So the year is officially underway and so far we are off to an excellent start. While some classes are having to jump right into preparations for ballet exams, I have noticed that across the board everyone came to class during the first week open to learning and ready to work hard. Let's hope that the enthusiasm and determination lasts throughout the year.
September is always a month that can leave us feeling exhausted. After the first week not only was my body hurting but I also had some sleepless nights. I found myself so wound up about getting back into the regular schedule that I couldn't turn it all off at night. I dreamt about everything from battement fondu, to placing kids in lines. One morning I woke up wondering if I really did give such a harsh correction to a student. It took a few minutes to assure myself that it hadn't really happened. Phew!
No matter how busy we get, I think it is incredibly important to get out to see dance performances as often as possible. Calgary is fortunate enough to have a professional ballet company and we have to make sure that we don't take this for granted. With continuous cuts to the arts and the expense of having a professional ballet company, being able to go to the ballet is a foreign thing for many people who live in Canada. When I was young and living in Saskatoon, The National Ballet of Canada (NBoC), Alberta Ballet and Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB) would visit every few years. Nowadays, I know that for the most part only the Royal Winnipeg Ballet is able to visit larger centers in Saskatchewan. The Alberta Ballet takes its tour only as far as Edmonton. Let's consider ourselves fortunate to have the Alberta Ballet close at hand and when companies like the NBoC visit Calgary, it really is something to get excited about.
Even with as much history as there is when it comes to ballet, in order for it to survive, it is really important that it continue to evolve and respond to changes in its audiences. Canadian ballet companies have done a great job in creating new works that appeal to a broader audience base and encourage newcomers to fill theatre seats. RWB had a very successful tour of Moulin Rouge not too long ago and Albertans are still raving about the recent Elton John tribute, Love Lies Bleeding. Sure there is great value in remounting the greats like Giselle and Swan Lake but Calgarians had no hesitations when the NBoC announced it would bring a mixed program to Alberta in celebration of its 60th Anniversary.
The evening boasted 4 short ballets, 3 of which were contemporary and the fourth which was classical at first glance but had a playful hungarian flare. The opening piece, the second detail, was choreographed by William Forsythe and opened to a very monochromatic scene. The stage was draped in white with grey folding chairs lined up against the back. The dancers all wore grey and the word "the" was placed downstage off of centre. The score used a variety of instruments but was quite monotonous. With quirky choreography and intricate patterning, there was no doubt that the piece was a feat for the dancers. With that said, it was all too much after a few minutes had past. The meaning of it all was quite abstract and the pace was so relentless that to absorb everything that was happening was just too much. When the dancers finally did do a short sequence in unison I don't think I was the only one in the audience that thought, "Finally!"
The rest of the evening went off without a hitch, offering something for everyone. Other Dances, choreographed by Jerome Robbins featured only two dancers, accompanied by a single pianist who played live on stage. Dancing to a selection of Chopin's mazurkas, the two dancers performed the piece effortlessly, bringing a light, airy, playfulness to the theatre and establishing an informal and light hearted relationship with the accompanist. The mood and atmosphere was a welcomed contrast to the previous piece. The Man in Black, which followed, was a brilliant piece choreographed by former artistic director to the NBoC, James Kudelka. This piece was likely the most accessible to the audience and showcased choreography with meaningful images and inventive partnering. Kudelka built in a continuous trotting rhythm throughout that gradually slowed in tempo as the subject matter became a bit heavier. This rhythm also seemed to mark the passage of time. The four dancers stayed connected for the majority of the piece and even added a bit of line dancing!
The big piece of the evening was Crystal Pite's Emergance. I had seen this piece before and remembered being so impressed by the movements and illusions. The endless tunnel upstage gave the lighting designer a lot of creative opportunity and, similar to the second detail, the score was quite ambient with no melody. Pite did an amazing job of coming up with movements that so closely resembled the emerging of an insect-like creature and brought her viewers into a prehistoric world where females banded together to protect themselves from the group of approaching males. They stayed in step with one another by counting allowed, an aspect that added to the primal feel of the piece. Perhaps it was because I had seen it before that I wasn't quite as impressed. There were times when I felt that the dancers were a bit off as a group and that the spacing could have been just a touch sharper.
All in all, bringing a mixed to program to the Jubilee was a treat for everyone. What is great about this style of production is that since each piece is so different, someone who may not be that familiar with ballet gets a fresh start with each piece and is offered a taste of everything. I hope that the company can come up with another reason to tour out west again sometime soon. For me, the performance was a source of inspiration as we gear up for Cinderella and competition choreography. For our younger dancers, let's hope that it was an eye-opening evening out. Hopefully they went home with an appreciation for the diverse range of movement, style and subject matter that ballet is capable of.
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