Charles Jude chooses Harlequin ACTIVITY™

In April 2005, Harlequin laid a Harlequin ACTIVITY™ sprung floor, covered with a black Harlequin STUDIO™ vinyl floor in the Painter’s Room of the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux in France.

The Harlequin flooring is laid in a semicircle, covering 290 m2 of the total surface area of 500 m2. The periphery of the room is reserved for warm-up, because the height under the original splendid beams is insufficient for the dance, strictly speaking.

The artistic director of the National Ballet of the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, Charles Jude, was appointed in 1996 after a 20 year career at the Paris Opera.

Accustomed to double floor joists, Charles Jude deplored the hardness of this type of flooring. He then went to London to test the Harlequin ACTIVITY™ sprung floor at the English National Ballet School and the Rambert Dance Company, where he was convinced by this innovative flooring. Another decisive criterion: the Painter’s Room is located just above the main room of the Opera and the Harlequin ACTIVITY™ sprung floor was chosen because of its acoustic properties.