Grosse Fuge/ Lyric Pieces/ Take Five, Birmingham Royal Ballet, BRB, Sadler’s Wells, October 2012

This triple bill, titled Opposites Attract, concludes with Hans van Manen’s fine 1971 ballet Grosse Fuge to orchestral music by Beethoven, but in the meantime we are treated to two more recent works with music of a lighter texture.

All images BRB/ Roy Smiljanic

The programme starts with David Bintley’s Take Five to jazz music created by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. This is fun. Lighting by Peter Mumford shows clear colourful lines, and costumes by Jean-Marc Puissant exhibit a 1950s charm, particularly the dresses with their matching colours and white collars for the girls in the pas-de-trois. Bintley’s choreography in this second section is beautifully gentle, but things quickly change into a fast solo brilliantly danced by Joseph Caley. Then in the Two Step when Tyrone Singleton joins Elisha Willis he suddenly gives her a definition she lacked, and his solo work was terrific. The Four Square section for men that immediately follows was strongly danced by all, with Joseph Caley and William Bracewell particularly notable, and the cast then came together for an excellent finale.

Dancers and concertinas in Lyric Pieces

Following the first interval was Jessica Lang’s new work Lyric Pieces first shown in Birmingham in May 2012. Lang, once a dancer with Twyla Tharp’s company, created this to piano music by Grieg and complemented her choreography by pieces of black pleated scenery, concertinas that the dancers move into position and occasionally manipulate. Like the previous ballet this one divides into named sections, from solos — and there was a very fine one here danced by Yvette Knight — to sections for two and more performers. The penultimate one called Phantom was hugely lyrical, particularly in the way it was danced with beautiful fluid movements by Jenna Roberts and Iain MacKay. Grieg’s piano music was beautifully played by Jonathan Higgins, and this ballet exuded a refreshing feel, forming an ideal counterbalance to the final item.

Iain Mackay in Grosse Fuge

Grosse Fuge by Hans van Manen also uses four guys and four girls, and the black of the sets for the previous work becomes the black of the trouser-skirts for the men. These are removed in the second part, showing black trunks secured by a belt that the girls can grasp hold of, and van Manen created these costumes as well as the choreography. The music is late Beethoven, written originally for his B flat quartet (op.130), and the grosse Fuge that originally ended the quartet was used here for the first part, while its later replacement by a lighter allegro was used for the second part. As the ballet progresses the girls, who stood apart from the boys at the start, began to join in and the dancers work in couples giving meaning to the title of this triple bill: Opposites Attract.

From jazz to solo piano to orchestral music well conducted by Koen Kessels, the musical textures form a delightful triple.

Performances continue on October 24 (mat. and eve.) at Sadler’s Wells — details here — and on October 25, 26 and 27 the Company will dance a different triple — details here.

Coppélia, Birmingham Royal Ballet, BRB, London Coliseum, March 2012

London Coliseum audiences who went to Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffmann recently saw one version of Coppélia in the first act of that opera. It involves a young man who falls for a mechanical doll built by Dr. Coppélius, based on an 1816 tale by E.T.A. Hoffmann himself.

Franz and Swanilda, image Roy Smiljanic

This ballet was created in Paris in 1870 less than two months before the Franco-Prussian war started, and during the siege of Paris later that year the ballerina who created the main role, Swanilda died of smallpox on her seventeenth birthday. But the ballet with its glorious music by Delibes survived, and in 1884 Petipa re-choreographed it in St. Petersburg. Most later versions are based on his, and this is Peter Wright’s third. With glorious sets and costumes by Peter Farmer, lit by Peter Teigen, it is a sight not to be missed.

The mime element is strong and very well performed by the company. The ear of corn scene — if it rattles, his love is true — is well portrayed by Swanilda and her friends, and in this version her fiancé Franz is strongly portrayed as a ladies man (in the original ballet it was a travesti role). Chi Cao performed superbly as Franz, and his solos in Act III were terrific — those wonderful beats, particularly on the cabrioles, were a sight not to be missed. Nao Sakuma also exhibited fine technique as Swanilda, and suitable playfulness in the Act II scene in Coppelius’s workshop. Among her six friends, Maureya Lebowitz was in a class of her own — surely a dancer destined for principal roles.

