February 22, 2012

Review: Ballet in the present tense in Amsterdam

Laura @ 23:24 —
Filed under: English,Reviews/critiques — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , —

Present/s 1 and 2
Chapters, Variations for two couples, Consequence, Duet, Raï / The nature of difference, Souvenir d’un lieu cher, Short time together, Day4
Choreography: Krzysztof Pastor, Hans Van Manen, Juanjo Arqués, Christopher Wheeldon, Ted Brandsen / Ton Simons, Alexei Ratmansky, Lightfoot León, David Dawson
Dutch National Ballet
Het Muziektheater, Amsterdam
February 18 & 19, 2012

New creations are the exception in the life of most ballet companies, not the norm, and Dutch National Ballet deserves an avalanche of bouquets for going against the grain, especially in the current context. For its 50th anniversary season, the Amsterdam-based company has chosen to present a festival of no fewer than nine premieres, and this almost unparalleled undertaking has paid off handsomely, with two varied and accomplished programmes.

Present/s was conceived as an examination of the current state of ballet, and on the basis of the first programme, the trend for hyperextensions and existential angst isn’t going anywhere. Two works deployed both with wild energy: Krzysztof Pastor’s Chapters, otherwise let down by a rather obscure love entanglement, and Juanjo Arqués’s Consequence. Arqués, a company member, brought Wayne McGregor to mind with his writhing, highly articulate style and minimalist design choices, but his work feels more human and, for such a young choreographer – he is 34 – is quite promising.

Present/s 1 also ran the gamut of gender representation, from traditional roles to cheeky subversion – the latter a welcome alternative for the art form. Company director Ted Brandsen epitomised it in Raï, with bright-coloured short dresses for men and women alike and upbeat ensemble scenes in which their differences seemed to blur as they danced side by side. Christopher Wheeldon’s Duet, on the other hand, is the modern pas de deux at its most sentimental: swooning girl meets strong man, he manipulates her into new positions, and both lovely images and awkward partnering moments ensue. (…)

» Read the full review in the Financial Times

Sasha Mukhamedov in David Dawson's Day4 © Angela Sterling

Sasha Mukhamedov in David Dawson's Day4 © Angela Sterling





February 14, 2012

Review: Russian style on a bare stage

Laura @ 15:21 —
Filed under: English,Reviews/critiques — Tags: , , , , , , , , , —

Serenade/Sleeping Beauty Act III/La Bayadère Act III
Perm Ballet
Maison de la Danse, Lyon
February 8, 2012

Dance has its brands, and “Russian ballet” may be the most ubiquitous of them all. Pick-up troupes performing dumbed-down versions of the classics under that banner have become a familiar sight in medium-sized European cities, with dubious effects on the reputation of the genre. The Perm Ballet, which was at Lyon’s Maison de la Danse last week, is nothing of the sort: this top-tier Russian company has its own illustrious history and school, and yet for a few years now it has been touring France in much the same way as its less renowned counterparts, cringe-inducing sets and taped music included. Suspend disbelief, however, and the dancing can redeem everything.

Serenade opened the troupe’s Tchaikovsky/Minkus triple bill on the wrong foot. This 1934 ballet is the first glimpse Balanchine gave New York of the journey he was about to take American ballet on, and while he himself was trained in the St Petersburg tradition, his works stretched technique in directions Russian training still doesn’t prepare dancers for. With the Perm Ballet, it makes for a stiff rendition: the emphasis is so firmly on leg and arm positions that the bigger picture, the boldness and kinetic flow Balanchine favoured, simply fades away. (…)

» Read the full review in the Financial Times

Perm Ballet dancers in La Bayadère © Anton Zavyalov

Perm Ballet dancers in La Bayadère © Anton Zavyalov





February 12, 2012

Review: A Bausch Tragedy at the Paris Opera

Laura @ 00:50 —
Filed under: English,Reviews/critiques — Tags: , , , , , —

Orphée et Eurydice
Choreography: Pina Bausch
Paris Opera Ballet
Palais Garnier, Paris
February 4, 2012

A woman in black held aloft by a man among a chorus of mourners, a bare tree fallen to the ground, the lifeless bride Eurydice presiding over her own musical tombeau: as soon as the curtain rises on Pina Bausch’s 1975 Orphée et Eurydice, the scale and austere beauty of her take on the myth become apparent. A true Gesamtkunstwerk, this “dance opera” set to Gluck entered the repertoire of the Paris Opera Ballet in 2005, and the current revival does it complete justice.

