|
|
The Australia Ballet's Lyrical
Triple Bill, New Romantics is inextricably beautiful, technically
demanding and audience engaging.
Balachine said 'dance is music
made visible', a statement evident in The Australian Ballet's
New Romantics.
With audiences gasping, teary eyed
and whispering remarks of amazement, the company's elite awed
the crowd with classical ballet given a contemporary edge.
George Balanchine was a leader
in the development of neoclassicism, and it was fitting for
the program to begin with his first contemporary ballet,
Apollo, which first premiered in Paris in 1928.
Almost 80 years after its premiere, The Australian Ballet
proved that Apollo's power and splendour is undimmed.
It is a work of sustained lines, requiring absolute strength,
many a ponche and beautiful partnering work. This performance
of Apollo was clean, mystical and although the stark
simple background and white costuming could leave the stage
feeling sterile, it had a warmth and beauty about it.
Guest Star Cedric Ygnace, of The
Dutch National Ballet, played a strong god like Apollo, a
perfect fit for the son of Zeus. Madeline Eastoe, Leanne Stojmenov
and Miwako Kubota performed as beautiful and engaging muses.
|
|
 |
|
Steven
Heathcote and Kirsty Martin
in After the Rain. Photo David Kelly |
|
|
|
Constant Variants,
a new work by Australia's Stephen Baynes was an abstract work
for eight of the company's elite, set to Tchaikovsky's Variations
on a Rococo Theme.
After the opulence and glamour
of
Raymonda, Baynes returned to
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Steven
Heathcote and Kirsty Martin, After the Rain. Photo: Justin
Smith
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
'it is a
ballet about dancers and their unique relationships with one
another. An unspoken love affair that is consummated
only onstage.'
Christopher
Wheeldon on his ballet After The Rain.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
focus on dance for its own sake,
choreographing a fluid and flawless contemporary ballet in
Constant Variants.
'The piece strikes me as something
of a journey' says Baynes. 'It begins at a point in time established
by the theme and continues to evolve through the eight variations'.
His statement was underlined as the dancers walked past each
other and stopped, as if life stopped for a second, and a
new journey began. Exquisite use of picture frames and lighting
gave the audience the feeling that they were privately given
glimpses of the dancers lives. They danced in and out of the
shadows and performed stunning partner work, highlighted from
above. There were beautiful lines, many and varied lifts and
all with a feeling of ease.
Madeleine Eastoe was outstanding as she floated through her
movements, making the most difficult of partner work look
so light and easy. Another standout was Telstra Ballet Dancer
Award nominee Daniel Gaudiello who was eye-catching and captivating.
Baynes' Constant Variants was an amazing work, and
provided a fitting transition from the work of Balachine to
the modern work of Christopher Wheeldon, who's piece After
The Rain concluded the program.
|
|
|
|
| After
The Rain was a ballet of bold movement and emotion, that
pulled at the heart strings of a stunned and mesmerized audience.
Beginning with a new freshness and a feeling that rain has just
fallen, the work ended with the familiarity of a couple deeply
in love, exploring the shifting emotions of their relationship
in a sensuous and deeply romantic pas de deux. One of the best
performances I have ever seen, Steven Heathcote and Lucinda
Dunn created poetry with their bodies to the beautiful music
of Arvo Part. 'Its just a really beautiful sensitive piece,
done to the most gorgeous music by Arvo Part' said Steven Heathcote.
Heathcote and Dunn seemed to be
caught inside the most beautiful music box ever created. They
danced flat shoed, stripped down to just a leotard and pants.
They held moments still, creating a calm, peaceful atmosphere
of devotion and love to an audience holding their breath.
The musicality was profound. It was the perfect end to an
amazing performance, followed by a standing ovation from an
enraptured audience.
Win tickets
to New Romantics in Melbourne! Click
here!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
