Andersen's La Sylphide

I have often written about the close relationship between Manchester and English National Ballet (see Manchester's Favourite Ballet Company 29 Nov 2015). That relationship will be fortified on 11 Oct 2017  when the company performs La Sylphide and The Song of the Earth in our city.  Set in the Highlands and probably inspired by the novels of Sir Walter Scott, La Sylphide ought to be our national ballet (see La Sylphide 7 Aug 2015).

This is a beautiful ballet with a simple story of human frailty and a charming score.  It is important to the history of dance as it was the first ballet in which dancing en pointe was used to achieve an impression of flying.  English National Ballet has staged a version of this ballet before.  In 1979 it presented Peter Schaufuss's version and it was that version that the Queensland Ballet brought back to London (see Jane Lambert and Gita Mistry A dream realized: the Queensland Ballet in London 17 Aug 2015). The Royal Ballet also has a version but that has not been performed since 21 May 2012 (see La Sylphide on the Royal Ballet's website). Our only other experience of that ballet was in Jan 2015 when principals and soloists of the Royal Danish Ballet performed extracts from the work at the Peacock Theatre (see Royal Danish Ballet Soloists and Principals in celebration of Bournonville 11 Jan 2015).

Those principals and soloists reminded us that La Sylphide was created by August Bournonville for the Royal Danish Ballet where he was resident choreographer and ballet master. One of his illustrious successors in the Roya Danish Ballet is Frank Andersen who served as its artistic director of that company from 1985 to 1994 and from 2002 to 2008. Andersen has produced La Sylphide in many companies around the world (see La Sylphide in the Productions section of his website).  One of the countries in which he has staged the ballet is China where Andersen has a particularly strong following in China as a choreographer, director and teacher (see Frank in China on his website).

Andersen will create the version that the English National Ballet will dance in Manchester (see 2017-18 Autumn/Winter Season Announcement 9 March 2017 on the company's blog). The company will also dance the ballet in Milton Keynes between 17  and 21 Oct 2017 and at the Coliseum between 9 and 13 Jan 2018. I look forward to this production very much indeed.

La Sylphide

Basic Facts
Choreographer  Filippo Taglioni, August Bournonville
Composer Herman Severin Løvenskiold
Acts 2
Approximate length: 1 hour 55 minutes including intervals
First performed 1832
First performance of Bournonville's production 1836
Genre Romantic


Introduction

La Sylphide was first danced in 1832 when Europe fell in love with all things Scottish. This love of all things Scottish had all sorts of manifestations: the novels and other works of Sir Walter Scott, Donizetti's Lucia di Lamemoor, Scottish baronial architecture and lots of dramatic landscape painting like Jacob Moore's Falls of Clyde above. This ballet is in the news just now because it has been brought to London by the Queensland Ballet.

Reviews

The Australians have had good reviews from the press this week. Far better, indeed, than their cricketers though that may change as there are still three more days of play at Trent Bridge.   Louise Levene wrote in the Pink'Un "Peter Schaufuss’s version of the Romantic tragedy is a fine showcase for these well-drilled dancers" 6 Aug 2015. Zoe Anderson rejoiced in "Romantic tale features fleet-footed footwork from the Queensland Ballet" 6 Aug 2015 in The Independent. Judith Mackrell celebrated the company's "impressive mastery of a tragic fairytale" 6 Aug 2015 The Guardian.  It seems also to have gone down well on BalletcoForum. Whether that is because it is practically the only ballet in the United Kingdom this week or because it really is a good show remains to be seen. Gita and I shall see it on Saturday and I will review it on Sunday or shortly afterwards. My hunch is that it is a good show and having listened to the company's artistic director Li-Cunxin at the London Ballet Circle last Monday I think he will have made damn sure that it will be good.

Queensland Version

The show that Queensland Ballet has brought to London was created by Peter Schaufuss for what is now the English National Ballet in 1979. I was reminded of that production at Li-Cunxin's talk to the London Ballet Circle. I had completely forgotten about it and have now only the fuzziest recollection. The performance that sparkles in my memory is one by Carla Fracci as  the sylph. Here she is dancing with Schaufuss though I think the production I saw was by American Ballet Theatre and I can't remember whether I saw it on tour or when I was a graduate student in the USA.

 

However good the Australians may be the sad fact is that they will be on their plane back to Brisbane soon and this lovely ballet will hibernate again. So this resource page is my attempt to keep it alive a little in the public mind for a little bit longer.

