A good night at the ballet not to be missed.
(Review by Mary Ann Salvage)
As soon as the music of Rodion Shchedrin’s Suite for Strings and Percussion based on
Themes from Georges Bizet’s Carmen
began to play, I decided this was going to be a good night to be at the
ballet. This is one of my favourite
ballets and it was very interesting to see how this version of the choreography
developed. Quite unconventional and modern in approach, Anatoly Emilianov
combined elements of pure classical ballet and contemporary dance in his
choreography, with good use of musical dynamics and phrasing.
Carmen - The One Act Ballet was divided into 13 scenes. The Prelude
introduced Carmen, danced by Olga Burmistrova, who was accompanied by eight
equally seductive female dancers. Don
Jose, danced by Sergey Dyachkov showed his technical and dramatic ability in
his passionate, tender and fiery Pas de
Deux with Carmen, which eventually turned to anguish as the tragic story
unfolded.
Alexey Konkin dancing Escamillo the
Bullfighter who tried to steal Carmen’s heart did not convince me as much as he
did her with his technical or acting ability and was a rather weak contrast to
the strong Don Jose. Perhaps this was
the intention.
The Corps de Ballet of eight female and
three male dancers, were kept very busy throughout the ballet and were a
necessary part of bringing this ballet to its Finale which concluded the first
half of the Programme.
A complete contrast awaited us particularly
at the beginning of Act 2 of the Programme.
Four exquisite replicas of what could have been the original Pas de Quatre dancers from the Romantic
Period graced the stage. With Pugni’s music and choreography by Perrot and
Dolin, these four ballerinas really captured the 18th Century style. It was
beautiful, refreshing and delightful to watch.
Next came the crowd pleaser in the Le Corsaire Pas de Deux beautifully danced by Yulia Nepomniashchaya and Sergey Dyachkov.
One felt extremely safe while watching the two of them dance. With his multiple
turns a la seconde and leaps and her
32 impressive fouettes, this was a
feast to the eyes. However, I did find it totally unnecessary to have four
female dancers in odd tutus behind them all the time. I felt they were in the
way and were a total distraction to the lead dancers.
An absolutely gorgeous and moving
Contemporary Dance Solo Don’t Leave Me
followed, danced by Anastasia Shiladzhyan to music by Jacques Brel. Whoever
choreographed this piece has a true gift. Unfortunately their name was omitted
from the programme.
No Russian programme would be complete
without The Dying Swan. Those
exquisite Russian Port de Bras and
the haunting Saint-Saens music and performed by Yulia Nepomniashchaya must be
for any ballerina, an iconic solo to dance since Anna Pavlova’s time.
The final piece of the evening was the
famous Bolero music by Ravel. I have
seen this music used in various dance pieces, ballets, even in ice skating,
countless times but have never seen such clever use of choreography. Anatoly
Emelianov managed to portray the music through his dancers, thereby making the
music visible. The build-up to the climax of this fantastic piece of music was
highlighted with imaginative and effective use of lighting, spot on with the
music. It was a great way to end the ballet and the entire programme.
The Crown of the Russian Ballet moves on to
the State Drama Theatre in Pretoria for the last four performances of their
2014 tour of South Africa. Don’t miss them! - Mary Ann Salvage
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