Walking In The Night

The contrast between what I wrote about in my last blog (Le Coq D’Or) and what I saw this week could not have been greater.  I went from a piece that was first performed almost 100 years ago to see two new pieces performed by Dansk Danseteater (DDT).

The evening was composed of three pieces.  The first of these was “Dilemma of Obedience”, choreographed by Edhem Jesenkovic.  Born in Sarajevo, Jesenkovic completed his dance training in Sweden.  He is a former dancer with DDT, now based at the Carte Blanche company in Norway.  The publicity material from DDT states that he “works in close collaboration with the dancers, developing choreography with an intricate body language by going in depth with each individual movement and examining the physical potential of the body” 

                                                                 

The title of the piece comes from Stanley Milgrams experiment where an anonymous experimenter successfully ordered adults to subdue a man and submit him to electric shocks. Jesenkovic states:

‘A substantial proportion of people do what they are told to do, irrespective of the content of the act and without limitations of conscience, so long as they perceive that the command comes from a legitimate authority….. one can only wonder what government, with its vastly greater authority and prestige, can command of its subjects’.

It was a stark and moving piece, evoking some of the feelings from an earlier piece I had seen by him.  The dancers began in a single file column on the right hand side of the stage and slowly progressed across the stage, and I have to say that this initial sequence was really interesting to watch and that I was hooked within the first two minutes.  The piece continued with the appearance at the back of masked figures, standing still, watching the dancers.  These figures then moved into the body of the piece, providing a foil for the dancers. 

It was a really good start to the evening.  The dancers were in fine form and the greyness of the piece added to its impact and depth.

The two pieces after the interval were choreographed by Itzik Galili, who has worked with Batsheva Dance Company and Netherlands Dance Theatre 2.  The first was “Fragile”, a duet that was an exploration of our strengths and fears.  It was a lyrical and powerful piece, and beautifully danced.  The final piece of the evening was “Peeled”.  This is a dynamic and energetic piece that was danced by the 12 dancers of DDT (it was originally choreographed for 10 dancers).  The floor was lit in squares like a chessboard, with different areas being lit at different times, almost creating a puzzle like effect.  The percussive rhythms, which formed the background music, added to the speed and dynamism of the piece.

It was an excellent evening – well done Dansk Danseteater and Tim Rushton for yet again giving us a good night’s dance.

Check out http://www.danskdanseteater.dk/

Le Coq D'Or

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Having heard and read good things about The Royal Danish Ballet’s production of ‘Le Coq D’or’ (‘The Golden Cockerel’ or ‘Den gyldene hane’ in Danish), I thought I should go over to the Opera House and have a look for myself.  I had some reservations I admit, but it is often interesting to see an old piece revived and I had also heard positive things about the choreographer, Alexei Ratmansky.

The ballet was originally staged in 1914, choreographed by Fokine for the Ballets Russes.  This production was a danced interpretation of the Rimsky-Korsakov's opera of the same name, with the dancers accompanied by a chorus and solo singers.  The piece was revived in 1937 as a dance only work for the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo.

The ballet opens at the court of Tsar Dodon.  He, along with his sons, Guidon and Afron, are not the best military strategists.  During this first section, the two sons challenge each other, dancing a comedic piece full of wonderful batterie (we were sitting in the second circle quite high up and could hear the beats of one of the dancers!).  A mysterious astrologer arrives, cloaked in black, with a gift of a golden cockerel that has the magical ability to warn the Tsar should the enemy approach.   The gift comes with a condition – that when the time comes, the astrologer can have anything from Dodon that he wishes.  The enemy approaches, and the sons go off with the army and succeed only in killing each other.  

Dodon is seduced by the Queen of Shemakhan, and he brings her home as his bride.  However, the astrologer also falls for the Queen and claims her as his reward.  Dodon kills the astrologer, and he in turn is pecked to death by the cockerel.  I have to say it is a bit of a complicated plot to follow if you haven’t read the synopsis first.  The two key female roles of the cockerel and queen are the only ones danced en pointe.  The night we were there we saw Shelby Elsbree as the cockerel and Amy Watson as the Queen, both of whom were excellent, in particular Watson who exhibited flair and panache.  Both these parts are technically quite demanding and are a contrast to some of the more comedy elements of the piece.

 The costumes and sets, designed by Richard Hudson, were in bright, vibrant colours and clearly inspired by the original designs by Natalia Goncherova (picture below).  The chorus of gossiping peasant women resembled matryoshka dolls and the soldiers, well, like something from a children’s picture book.

 

It is a curious ballet and to be honest I don’t know what I think about it.  It was a strange mix of magic, drama and comedy, but I am very glad I went to see a bit of history adapted for the present day.  The choreography fitted extremely well and the dancers exhibited an energy I haven’t seen in the company for some time.  All in all, I would say that the piece suited the company well, but I did not come away saying ‘that was wonderful’. 

Farewell

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On the 29^th September, Thomas Lund gave his farewell performance as a dancer with the Danish Royal Ballet.  He chose as the two pieces ‘The Lesson’ and of course ‘La Sylphide’. 

I have to confess I don’t like ‘The Lesson’, a piece that looks and feels like the 1960s piece it is.  Lund was of course excellent, but I would have preferred to have seen him in something else.  As I say, this is a purely personal comment rather than a review, as the work was performed wonderfully by all three dancers.

The role of Jamie in ‘La Sylphide’ is undoubtedly Lund’s signature piece. For me, he is a prefect Bournonville dancer, light on his feet, wonderful beats and a sensitivity with the music and drama.  I was so glad to see his last performance.

The evening ended with a speech from Nikolaj Hübbe, flowers, tears, a standing ovation and we, the audience bowed to him in appreciation of his many wonderful performances.

This is just a short blog and a quick update.  There are some more dance things coming up so I’ll be back writing more soon.