Other Versions

First, The Royal Ballet have a version though it was last seen at Covent Garden in 2012 (see La Sylphide on the Royal Ballet's website). So, too, do the Bolshoi who ran four performances in June and will stage another on 3 Oct 2015 (see La Sylphide  on the company's website). I understand from Gillian Barton that Ballet West are planning a production for 2017. That will be really something because Taynuilt is actually in Gurn and Effie territory and the school and their teachers have so much talent.

Further Reading

For those who want to know more about the ballet there are pretty good synopses on the Bolshoi and Queensland Ballet websites. Both companies explain the historical significance of the ballet (see About Performance  on the Bolshoi site and The History on Queensland's). It was one of the first ballers (if not the first ballet) in which the ballerina danced on pointe. There are also useful articles on the ballet in Wikipedia, the Ballet Encyclopedia and The Ballet Bag.

Post Script

11 Aug 2015 There is a very interesting article by FLOSS on BalletcoForum mentioning some of the differences between the Schaufuss version of La Sylphide and the Koburg version.

Royal Danish Ballet Soloists and Principals in celebration of Bournonville

August Bournonville

Photo Wikipedia

Because ballet was introduced to us by Diaghilev and his Ballets Russes we tend to think of it as an art form that began in renaissance Italy, developed in 18th century France and flourished in 19th century Russia under Marius Petipa. Almost every classical company of any size includes at least some his works or those of his pupil Lev Ivanov in its repertoire. But there is another important tradition, that of the Royal Danish Ballet and its great choreographer August Bournonville. Principals and soloists of the Royal Danish Ballet have performed a selection of extracts from Bournonville's work at The Peacock Theatre off Kingsway on the 9 and 10 Jan  2015.

I saw the show on Friday the 9 Jan 2015 and was thrilled by it. It consisted of the following works:

• A Folk Tale (pas de sept)
• Flower Festival in Genzano
• Jockey Dance
• La Sylphide (Act II)
• Conservatoire (pas de trois) and
• Napoli (Act III).

All of the works were by by Bournonville and save for La Sylphide all were new to me. 

Through this show I was introduced to some remarkable dancers: Gudrun Bojesen who danced the sylph in La Sylphide,  Ulrik Birkkjaer who danced James and Sorella Englund who danced Madge, the witch. The scene that was chosen for the celebration shows James (who is supposed to marry Effie who is a real person) fall in love with the sylph. He is duped by Madge into acquiring a shawl that is poisonous to sylphs as a gift for the sylph. He wraps it around the sylphs body and she immediately expires. One wing falls from the sylph's tutu followed by another. She is carried away by her fellow sylphs. These are two fine virtuoso and one great character role which those dancers performed magnificently. As I have said many times before La Sylphide is my favourite Romantic ballet and I can't see enough of it. I already have my ticket for the performance of the Queensland Ballet in the summer (see Looking Forward to 2015 - My Choices 29 Dec 2014).

The other Bournonville work that is fairly well known in this country is Napoli. According to the programme

"Despite its southerly theme, Napoli has become the 'Danish National Ballet' - the costumes are Italian, but the joie de vivre is Danish, The third act with the pas de six, which is a purely classical composition, and the taratella, inspired by the Italian folk dance, has become the calling card of the Royal Danish Ballet."

This was the bit that we saw with glorious dancing by Susanne Grinder, Amy Watson, Kizzy Matiakis, Femke Slot, Andreas Kaas and Sebastian Haynes.

Haynes was impressive in Jockey Dance. Whenever one reads a biography of Bournonville or a history of ballet one is told that his great contribution was the development of an important role for the male dancer. Jockey Dance, which was Bournonville's last ballet according to the programme, is a great example of that. Two horsemen try to outdo each other in a race. The other was Marcin Kupinski, one of the company's principals. Needless to say he was exquisite.

My only criticism of the evening is that it was not enough. I would have liked to have seen the whole of La Sylphide and Napoli and I would have liked to have seen them on a big stage with scenery and an orchestra. In short I would like to have seen a season of their work at Covent Garden or The Coliseum. It has been 10 years since the company's last visit and I don't propose to wait that long until I see them again. I am getting used to crossing the North Sea to see the Dutch National Ballet and I am now checking out airline schedules for Copenhagen.

Looking Forward to 2015 - My Choices

Marie Taglioni in La Sylphide

Photo Wikipedia

Yesterday I listed my 11 favourite ballets of this year but what about next year?  Who knows!  But here are some likely candidates.

