Akram Khan's Giselle

I wanted to like Akram Khan's Giselle for English National Ballet so much. I love that company having followed it for ever since I was first taken to the Festival Hall to see The Nutcracker as a child some 60 years ago. As I said in Manchester's Favourite Ballet Company 29 Nov 2015 the company danced its first ballet in Manchester on 5 Feb 1951 and I am mindful of the compliment that ENB has paid my native city by premiering an important new work there. I am glad that virtually the entire audience (or so it seemed from my position in the centre stalls) was able to give it a standing ovation - though I was not one of those who stood.

Now I have to choose my words very carefully for I don't want to condemn a work that has much merit with faint praise.  There was some exciting, energetic and in the final duet between Giselle and Albrecht, quite beautiful dancing. Vicenzo Lamagna wrote, and Gavin Sutherland orchestrated, an interesting score with frequent allusions to Adolphe Adam's. Equally interesting were Tim Yip's designs. Two of my favourite dancers, Alina Cojocaru and Isaac Hernández, danced Giselle and Albtrcht and there were other favourites in other roles. The dancers worked hard contorting their bodies in unusual shapes and positions. The courou on pointe by Stina Quagebeur, who danced Myrtha, and the corps at the beginning of Act II must have been exhausting and for some excruciating.

I am glad I saw the work. I hope to see it again and perhaps pick up some of the nuances that my companion (who is of Gujarati heritage) appreciated but which passed me by. I recommend it. It was a good show - though not a great one - and it certainly was not one that swept me to my feet in the way that Brandsen did with Mata Hari (see Brandsen's Masterpirce 14 Feb 2016), Maillot with his Shrew  (see Bolshoi's Triumph - The Taming of the Shrew 4 Aug 2016), Dawson with his Swan Lake  (see Dawson's Swan Lake comes to Liverpool  29 May 2016) or Meisner with his No Time Before Time (see Dutch National Ballet's Opening Night Gala - Improving on Excellence 8 Sept 2016) earlier this year.

To understand my critique of this work it is worth looking at The Story on the special website that ENB has created for this ballet. At first sight it is Gautier's libretto with a modern twist - perhaps closer to that version than the Dance Theatre of Harlem's Creole Giselle and certainly Mats Ek's for the Paris Opera - but it does not unfold that way. In Gauthier's libretto, which is explained so beautifully in the following Dutch language


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animation, the story builds. The audience can understand Hilarion's hostility towards Albrecht which is the only reason why he has to die. In Ruth Little's version that hostility is taken as read. The scene opens in the factory with Albrecht seeking out Giselle. Hardly any of the cues - the hiding of the sword, the picking of the petals, Giselle's heart tremor and so on - remain.  Surprisingly there is still the dance of the vignerons where Giselle playfully runs from Albrecht as the dancers wheel round stage but it seems to serve no obvious purpose in Little's version.  It is the absence of those cues that prompts my companion's question "Why does Hilarion have to die in act II?" As she said, he has done nothing wrong. Or at least he was not half as bad as Albrecht who seduced Giselle and then abandoned her for Bathilde. In Gautier's libretto there is a logic. In Little's it seems so unfair.

As I wrote in Reflections on Giselle 29 Jan 2014 I have problems with the second act. I have to treat it as though it were an abstract work by Balanchine in order to sit through it. In reworking Giselle the creative team had a golden opportunity to ditch the superstition as Ek did by settling act II in a psychiatric hospital. Had they done something like that it might have strengthened the show but they kept it spooky. However. Khan's choreography for act II was quite different.  Instead of those mesmerizing arabesques as the corps crosses the stage the girls couroured on pointe for what for them must have seemed ages. Instead of forcing their victims to dance themselves to death through exhaustion the wilis dispatched them with sticks to the accompaniment of grinding and crackly noises.  Instead of facing the whole company of wilis Giselle had only to fend off Myrtha who stood scowling with her stick as Giselle danced with Albrecht for the last time.