The ensemble dancing was very good, and in Act I this ballet was the first to include the Hungarian Czárdás, which should be more stylishly portrayed, particularly in the slow courtly first section. Angela Paul, who also danced Dawn in Act III did well here, but in general the frisson of pride was missing. The interactions of the characters in Act I, the apparent coming to life of the doll in Act II, and the dance of the hours in Act III were all charming, and as the evening ended with a glorious pas-de-deux by Chi Cao and Nao Sakuma, the applause rang forth.

The conducting of Delibes’ music by Koen Kessels was wonderful, from the start of the prelude to the end of the ballet, and the Birmingham Royal Ballet’s visits to London are always a great pleasure.

Further performances of Coppélia at the London Coliseum continue until March 18 — for details click here.

Daphnis and Chloë/ The Two Pigeons, Birmingham Royal Ballet, BRB, London Coliseum, March 2012

Essential for first rate ballet are music and choreography, and this double bill provides them in spades, along with some very fine dancing.

Daphnis and Chloë, all images Bill Cooper

Both ballets involve young lovers splitting apart, yet reunited at the end, and both are choreographed by one of the great masters of the twentieth century, Frederick Ashton. His creations were entirely new, the original choreography for Daphnis and Chloë being lost, and Messager’s score for Two Pigeons being re-orchestrated by John Lanchbery, who rounded it off at the end with a return to the scene at the start, the lovers together again in the studio. Musically and choreographically these are a must-see. Ravel’s music for Daphnis and Chloë is one of the world’s great ballet scores, and though the music for Two Pigeons may be less well known it is simply glorious. Conducting by Koen Kessels was hugely powerful, yet entirely sensitive to the dancers.

The dancing itself was excellent, the corps work very fine, and Elisha Willis gave a lovely performance as both the virginal Chloë and the hot-blooded gypsy girl in Two Pigeons, who causes the young painter to leave his lover and run after her. She filled both roles with conviction, and Robert Parker and Nao Sakuma as the lovers in Pigeons were a delight. Strong dancing all round, with superb sets, costumes and lighting.

The designs for Daphnis and Chloë are John Craxton’s originals for Ashton’s ballet, the gathered skirts for the women and belted trousers and shirtsleeves for the men bringing the classical remoteness of this story into the Mediterranean world so well evoked by Ravel’s score. And the stylised sets, though highly evocative of the period in which they were created, give a timeless background to the story.

The Two Pigeons: Robert Parker and Nao Sakuma

In Two Pigeons, Jacques Dupont’s lovely set, with its window to the city and sky, was beautifully lit by Mark Jonathan, the colours of the sky evincing a magical appeal for the anchored freedom of rooftops, and life in the upper floor of a city building. And those pigeons, seeming to fly free outside the window yet with one flying in to join the other at the end, evoke the beauty of this charming story.

These two ballets form a superb double bill, but it will be over in the blink of an eye, so fly down to see it without delay. There is a matinée and evening performance at the London Coliseum on March 14 — for details click here.

Cinderella, Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB), London Coliseum, March 2011

Stage versions of Cinderella are many and varied. In Rossini’s opera there’s a pompous stepfather, in Massenet’s a stepmother, and in Ashton’s classic ballet a father. But all agree that Cinderella’s mother has died, and in David Bintley’s new production we see a glimpse of her funeral during the overture. It’s a brief but poignant scene, well supported by Prokofiev’s music, as is much else in Bintley’s new creation — seen here in London for the first time.

The magic starts, all photos by Bill Cooper

The two stepsisters are played here as obnoxiously juvenile girls, their teasing easily turning to pushing and shoving, but they can also be funny and I loved the incidents at the ball with the major domo’s staff of office. Above all, however, is the nasty stepmother, brilliantly portrayed by Marion Tait. Her ball dress was stunning, and when the prince brings the slipper to the house she follows her awful daughters in trying it on . . . before Cinderella herself comes forward.

