Last night, I caught a performance of
the NYC: New Young Classic ballet from the Royal New Zealand Ballet
company. It was something I'd been looking forward to for quite some
time, as it is the first real season with the new Artistic Director,
Ethan Stiefel, the arrival of a few imported dancers - Gillian Murphy and Sam Shapiro and the return of Sergio Torrado (his first season with
the RNZB was with Sleeping Beauty last term) as well as featuring choreography
by George Balanchine, the aptly named Benjamin Millepied and Larry
Keigwin.
The Foreword in the program describing
Gotham (New York City), in all of its eccentricities and wonderment,
the people who have walked its streets, and the energy of the city was
written so eloquently by Sascha Radetsky- the immensely talented
soloist in the American Ballet Theatre, writer for Newsweek, World
Arts Today and Ethan Stiefel's co-star in Centre Stage. I would
kill to see Sascha Radetsky in the RNZB - he's one import that would
be hard to find any semblance of fault with. He's tall enough to
partner Abby, he's lean enough to perform the intricate or fast paced
arm/ foot movements this kind of performance requires, and he's
strong enough to execute powerful lifts and sky-high jumps
gracefully. (Check him out in the video below playing 'Charlie'
opposite Ethan's 'Cooper').
Speaking of imports - I've been intrigued by the guest dancers the RNZB have imported to fill spots or guest for a season or two but for the most part, I've disagreed with their choices. Stella Abrera last season in Sleeping Beauty was grating and expressionless and this season's choice of Gillian Murphy was the same. I wish that Ethan would step out of his office and perform with the company because he is an incredible dancer - if you haven't seen him, check him out in the 2000 film 'Centre Stage' or in any of the numerous youtube videos of him performing.(check out the video above).
While the audience was certainly eager to see Gillian perform, it left me questioning what the big deal is. She may have won awards for her dancing and garnered the title of Prima Ballerina overseas, but seeing her in person, and against our dancers, I have to wonder if her position in the company in these lead roles is more to do with her familial connections than her skill – she is married to the new Artistic Director, Ethan Stiefel. While she certainly has the required suppleness of a ballerina, her dancing is completely devoid of soul, expressionless, emotionless and for the better part of the evening, she looked pained to be dancing rather than enjoying it. The reaction from the audience was an audible 'don't like her' from most seats around me and personally, I took her first solo to mimic that of a ballerina in a music box – beautiful, but mechanical and more importantly, forgettable. So many dancers on that stage deserved to dance in her place, especially Abigail Boyle who seemed to be relegated to minor roles with only brief solo performances.
Over the course of the evening, the highlight of the evening, Lucy Green was offered the chance to show Gillian up on numerous occasion and it begged the question of whether it is a matter of youth over experience of if Gillian's presence in the company is overrated.
Ordinarily, my preference is for
classical ballet over the more modern trinities the RNZB puts out,
but in this instance, the trinity is an ode to New York City, to the
beauty, the passion and urgency within the city and succeeds to
capture that essence in its modern interpretations. Of the three
performances, 'Final Dress' was the one that I felt best captured the
idea and was also the most engaging. I felt also that this should
have be the final of the trinity rather than George Balanchine's 'Who
Cares'?, which fell a little flat.
Now!... for the performances! The NYC:
New, Young, Classic trinity was a selection of three short ballets
(two x 30mins and 1 x 20mins) – 28 Variations on a Theme by
Paganini (Young), Final Dress (New) and Who Cares? (Classic) and all
three tied into one central theme - New York City and the energy of
the Big Apple.
28 VARIATIONS ON A THEME BY PAGANINI
Choreographer: Benjamin Millepied
Repetiteurs: Amanda McKerrow and John
Gardner
Music: Johannes Brahms
28 Variations on theme was created by
Benjamin Millepied in 2005 for The School of American Ballet in New
York and takes the YOUNG contingent of the NYC performance. With a
sparse set, decorated only by a single lit chandelier, the
performance hints at a ballroom, a theme present in the costuming as
well with the men dressed in an updated version of 1700s mens evening
fashion and the women in corseted long tutu – my favourite of the
evening.