That final duet was for me the most beautiful part of the ballet and also the most impressive. At one point Hernandez held Cojocaru by the legs and she seemed to revolve in the hold in a most amazing fashion. That last dance is what I most want to see again. With some ballets it is only a single pas de deux that survives in a company's repertoire and perhaps that will be the case with this duet.

My companion and I discussed the sticks on the drive home. "Were they supposed to be tasers?" I asked myself. Whether intended or not they were the only allusion to the Sub-Continent that registered with me for they reminded me of the sticks carried in a Punjabi folk dance that I had seen at a Bhangra festival in Huddersfield Town Hall some years ago. My companion, who is fortunate enough to have grown up in two cultures, told me that there was so much more in the rhythms of the music and the dancers' steps.

My all abiding impression of the work was unremitting darkness. Dark in two senses. Every scene was very dimly lit. So dark that I could not recognize the faces of the dancers until the reverence. I had been looking out for Sarah Kundi who is one of my favourites - but I never saw her until that curtain call. However, my companion recognized Sarah from her movements that were quite different from those of the other dancers - perhaps because of her heritage, my companion suggested. Even darker than the lighting, however. was the story for it was one of constant grind. At least in the traditional Giselle there are some happy bits such as the crowning of Giselle as harvest queen. There was nothing like than in Khan's. Just a morose folk dance for the landlords who were heralded by blasts that sounded like factory sirens or perhaps fog horns. Very intense and just a little depressing.

How does Giselle compare to Khan's other work?  I regret that I have not seen much of it but of the works that I have seen I much prefer Ka'ash (see Akram Khan's Kaash - contemporary meets Indian classical 7 Oct 2015) and indeed Dust which was the highlight of last year's triple bill (see Lest we forget 25 Nov 2015).  However, as my friend said "Giselle is a work in progress that can only improve." She did get up to applaud at the end of the show and shouted "Go on Akram!" Maybe in time I shall be able to do the same.

At last we have a Synopsis for Giselle Re-imagined. Oh Boy! Do we have a Synopsis!

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Akram Khan's Giselle will open in Manchester on 27 Sept though there will be previews on the 23 and 24.

English National Ballet and the Palace Theatre have published the synopsis. It is much closer to the traditional story than I had feared but it is still very different.  Post industrial utopia or rather Dystopia rather than the Vosges or Rhineland. The score by Vincenzo Lamagna is said to follow Adam but the soundtrack to the videos sounds quite different to me.

It will open with Alina Cojocaru and Isaac Hernandez in the leading roles.  Hernandez was with the Dutch National Ballet where he won the Alexandra Radius prize. I last saw Cojocaru in Romeo and Juliet in the round on 14 July 2014.

The English National Ballet has a special website for Akram Khan's Giselle and a huge programme of events in Manchester and around the country. Several of the best take place on the 18 September.

Though I feel the same kind of trepidation as I would if an old friend were to undergo surgery I know that Tamara Rojo loves Giselle at least as much as I do and knows it so much better.

So I trust her to keep faith with it and her great company and save our dear friend.   I really do.

Terpsichore votes "Remain"

Τερψιχόρη

Jean-Marc Nattier

Tomorrow I will vote "Remain" and one of the reasons why I shall do so is that I care about the arts and creative industries in general and the performing arts and ballet in particular.

The case for Remain was made eloquently by members of the Creative Industries Federation in their briefing note Why is EU membership so important for the health of UK’s arts, creative industries and cultural education?  It was echoed  in Ismene Brown's article The Royal Ballet and Sadler’s Wells explain how Brexit will hurt dance 13 June 2016 and supported by Jessica Duchen's I'm IN, and here's why you should be too 25 May 2016 JDCMB which I mentioned in my own article Should we stay or should we go? 30 May 2016.

Much of the steam for the Leave campaign has been generated by concern about immigration. There is some outright xenophobia in that sentiment but I believe that it is mainly a worry about shortages of housing, healthcare, education and other public services which could be overcome with proper planning and resourcing.

