Dance, Dance, Dance Little Lady

I think it can be agreed that dance - classical or modern - is an extremely expressive form: the movement of bodies and gestures can transmit a full range of emotions.   In narrative ballets the story is usually a very simple one and the emotions basic: Prince is bored, Prince goes hunting, Prince sees swan, Swan becomes human, Prince falls in love with Swan, love is thwarted by Evil Sorcerer, Swan is heartbroken, Prince and Swan die.  However if the story then involves the signing of a political alliance between two kingdoms, the warnings of a egalitarian cousin about economic troubles in the Kingdom, the nasty Countess who becomes the cast-off mistress because the Prince's father has found religion and a marriage is unconsummated because of phimosis things get a little more difficult for the dance creator and the dancers.

With a gesture that has appeared throughout the ballet Marie-Antoniette (Melody Mennite)
faces her fate with a new found dignity and acceptance.

And that is the problem with Marie the new (2009) full-length ballet based on the life of Marie Antoinette that the Houston Ballet brought to the National Arts Centre this past week.  There is just too much narrative and unless you were versed in the sociology-political-cultural  history of Europe in the 18th century you could be excused for being a bit confused.   When it is necessary to read the costume colour-coding published in the programme to identify characters then there is a problem. In a video introduction to Marie  choreographer (and company director) Stanton Welch remarks that he came up with the idea of a ballet based on a small segment of Marie-Antoinette's life then he found he "couldn't leave things out and the ballet grew and grew, until it became basically an abstract telling of her whole life".  Perhaps given the complexity of the tale he was trying to tell he should have stopped at the first "grew".

Now I can see my dear Simonetta raising an eyebrow and asking: but what about the great narrative ballets of the 19th century?   At the time they were created the gestures of pantomime were part of dance, drama and opera and audiences had a full understanding of them.  The scores of many of the 19th century ballets are filled with arrangements of melodies that would have been familiar to audiences - giving them an aural clue as to the action.  As the fashion for musical pastiche faded - even in the 1800s critics where complaining about the lack of original music in ballet scores - and stage acting became more natural lengthy pantomime sequences fell from favour and stories became more basic i.e. Prince is bored etc.

Melody Mennite as Marie-Antoinette

Today the language of pantomime - other than that practised by those irritating Marcel Marceau-want-to-bes who one can only wish would be trapped in a real glass box - is largely unknown; and though the score for Marie arranged by Ermanno Florio was a  "pastiche" taken from the works of Dmitri Shostokovitch, it would take a scholar to identify the aural clues, if indeed any were intended.  As a sidebar it would be interesting to see what sort of musical clue would/could have been used for poor Louis' medical condition.  Now "pastiche" is not a word I would have ever thought I'd write in the same sentence as the great Russian's name but it was an extremely beautiful score - how could it not be - and I only wish there had been a recording of it available.  It was a bit like  "Shostokovitch's Greatest Hits" in the style of the old Leopold Stokowski recordings.

But back to the dance.  It is when it is dealing with the most basic situations/emotions that Welch's choreography is its most successful.  Those are the four pas-de-deux for Marie and the two men in her story - Prince and Princess timidly approach their marital bed, Queen flirts and falls in love with toy boy, Queen sadly parts from toy boy, heart-broken Queen parts from husband.  When dealing with the court intrigues, the dissolute antics of Marie and her coterie and the pending unrest around them Welch does some interesting things but more often then not there was a temptation to laugh or at least snicker at some of the goings-on.  It would appear that the most outrageous things going on at Le Petit Trianon were bun fights, baguette sword fights, a penchant for gaudy pastel clothing and a bit of champagne guzzling.  Perhaps if the unrest that was rife in the country had appeared on the edges of the scene it would have had more impact but as it was it just seemed like mindless fun in the high-school cafeteria.  And initially when the revolution did break in on the insular world of Louis and Marie costuming and movement made it look more like a Zombie Apocalypse than the French Revolution.  However as the second act came to an end the intensity and tension suddenly built and carried over to the final act.

