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PEF can develop programs on most of the themes that are traditionally connected with France and some that are new. But many tour or event-organizers do the same. |
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In-depth knowledge, experience and, especially, a vast network created over time makes us different. This program is as example of the variety that such contacts permit. Please suggest other program ideas!
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- Two great reasons for France's fame are its Court culture and demands for justice
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- "Nobles, kings and rebels..." shows the evolution of those opposed forces, which over centuries
express the same inspiration in new ways
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Both sides: •Walking into history
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•Nobles and court (day-time events)
•Kingship - the royal tombs at Saint-Denis
•Monarchical splendor - Versailles and, for its lasting influence, the Senate
•Decoding aristocrats' art - Louvre
•Ideology - Renaissance Museum
•Taste - Silks of kings; "Watteau's château"
•Workshops that use Court-developed techniques for haute couture
•"France's secret queen", one-woman show performed in a Versailles salon (shown above). |
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•Rebels (after dark)
We show how the so-called rabble left - and leaves - its mark through music and dance, as by
•A talk or performance on the cancan's defiant start, by a former Moulin Rouge soloist.
•Proletarian Chansons françaises in a bistro near working-class Bastille.
•The exuberant vitality of singers of immigrant origin in a convivial café.
•An African queen's wedding dance in a bar where immigrants meet (pictured above).
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The gala evening takes place in an appropriate setting. |
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Paintings: Mignard (court painter) "Louis XIV and his family in 1661" ; Delacroix, "Liberty leading the people"