For the arts, free movement of labour is essential.  Let me give just one example. Earlier this month the Scottish Ballet delighted audiences throughout Scotland and the North of England with David Dawson's Swan Lake (see Empire Blanche: Dawson's Swan Lake 4 June 2016). Dawson was born in London and trained at Tring Park and the Royal Ballet School but he has spent much of his career with the Dutch National Ballet where he is now an associate artists. He is not the only Brit there. The company's artistic director is Matthew Rowe who is another Londoner (in fact as there is a reference to him in the latest issue of The Pauline he may even have attended my old school).

Conversely many of Scottish Ballet's finest dancers come from France: Constance Deverney recently promoted to principal, Sophie Martin, Marge Hendrick, and Laura Joffre to name just a few. The same is true of our other leading companies. Where would the Royal Ballet be without Laura Morera or Federico Bonelli? The Birmingham Royal Ballet without Koen Kessels?  English National Ballet without Tamara Rojo or Alina Cojocaru?

There are dancers from the EU also in our splendid regional companies like Giuliano Contadini and Kevin Poeung with Northern Ballet and Allegra Vianello and Andrea Battagia with Ballet Cymru. I could go on.

Those artists delight us. Let's continue to make them feel welcome tomorrow.

Ballet Cymru Am Byth

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It is not often that my heart leaps when I see the nominations for the National Dance Awards but it did this time when I read that Ballet Cymru has been nominated for the best independent company award (see Judith Mackrell's National Dance Awards 2015 nominations: ice dance, flamenco and independent companies celebrated 29 Oct 2015 Guardian Dance Blog). I am very fond of that company. Last month I visited them at their studios in Newport (see Ballet Cymru at Home 5 Oct 2015). Next Friday I will be in Newport for the première of Traces Imprinted, the new work by Marc Brew, which will be performed with TIR and Celtic Concerto.

One of the reasons why I like Ballet Cymru is that they worked with wheelchair dancers and others in Stuck in the Mud. Marc Brew choreographed that work to a score by Jack White who has composed the music for Cinderella which you can hear above. Brew has also created work for Candoco Dance Company which has been nominated for the Outstanding Company award. That is another company that admire. Founded in 1991 it describes itself as "the company of disabled and non-disabled dancers". This is a company with first class productions which also manages to provide first class outreach opportunities for the general public. It is up against English National Ballet, New Adventures and Northern Ballet for that award. Even though I would normally support any of those three companies for that award I am rooting for Candoco on this occasion.

Three of my favourite male dancers, Steven McRae, Vadim Muntagirov and Ed Watson are up for the best male dancer category and I am conflicted because I cannot choose between them as I like them all. I have seen superb performances by all of them this year but the one that touched my heart was Muntagirov's pas de deux from Swan Lake with Daria Klimentova at Northern Ballet's Sapphire gala in Leeds on 14 March 2015 (see Sapphire 15 March 2015). I never thought I would ever see them dance together again and they were the highlight of my evening.

The choice is slightly easier for best female dancer. After seeing her Juliet in the Albert Hall last year it has to be Alina Cojocaru (see Romeo and Juliet in the Round - Saturday 14 June 2014 20 June 2014) though I am also a great fan of Alessandra Ferri and Marianela Nuñez. I am delighted to see Laura Morera in the outstanding female performance category for her role as Lise (see The Best Fille Ever 18 April 2015 and my flat footed attempt to congratulate the ballerina in Laura Morera 25 Aug 2015). I am also pleased for Eve Mutso to be nominated for her performance in A Streetcar Named Desire. I saw Luciana Ravizzi dance the role when I saw the ballet (see Scottish Ballet's Sreetcar 2 April 2015) but I have seen Mutso in other works this year and she never fails to delight me.

I would have expected Streetcar to have been nominated for best classical choreography as well as Darius James's Cinderella but what do I know? However, I was delighted to see nominations for David Bintley's The King Dances and William Bracewell's performance in that work. For me the performance of that work to celebrate Bintley's 20th anniversary as artistic director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet and its 25th anniversary in Birmingham was was one of the highlights of the year (see In Praise of Bintley 21 June 2015).