La Sylphide is not a ballet that we see very often in this country which is strange because it is set in Scotland. It is much less creepy that Giselle though it does have a witch and sylphs. The costumes are gorgeous: colourful tartan for the men and flowing white romantic tutus for the women. Løvenskjold's score is not quite as well known as Adam's but it is not bad. This year we shall have a taster when principals and soloists of the Royal Danish Ballet visit the Peacock on the 9 and 10 Jan 2015 and then the real McCoy in August when the Queensland Ballet come to the Coliseum.

The visit of the Queensland Ballet excites me for another reason. My dear ballet teacher Fiona Noonan, who put me on my feet with ballercise and then coaxed me into ballet just over 2 years ago, trained in Brisbane. She demands the best from her students and we strive to give it to her though I fear I do not always succeed. The name of the company's ballet school - the Queensland Dance School of Excellence - typifies its aspiration. Judging by this trailer for for the 2015 season we are in for quite a treat.


The company will dance at the Coliseum from 4 to 8 Aug 2015 and I have a ticket for the last night.

Last year the Dutch National Ballet Junior Company danced a short season at The Linbury. I reviewed their performance in And can they fly! The Dutch National Ballet Junior Company at Covent Garden 30 June 2014. They are returning to London with 7 new dancers in the first week of June as part of the Springboard season (see my interview with Ernst Meisner on the Junior Company 3 Dec 2015). I will see the show in Amsterdam on 6 Feb 2015 and will report back to you. A week after the Junior Company visits the Linbury the main company will present Wayne McGregor's Chroma and new works by David Dawson and Christopher Wheeldon as part of its Cool Britannia triple bill. It does seem a bit ironic crossing the North Sea to see some of the best of British choreography but there it is.

The one show of the Royal Ballet that I am not going to miss come hell or high water will be Ashton's La Fille mal gardée.  This is the oldest ballet in the modern repertory though Ashton's version is a complete reworking and very different from  the original work. It is my favourite ballet and I have seen many famous ballerinas dance the leading role. My all time favourite was Merle Park but I think Roberta Marquez, Laura Morera, Marianela Nuñez, Yuhui Choe and Natalia Osipova will all dance Lise well. I also this Carlos Acosta will make a superb Colas.

Another treat at Covent Garden will be Ballet Black's triple bill which will revive Will Tuckett's Depouillement. This was the work that led me to Ballet Black. Here is the pas de deux danced by Jade Hale Christofi and Sarah Kundi.

 

Christofi and Kundi have both moved on so the pas de deux will be danced by other dancers. When she visited Leeds in November I asked Cassa Pancho who will dance those roles in February. She seemed about to answer my question and then hesitated. "It's a surprise" she smiled. She has lots of good dancers to choose from. My choice would be Damien Johnson and Cira Robinson or Christopher Renfurm and Kanika Carr but any of the dancers of Ballet Black could do it well.  There will also be new works by Kit Holder and Mark Bruce.  I have tickets for the 14 February which happens to be my birthday.  I can't think of a better way of celebrating it than watching this company - can you?

So far I have discussed ballets that will be performed in London but there is some good stuff in Leeds too. Between 4 and 12 March Northern Ballet will dance Jean-Christophe Maillot's Romeo and Juliet at The Grand.  Ballet Black will dance their delightful children's ballet Dogs Don't Do Ballet at the Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre on the 18 and 19 April (see Woof 12 Oct 2014). Northern Ballet will also dance David Nixon's Wuthering Heights in Sheffield. between 18 and 21 Match 2015.

In Scotland there is Peter Darrell's The Nutcracker for Scottish Ballet which I shall see in Edinburgh on Saturday and Ballet West's Romeo and Juliet which I will catch wherever I can. From Wales Ballet Cymru promise a new Cinderella and two new works called Celtic Concerto and Tir. Finally, in Essex there will be a new Carnival of the Animals by Christopher Marney for the wonderful Chelmsford Ballet Company of which I am proud to be a non-dancing associate member. One of the reasons I admire Marney is that his style reminds me of  John Cranko. It just so happens that the company will also be dancing Cranko's Pineapple Poll with the new Marney. They will perfrom at the Chelmsford Civic Theatre between the 18 and 21 March. Last year every performance of The Nutcracker was sold out so don't leave it too late to buy a ticket. I wouldn't miss that show for the world,