Indeed, Bausch has seemed more and more part of Paris Opera Ballet’s DNA in recent years. Paris tours by her Tanztheater Wuppertal in the early 1990s sparked a fertile relationship with the company, which lasted until her death in 2009; last season POB paid tribute to her with harrowing, enthralling performances of her Rite of Spring.

Orphée is another apt homage, and much more. Influenced by modern dance, this early work divides each of the three main roles between an opera singer and a dancer, who have their own understated relationship on stage. The choreography is distilled down to seemingly simple phrases, low to the ground; the stark design, by Rolf Borzik, Bausch’s then partner, adds to the atmosphere, with white walls in most scenes and long, semi-transparent tunics for the women. Eurydice’s red dress in the last tableau stands out like a symbol of hubris among the palette of nude, black and white tones, a visual emblem of the feelings that will be her downfall. (…)

» Read the full article in the Financial Times

Stéphane Bullion and the corps de ballet in Orphée et Eurydice © Agathe Poupeney

Stéphane Bullion and the corps de ballet in Orphée et Eurydice © Agathe Poupeney





February 3, 2012

Review: All-Fresh Cedar Lake in France

Laura @ 17:46 —
Filed under: English,Reviews/critiques — Tags: , , , , , —

Violet Kid / Tuplet / Grace Engine
Choreography: Hofesh Shechter, Alexander Ekman, Crystal Pite
Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet
Maison de la Danse, Lyon
January 31, 2012

As the only dance company founded and bankrolled by a Walmart heiress, the New York-based Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet was always going to be a maverick. Nine years after its birth, it has also proved a fruitful artistic venture, perhaps because of its very oddity: in a contemporary dance world where companies tend to exist only to serve a choreographer’s vision, Cedar Lake has no founding father or history to live up to. Fresh, hungry for new movement and blessed with the funds to make it happen, the 16-strong ensemble is the ultimate blank slate, and on the strength of the three new works it brought to Lyon this week, is right to aim high.

The UK-based Israeli choreographer Hofesh Shechter opened the evening with Violet Kid, his second creation for Cedar Lake. Premiered in 2011, it’s a trenchant piece, both attuned to its times and rewarding on an abstract level. The cumulative effect of the choreography as it builds is impressive, with Forsythe-like complexity throughout in the interlocking of structure and chaos. Shechter also composed the score, a dialogue of sorts between a live string trio and recorded percussion; the underlying rhythm drives the choreography forward relentlessly, with an urgency in ensemble work that has become typical of the Israeli dance scene. (…)

» Read the full article in the Financial Times

Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet in Ekman's Tuplet © Juliana Cervantes

Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet in Ekman's Tuplet © Juliana Cervantes





February 2, 2012

Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo Returns to the U.S. (Dance Magazine)

Laura @ 01:49 —
Filed under: English,News — Tags: , , , , —

Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, one of France’s best-kept secrets, will be performing in New York and Costa Mesa (California) later this month, and my preview of the company and the repertoire for the tour is in the February issue of Dance Magazine – with added insight from the lovely Noelani Pantastico, who made the move from Seattle to the Riviera a few seasons ago and whom I interviewed for Pointe Magazine back in 2009.

Cover of the February 2012 issue © Dance Magazine

Cover of the February 2012 issue © Dance Magazine

Jean-Christophe Maillot is a lucky man. In 1993, Monte Carlo handed him a gift most choreographers can only dream of: a full company of classically trained dancers, with the freedom to shape it as he wished. Two decades and 30 creations on, Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo is bringing his unique brand of neoclassical choreography to the U.S. this February.

Les Ballets hasn’t been to New York since 2003, but with about 60 performances abroad and only 20 or so in Monte Carlo every season, the company is used to being on the road. Its 48 dancers are an international group, with one former Pacific Northwest Ballet principal among them: Noelani Pantastico, who fell in love with Maillot’s choreography when PNB performed his Roméo et Juliette. She joined in 2008 and relishes the pace. “The atmosphere is very relaxed,” she says. “Jean-Christophe is constantly refreshing the pieces we dance. It’s never the same.”

Pantastico has also had time to absorb the Frenchman’s sleek, visually inventive style, a blend of ballet technique and contemporary inspiration. “He’s very particular,” she says. “I had to stop performing so much to the audience and be really thoughtful about the intention behind every step.” The company dances works by other choreographers, including Balanchine and Forsythe, but Maillot creates at least one new piece every season. His stylish, cohesive ensemble is a testament to the benefits of working closely with one choreographer, and Pantastico now blends in beautifully with the group. (…)

» Read the full article in Dance Magazine: “A Winning Hand,” February 2012

Jean-Christophe Maillot's Altro Canto Part I © Christian Ganet

Jean-Christophe Maillot's Altro Canto Part I © Christian Ganet





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