I am conscious that I have not mentioned a lot of people who deserve mention. As I come from the North of England I take particular pleasure in Kenneth Tindall's nomination for two categories as well as Northern Ballet's and Tobias Batley's for outstanding company and best male dancer respectively. I congratulate everyone and every company that has been nominated, I thank them all for their work and wish them all well for the future.

Romeo and Juliet in the Round - Saturday 14 June 2014

Ford Madox Brown Romeo and Juliet

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Ballet in the round is a very different experience from ballet on a proscenium stage. For a start there is so much space allowing dancers to build up momentum and elevation. The orchestra is not confined to a pit but occupies a platform above the dancers. The arena can accommodate scores of dancers for crowd scenes. At the same time it is also intimate. The dancers access the arena from different parts of the auditorium literally within inches of the audience.

English National Ballet's Romeo and Juliet is massive involving the whole company plus many artists who had been recruited especially for this production. According to the website, the cast is 120 strong and the list of names fills five columns of small print in the programme. Many of those who have been recruited for this show are considerable artists in their own right such as Sarah Kundi (see "Bye Bye and All the Best" 10 June 2013). Crowd scenes really did have crowds. The sheer number of combatants made the fights seem not only realistic but menacing. Quite a contrast to Ballet Cymru's Romeo a Juliet which I saw in Kendal just over a year ago ("They're not from Chigwell - they're from a small Welsh Town called Newport" 14 May 2013).

Although Romeo and Juliet is set against a background of inter family rivalry it is a love story and the focus is on the lovers. Those roles demand much from the principals who have to grow up before our eyes.   English National Ballet has very special dancers for Romeo and Juliet such as Carlos Acosta and Tamara Rojo, Vadim Muntagirov and Daria Klimentová, Arionel Vargas and Elena Glurdjdze, Friedemann Vogel and Alina Cojocaru.   If I had unlimited time and resources I would have seen them all but being obliged to make a choice I chose Vogel and Cojocaru.

I chose Vogel because he is from the Stuttgart Ballet which was founded by John Cranko. Cranko's Romeo and Juliet was the inspiration for Kenneth MacMillan's which is the version with which British audiences are most familiar. Cranko's artists were Richard Cragun and Marcia Haydée. I never saw them dance Romeo and Juliet but this YouTube clip gives an indication of the beauty of that production. English National Ballet's rehearsal video reminded me of that clip and suggested that Vogel with Cojocaru might be the next best thing. 

It was a good choice. They were excellent.  From the moment she entered the arena as a playful teenager teasing her nurse Cojocaru delighted her audience. She projected the excitement of a débutante at a first dance, the conflict of emotions on first seeing Romeo, her joy at the balcony scene and her determination to marry him come what may. Vogel was the perfect Romeo, ardent in love but also in anger after Tybault had despatched Mercutio. 

There were fine performances too from Arionel Vargas as Paris, a decent man who did not deserve to meet his end in the Capulet crypt at the hands of Romeo, Max Westwell as Tybalt, Fernando Bufalá as Mercutio, Luke Haydon as Friar Lawrence and Jane Howarth as a powerful Lady Capulet. All beautifully choreographed by Derek Deane.

Having seen this production I wondered why all ballets are not staged in the round. There are challenges for the designer, of course, because the focus is not on the stage but Roberta Guidi di Bagno's met them by projecting portraits and other scenes from renaissance Italy that complemented the more substantial edifices for the town scenes and balcony.  Coming from Holmfirth I am always proud to see Gavin Sutherland who trained at the University of Huddersfield and because the orchestra was resplendent on a platform I really could see him and them any time time I wanted to do so throughout the show. It is good to see the musicians from time to time for, as Christopher Wheeldon reminded us in The Winter's Tale, they perform too.

I have seen three productions of Romeo and Juliet in the last year from the Welsh, the Scots and now the English national companies. Each was very different from the others but I liked them all. My next performance will be Russian though with yet another Yorkshireman, Xander Parish, in the title role. I can barely wait.