The technically demanding choreography
is fast paced and difficult, featuring movements that aren't singly
to themselves but rather motions that move fluidly into the next at a
rapid pace without compromising on strength or position.
Lucy Green was paired with Sergio
Torrado – the current poster boy for the company in a move that
cements Lucy's role as a principal dancer while Medhi Angot and Tonia
Looker made a delightful pairing and principal guest artist Gillian
Murphy made her debut with Qi Huan.
For the men, the jumps were difficult
and technical and the arm movements were intricate and strong. Sergio
was particularly strong here because jumps are his forte though I
noticed that he almost hit one of the set walls on a landing at one
point and the mistake showed in his face.
Rory when partnered with Lucy Green was
lively and strong but through the rest of his 28 Variations
performance, he seemed sloppy, refusing to keep his arms held in
position properly.
Medhi was delightful - if I had to
choose a dancer to entertain me at whim for all time, it'd be Medhi
Angot. His ability to entertain, to inhabit the characters he plays
and to perform to the best of his ability- strong, precise, flawless
all while carrying off an effortless air of enjoyment draws you into
his performance and holds you captive.
Sergio seemed wasted on most pairings
within the first performance as his build is restricting for fast of
intricate movements. His strength is in the powerful jumps and spins
that serve as the perfect outlet for his ability.
FINAL DRESS
Choreographer: Larry Keigwin
Music: Adam Crystal
Final Dress was undoubtedly the best of
the three performances. Choreographed by Larry Keigwin with music by
Adam Crystal, the performance is incredibly fast paced and engaging.
Sergio Torrado was in his element,
showcasing his ability to make leaps and bounds look effortlessly
heroic with the height and power he was able to thrust them upward
with.
The performance was also a glimpse at the athletic bodies hidden underneath elaborate costumes, the word is 'abs'!! Serious abs! Anyone who denies dancing as a sport is kidding themselves.
I was surprised at the size of the
stage, as was most of the audience as the entire set was dropped and
removed leaving the stage completely exposed. Even though I've
performed on that stage myself before, it's hard to realise the sheer
size of the stage with so much set dressing, curtains, equipment,
scaffolding all set up around the main stage. Lights were placed at
the sides, a ballet barre on one side, and costuming at the rear –
dragged there by Sergio himself. It was as if the curtains and set
walls had become invisible and here, we the audience sit as voyeurs,
looking through the facade to the secrecy that lies beyond.
Case and
point - Lucy Balfour come upstage, stood with her back to the
audience and changed her clothes – entirely topless. In the
background Abby Boyle frolicks on stage with Sergio Torrado then runs
off the main stage the corner where she also gets topless and changes
clothes. Certainly invoking the voyeur in all of us as half of the
audience sat transfixed onto Lucy's bare back.... Suddenly, the
innocent little Auckland Civic, becomes the uninhibited Broadway
theatre.
From black sports and outerwear to
crisp white business shirts worn splayed open over black boy shorts,
to full on suits for the guys and 50s swing dresses for the girls,
the performance was reminiscent of the final dance sequence in the
2000 film, Centre Stage where the business people are walking to and
from the subway in the background.
Dancers run at full speed across the
stage in all directions, leap through the air like doe in a field,
and halting in abruptly ended forward motion, suspended mid-leap.
It's a nod at the urgency of the city and the passion of its people
as we see couplings both on the main stage and behind the scenes,
playing a bit on the real-life couples we've seen on the reality TV
show 'Secret Lives of Dancers'.
The performance received a standing
ovation and while most dancers kept their composure, Lucy Green
seemed overwhelmed- surprised and elated at the reaction of the
audience. It was endearing.
New guy, Sam Shapiro from North
Carolina was fantastic and I hope he's sticking around for a few more
seasons. Katherine Grange seemed more focused on her hair than her
dancing – which was more burlesque than it was ballet, and yes, I
realise the piece was rather sexualised but the others were playing
the same part without it looking quite so sleazy.
