.

Sources: Maurice Béjart – Wikipediaen.wikipedia.orgen.wikipedia.org; Kyodo News Interview (2002)apacikradyo.com.trapacikradyo.com.trapacikradyo.com.tr; The Guardian Obituarytheguardian.comtheguardian.com; Arab Media & Society (Bejart on spiritual music)arabmediasociety.com; Overgrown Path (Ostad Elahi tribute)overgrownpath.com; Apaçık Radyo (Komesu interview excerpts)apacikradyo.com.tr.

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