Yesterday's Panel Discussion on Reimagining Classics

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Yesterday I attempted to watch the streaming of a panel discussion on the topic of Reimagining Topics that I had mentioned in  English National Ballet's Reimagining Classics Panel DiscussionThe 10 Nov 2016. The discussion was chaired by Sarah Crompton and took place at English National Ballet's studios in London. The panellists were Tamara Rojo and Gavin Sutherland of English National Ballet, Robert Icke of the Almeida Theatre who had created a new version of the Oresteia ( Ὀρέστεια) and Mark Evans of the Victoria and Albert Museum which had recently staged the Botticelli Reimagined exhibition.

I say "attempted" because the transmission broke down 6 minutes into the discussion and I did not get it back until half way through. Also, when it did come back the sound quality was appalling which meant that I struggled to hear Icke at all because he spoke very softly and I could not hear any of the questions from the floor at all. Having said that, it was certainly better than nothing and I managed to make a few notes here and there.

The discussion had been prompted by Akram Khan's Giselle which I reviewed for this blog (see Akram Khan's Giselle 28 Sept 2016). That production has not yet opened in London. I could not help thinking that it might have been better to hold the discussion in one of the cities in which Akram Khan's work has already been performed or at least to have postponed the discussion until after 19 Nov when it will have finished its London run.

I should also add that Northern Ballet has held events like yesterday's and while the first of these was all over the shop (see My Thoughts on Saturday Afternoon's Panel Discussion at Northern Ballet 21 June 2015) the second was  much better (see Tell Tale Steps 2 17 June 2016). Wisely Crompton began by asking each of the panellists to define "classical". So far as I could hear what he said, Icke seemed to define classic in terms of live and dead and that a classic was something dead and Rojo said she agreed, Sutherland considered what classic meant in terms of music and talked about heritage and techniques. Evans said he had actually looked up the word in the Oxford English Dictionary ...... and then the transmission was lost.

That was a pity because the discussion was just getting interesting at that point. In a sense, Giselle is not a classical work at all but a romantic one. I don't know whether anybody mentioned that distinction in London while they were offline but, if they did not do so, maybe they should have done because giving rein to free expression is one of the characteristics of romanticism.

The transmission resumed in the middle of a comparison of Skeaping's Giselle with Akram Khan. Rojo said the timing had been deliberate because she wanted her audience to compare the two. Ideally she would have run them on alternate nights. I think she was right to have done that. As I said in English National Ballet's other Giselle 22 Oct 2016, I plan to watch that show in the New Year. Surprisingly, Rojo said that she had faced some resistance to premiering Akram Khan's Giselle in Manchester. Personally, I think that was a good choice. The performance was received rapturously in the Palace on the first night. Possibly better than it would have been received in London where audiences would have seen other Giselles.

There was no time for questions from the internet audience which was a pity. I would have suggested that there are other more plausible updates of Giselle such as Mats Ek's and that you don't have to change the score or story to make a work relate to modern audiences. But I don't want to be too negative. Commissioning Akram Khan was a bold decision and in that I support the company 100%. We do need to try out new things if ballet is to retain its popularity and relevance.

English National Ballet's Reimagining Classics Panel Discussion

Tamara Rojo
Artistic Director and Lead Principal of the English National Ballet

Author: Erik Doble
Source: Wikipedia
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In Livestream: Reimagining Classics Panel Discussion 9 Nov 2016 English National Ballet's blog, Tamara Rojo said:

"Ballet, and art, has the potential of interpretation and reinterpretation, and this is vital to drive our art form forward. My vision for English National Ballet has been to introduce new works that push the boundaries of ballet, for both the Company and audiences, while at the same time honouring and reinvigorating traditional works that have become so loved over the years.”

The topic was discussed briefly on BBC Radio 4's Front Row by the critic, Luke Jennings, and the Artistic Director of Northern Ballet, David Nixon. I mentioned their conversation in Of Bikes and Buses 25 Oct 2016. I applaud Tamara Rojo's aspiration though I am not persuaded that Akram Khan's Giselle  achieved it (see (Akram Khan's Giselle 28 Sept 2016).

However, there will be an opportunity to consider the topic in more detail tonight in a panel discussion between Tamara Rojo and Gavin Sutherland of English National Ballet, Robert Icke, the Almeida Theatre's Associate Director and Mark Evans of the Victoria and Albert Museum. The event is restricted to Friends and Patrons of the company but the discussion will be live streamed via its Facebook page from 19:30 this evening. Further information is available in the blog article which I have mentioned.

The post adds that although attendance at the meeting is restricted to Friends and Patrons members of the public can ask a question via twitter:

"The discussion will also conclude with a Q&A, so we are asking anyone that has a question for the panel to tweet us using #AskENB handling us in (@ENBallet)."

This is a topic that interests me greatly and I am very grateful to English National Ballet for arranging this discussion and opening it up to the public through Facebook. Readers will know that I mentioned the topic again very recently in my review of Darius James and Amy Doughty's Romeo a Juliet  which is a work that does meet Tamara Rojo's objective in my judgment (see A Romeo and Juliet for our Times  7 Nov 2016). In that review I also mentioned David Dawson's Swan Lake for Scottish Ballet which also got it right and Ted Brandsen's Coppelia for the Dutch National Ballet which I have not yet seen but also seems to work. I do not know whether any of the panellists have seen any of those works or whether any of the creators of any of those ballets can listen to tonight's discussion but I do hope so.

I shall certainly be listening and I may well tweet a question if I get an opportunity. Finally, as I have been following ENB since 1955 I really ought to become one of its Friends soon. I love the company at least as much as I do any other.