Frog coachman, lizard footmen and mouse pages

The business with the slippers is very cleverly done, starting in the kitchen scene of Act I. Cinderella brings out a red box containing a portrait of her mother, and two pretty bejewelled slippers. The stepsisters suddenly enter and grab them, until more urgent matters claim their attention and Cinders can hide them again. Then when everyone’s gone, and she’s alone again, the fire suddenly springs to life and a barefooted old crone appears from nowhere, seated next to it. Cinderella gives her the precious slippers, catalyzing the magic. Bintley uses the slippers very skilfully and when Cinders returns from the ball she fishes out the red box again, hiding her remaining slipper. Once again the wretched sisters burst in again and grab it, but this time they are interrupted by the arrival of the prince himself, and Cinderella, unable to hide the box in its usual place, sits by the fire holding it. This seems an awkward moment for her while the sisters and stepmother try on the slipper, but then shyly and slowly she comes forward with the matching slipper. There is no rush, and this important moment is given full focus, creating a sense of wonder, well supported by Prokofiev’s glorious music.

Elisha Willis and Iain Mackay, Act III

The music is well used, and Bintley’s production manages to insert magic into moments that are sometimes missed, greatly helped by Koen Kessels’ wonderfully sympathetic conducting. Designs by John Macfarlane express the dichotomy between the cold looking kitchen and the mysterious world beyond for the seasons and the stars, glimpsed in the distant background of the ball scene. I loved the way the coach came together at the end of Act I, taking Cinderella off to the ball, and I loved the clock, as it came together in Act II, with its inner workings showing the rapid passing of time. Lighting by David Finn was excellent and I particularly liked the gradual visibility of the ball scene at the start of Act II.

The corps de ballet and soloists danced beautifully and Elisha Willis was a lovely Cinderella, showing refinement and strength in reserve, well deserving her very handsome prince in the form of Iain Mackay. Victoria Marr was a gentle fairy godmother, and the sisters were very amusingly portrayed by Gaylene Cummerfield and Carol-Anne Millar — I particularly liked Ms. Cummerfield’s clumsiness at the ball, sickling her foot most horribly at one point. And throughout it all, Marion Tait as the stepmother, holds the stage with a nod and glance.

This production by David Bintley has moments of magic, and when you go you should buy a programme to read Neil Philip’s interesting essay on the myth of Cinderella, including a version connected with the folk tale aspect of Shakespeare’s King Lear.

Performances at the London Coliseum continue until April 2 — for more information, and to book on-line, click here.

Giselle with Benjamin and Watson, Royal Ballet, January 2011

Giselle is a jewel in the Royal Ballet’s repertoire, and this production by Peter Wright carefully preserves the nineteenth century mime sequences in Act I, where Giselle’s mother warns about the legend of the wilis who will capture some carefree young fellow and make him dance to his death. The young Count Albrecht, sowing his wild oats disguised as a peasant, wins Giselle’s heart, but his wooing raises a passion that destroys her, though as a spirit in Act II she finally saves him from being destroyed by the wilis.

The Wilis in Act II, photo by Bill Cooper

As Giselle herself, Leanne Benjamin was excellent in the Act I mad scene when she learns that her lover has tricked her and betrayed his own fiancée, but her performance in Act II was really superb when, light as a feather, she invested the wraith of Giselle with a wonderfully ethereal quality. Her rejected lover Hilarion was superbly portrayed by Johannes Stepanek, showing a fine firmness and resolve in Act I, only to fall foul of forces beyond his control as the wilis dance him to death in Act II. Giselle’s lover Albrecht was danced by Edward Watson, and much though I admire him in other ballets he lacked the insouciance I associate with this role. As queen of the wilis, Itziar Mendizabal was suitably cold, but lacked the heartless dominance that should come from her big jumps and imperious stage presence.

The corps de ballet performed well in both acts, and the leading wilis Moyna and Zulme in Act II were beautifully danced by Yuhui Choe and Sian Murphy. The Act I scenes came over very well, with an excellent pas-de-six headed by Yuhui Choe and Kenta Kura, who showed his stunning talent for appearing to float in the air. Deidre Chapman gave a fine performance of the extensive mime scenes as Giselle’s mother, and Johannes Stepanek’s observations of Albrecht’s missing sword and his eventual discovery of his rival’s identity was carried through to perfection.

Good conducting by Koen Kessels, who is in the orchestra pit for all the January performances, and next week I shall report on a different cast featuring Marianela Nuñez and Rupert Pennefather. Performances with a variety of different casts continue until February 19 — for more details click here.