   An excerpt from the bedroom pas-de-deux from Act I of Maire: Melody Mennite 

and Ian Casady.  The music is from Shostokovitch's piano concert #1.

Much of that intensity came from Melody Mennite's Marie.  Never off-stage except for costume changes - and a few of those happened on stage - her Marie had a certain blandness for most of the first two acts but with her fall came a new depth in both her character and her dancing.  Also at this point Welch choreography gained in complexity and depth.   The earlier pas-de-deux - one with Ian Casady's Louis XVI as the Royal pair coupled was a little twee but did end in a touching kiss on the cheek that more than all the previous lifts and pirouettes told the story of Marie's relationship with Louis.  And that was one of Mennite's strengths - as well as being a technically fine dancer she is a fine actress.  This was more than apparent in the beginning of Act Three as Marie, stripped of all finery, sat with her back to the audience and was menaced by the crowd and the damning Citizen's Committee.  Her very stillness conveyed the terror and resolve of a woman who knew already what her fate would be.  The two pas de deux with Count Axel Fersen (Connor Walsh) had a sense of eroticism but it was the final pas de deux of parting with Louis that highlighted Mennite's ability as both a dancer and an actress.   The heart-break was palpable and the fact that we as an audience sat in silence for several beats before showing our appreciation spoke of the effect it had.

The company surrounding the three principles is a solid one however none of the dancers stood out from the crowd (Welsh's crowds were busy ones).  What did stand out where the production values - designer Kandis Cook had obviously given a generous budget and spent it lavishly but tastefully and with good effect.  As already mentioned the score was exceptionally beautiful and well-played by the NAC Orchestra under Jonathan McPhee.  And the mere fact that in this day and age of cutbacks to the arts worldwide that the company (61 dancers strong) could bring a production on this scale to us is a wonder.  But given what was being presented I can be forgiven for wishing that more resources had been put into creating a better piece of narrative dance.  As I said perhaps Welsh should have stopped at that first grew or when his piece grew to the size it had, taken a pair of judicious pruning shears to it and cut it back to the basic emotions.

21 October -  1910:  HMS Niobe arrives in Halifax Harbour to become the first ship of the Royal Canadian Navy.

A Revelation in Movement and Music

At the end of last week's performance of Revelations by the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre I joined the rest of the audience at the NAC in the ubiquitous Ottawa standing ovation - a tradition which I abhor with all my being. But in this case the pure energy that this marvellous troupe gave off as they launched in to the joyous dance that Ailey created to "Rocka My Soul" more than 50 years ago had  me on my feet clapping and swaying along with the rest of the audience.

Indeed the whole evening, that had begun with Streams - another Ailey piece, was an energizing experience.  But the company, recently revitalized under new artistic director Robert Battle, doesn't rely on energy alone: the Ailey tradition of a solid ground in the techniques of ballet married to the modern, Broadway and ethnic dance forms was evident in all the dancing.  Ulysses Dove's Urban Folk Dance  -  two couples battle for power in a pas de quatres of tension and changing dynamics - was the strongest piece of dancing of the evening.  Linda Celeste Sims,  Michael Jackson Jr, Hope Boykin and Mathew Rushing brought an effortless sense of style and drama to the  ever shifting charged energies (there's that word again) of Dove's athletic choreography.

But the highlight of the evening was Revelations.  Back when I was working for Ballet2000 I had translated several reviews of this piece and my friend David had written about it when he saw the company in London.  This was Ailey's signature piece and uses gospel and blues to trace the role of faith in the black history of America.  No where is that sense of faith more strongly evoked than in the "Fix Me, Jesus" pas de deux.  Ailey said it was meant to convey the strength of the faith between a woman and her pastor.