Medhi Angot was fantastic, so strong in
his leaps and lifts, so precise with his arm and footwork. Loved his
expression when he tossed the girl to Brendan Bagshaw in their
pas-de-trois, a move which asserted a few laughs from the audience.
I loved the choreography, lots of
intentionally jerky position changes, a focus on elbows, knees and
hips. Soft, tender, playful exchanges and mechanical positioning, the women were tender and at times,
hysterical, the men were urgent and passionate and overall, the piece evoked a
feeling of freedom. The music was very upbeat – a lot of
very technical, robotic tones courtesy of the cello, electric piano
and violin.
It is a commentary of the urgency of
the city, the Big Brother aspect of wherever you go, whatever you're
doing, someone is watching as behind the sets, intercompany trysts,
ballerinas changing clothes and dancers preparing are all spied on by
the audience while a performance runs on centre stage.
I loved the way that the dancers
stopped the forward motion of the others, catching them mid-leap,
abruptly shocking the caught dancer's body backward.
WHO CARES?
Choreographer: George Balanchine
Music: George Gershwin
Before we saw the show, I'd long imagined that Who Cares? would be the best of the trinity because George Balanchine's choreography is legendary but it actually ended up being the least appreciated.
Gillian needed a costume that didn't
match her hair. Her pale skin and monochrome hair/costume combo made
her look so washed out. A purple or green costume would have
brightened her up so much more than the rusty tutu she donned. Dancing-wise, I loved the lift with Gillian reaching
behind her back to meet Paul's hands as he sweeps her up and I
thought the mirroring was lovely. On one lift, Gillian leapt too far
over so Paul couldn't lift her very high- a mistake that was
corrected on the second lift where the audience saw what it was meant
to look like.
Jaerad and Paul seemed entirely in
their element in the Broadway musical theatre theme and Rory really danced wonderfully after
being a little lax in the first performance. It was a delight to
watch him really snap into character and hit every position to
perfection, Lucy Green's arches, arm and leg work and body
contortions were all so effortlessly graceful and perfect - the makings of a true
prima ballerina.
The white pinstriped suits were very
Broadway but the ladies' costumes didn't fit. The pink sparkly tutus
looked a little infantile and would have been better replaced with
era specific outfits like sailor suits with pussybow necklines or
similar. I even heard a 'needed some ostrich feathers' from a fellow
audience member.
While George Balanchine is known for
his years of choreography and ballet service, I found that the
introductory dance sequence was nothing to write home about.
Paul was fantastic in all of those
pas-de-deux pairings, he danced as if he's been drinking the Broadway
coolade all his life. Abby was grand, so emotive and carefree
yet precise. Although I thought it odd that she didn't feature more - did her
usual spot go to the visiting Gillian?
Lucy's pas-de-deux to “Embraceable
You” was so sassy and sweet. Her dancing was so fluid and strong.
Even bending down en pointe, she still managed to be strong. Some of her toe-taps and facial expressions reminded me of a
1920s flapper girl. Each move she made was poetry. The word of the performance was certainly 'sassy'.
The final dance, which brought back all
of the 'Who Cares?' dancers, was a little messy and served as proof
positive that the young are certainly overtaking the older, and that
Lucy is a heavy contender for Abby's position and definitely that Abby should
never have been usurped by Gillian who is a corps dancer, at best.
Overall, the NYC: New, Young, Classic ballet presentation was incredible and certainly evoked the spirit of the city, the rush, the passion and the unequivocal 'show' atmosphere of Broadway.
The RNZB will be touring New Zealand performing until the 30th of March and have tickets available from just $25 so there's no excuse not to go! I've also heard tell that men who are in no way fans of ballet enjoyed this performance thoroughly- most likely because the dancing is modern and highly charged.
Head along and catch this brilliant performance and to get an insight into what happened behind the scenes, tune into 'The Secret Lives of Dancers' on TV3 Tuesdays at 7:30pm.
xo Rhonnie