As well as the dance the power and emotional appeal of Revelations is in the music. And in glancing at the programme I noticed that the arrangement of "Fix Me Jesus" was by Hall Johnson.  Johnson was a pioneer in preserving the praise songs of the slaves and raising them to the level of an art form.  He researched and arranged spirituals particularly for the various choral groups that he founded.  Perhaps the most famous was the Hall Johnson Negro Choir that sang in the 1930 Broadway production of The Green Pastures - and repeated their contribution internationally, on radio, television and in the film version of Marc Connelly's adaptation of Roark Bradford's Ol'Man Adam and his Chillun.

The play portrays episodes from the Old Testament as seen through the eyes of a young African-American child in the Depression-era South, who interprets The Bible in terms familiar to her.  It could be claimed that Connelly's play is demeaning to African-Americans and those opinions were voiced as early as the film's release in 1936.  But I recall when I first saw the film on television many years ago I was moved and touched by the dignity of Rex Ingram as De Lawd and the magnificence of the music.  The following clip begins the story of creation - a gentle Sunday school teacher explains to his charges that heaven was just like a local fish fry - with food for all and 10 cent cigars for the men.  And without facility I say it sounds a little bit like heaven to me!

Much of the "old time religion" that flavours The Green Pastures can be seen in the third section of Ailey's journey through the faith of his people.  The Day is Past and Gone has a tongue in cheek poke at dressing up in your "Sunday best" and Rocka My Soul is redolent with the joy and power of the prayer meetings and missions he would have seen as a child in Texas.  The performance in the clip below has a particular poignancy as it was part of the celebration of his life at New York's Cathedral of St John the Divine in April 1989.  His troupe bade farewell using his own vision of  the religion that had given him comfort and strength and, as is more than apparent, joy.

In writing of Spirituals Johnson said:

True enough, this music was transmitted to us through humble channels, but its source is that of all great art everywhere—the unquenchable, divinely human longing for a perfect realization of life. It traverses every shade of emotion without spilling over in any direction. Its most tragic utterances are without pessimism, and its lightest, brightest moments have nothing to do with frivolity. In its darkest expressions there is always a hope, and in its gayest measures a constant reminder. Born out of the heart-cries of a captive people who still did not forget how to laugh, this music covers an amazing range of mood. Nevertheless, it is always serious music and should be performed seriously, in the spirit of its original conception

Johnson's arrangements were sung by some of the great African-American singers in recital and he coached Marian Anderson, Robert McFerrin and Shirley Verrett.  After his death Anderson said, "Hall Johnson was a unique genius.  For although he invented no new harmonies, designed no new forms, originated no new melodic styles, discovered no new rhythmic principles, he was yet able to fashion a whole new world of music in his own image."  Though I am not a dance expert the same could be said for Ailey in that his genius was not to invent new forms of dance but created a dance style drawing on ballet, modern, jazz, Broadway and eventually hip-hop.  He created a form of dance expression as unique as Johnson's music.

26 April - 1336: Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ascends Mont Ventoux.

A Short Evening of Petit

December was an eventful month musically with much going on operatically, orchestrally and on the dance scene. Couple that with holiday happenings and schedule conflicts meant some things had to be missed. But some fancy footwork and manipulating of TrenItalia schedules did allow me to see a Riccardo Muti conducted Moïse et Pharon at the Teatro dell'Opera on my birthday and then make a run to La Scala for the new Die Walküre the next night. Observations on both those performances should follow shortly. I had been looking forward to the mid-month Academia Santa Cecilia Christmas concert - note not Holiday Concert but Christmas Concert - and the opportunity to hear both Arthur Honegger's Une cantate de Noël and the much talked about young baritone Jacques Imbrailo but other commitments made it impossible.

However I wasn't going to miss the opportunity to see Eleonora Abbagnato, the Sicilian born premiere danseuse, of the Paris Opéra Ballet in Roland Petit's L'Arlésienne at the Teatro dell'Opera. And the fact that it was being paired with Petit's ground-breaking Carmen starring Polina Semionova, one of my favourite dancers, made the evening a must-see. So on the second last night of the year our friends Simonetta, Brigitte, Lorraine, Simon and Laurent and I ensconced ourselves in a palco at the Teatro dell'Opera for una Serata Roland Petit.

Abbagnato is as much known here in Italy for her commercials and magazine appearances (including a few of the gossip rags) as she is for her dance work but that all falls in the shadows when she steps on stage. This is a dancer who has "star" in every step she takes and even her stillness has impact. Though the role of Vivette doesn't have the showy opportunities that Petit gives to his male dancer in this tale of obsessive love it is technically and theatrically one of nuance and Abbagnato makes every moment on stage electric.

As often happens at the Teatro dell'Opera the originally announced cast list qualified as a work of fiction - Benjamin Pech, Abbagnato's frequent partner in Paris, was scheduled to dance Frederi but was replaced by Alessandro Riga, a dancer who received his major training here in Roma. It was an impressive substitution. Petit's choreography for the village boy driven mad by his love for an unfaithful girl from Arlés requires virtuosity as both a dancer and an actor: after a slightly tentative beginning Riga delivered both. That final desperate descent into madness was electric and the suicidal leap breathtaking. He is listed as a "guest artist" for several productions in the coming months - it will be interesting to see him in other types of roles.

I had seen L'Arlésienne many years ago when Petit's Ballet de Marseilles brought it to Ottawa along with the Carmen that he had revived for Karen Kain. I don't recall it having the same impact as it did in this performance. Even with the less than stellar company of the Teatro dell'Opera the power of this piece of dance-making, with the central drama set within the framework of the folk-inspired movements of the Corps de Ballet, came through.

Here is Eleonora Abbagnato with her frequent partner (on and off stage) Jérémie Bélingard in the final scene of L'Arlésienne. Unfortunately it is split in two clips and the dark setting does obscure some of the complex leg work that Petit demands of the male dancer - but Bélingard is incredible in this performance as is Abbagnato in a quieter way.

My friend Simonetta and I turned to each other almost simultaneously at the end of the Carmen and muttered "dated". This is arguably Petit's most famous work and one of his earliest - it was created in 1949 for his Ballet de Paris and more particularly for his wife the great French ballerina-performer Zizi Jeanmarie. Looking at it now it is very much dance theatre of its time - even the once striking decor and costumes by Antoni Calvé have a musty feel to them. On the way home Laurent remarked that he kept thinking "Gene Kelly" and there was a certain truth to that - the choreography has a quality to it that marks it as a piece of dance from the 50s. Perhaps with a Carmen of more sensuality than Semionova - she's just too nice - and a José of more passion than Robert Tewsley it would have had more impact. I recall seeing Semionova and Roberto Bolle dancing the pas de deux at a Gala two years ago and feeling at that time that there was something missing. In both instances the technique was there but not the sexuality.

The company put a good deal of energy into the performance and notable amongst the gypsies, cigarette girls and riff-raff of Seville was Alessandra Amato as the chief bandit. She is a dancer who has demonstrated rare skill over the past few years and it has been interesting watching her develop. Hopefully the Company's new director, Micha van Hoeck, will give us more opportunity to see her in other roles.

Though there have been great dancers who have assumed the roles of Carmen and José there have never been any to challenge the sensuality and sexuality that Zizi and Petit brought to those first performances. Fortunately it was caught on film in Black Tights, a 1960 dance film that featured four dance pieces choreographed by Petit for Zizi, Moira Shearer and Cyd Charisse.

It was an enjoyable evening but as I made note in the title a rather short one. Perhaps budgetary constraints stopped van Hoecke from programming a third Petit work to fill out the evening. It would have been interesting to see another of his works - Le Loup, Le jeune homme et la mort or even the Company's lead male dancer Mario Marozzi in Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune which he danced here several years ago. However given the current financial situation - the Company is only presenting 4 programmes this season - I should just thank the gods he was able to give us an evening of dance at all.

04 gennaio - Beata Angela da Foligno

Lunedi Lunacy

I was working on my ballet translations this weekend and came across a perfect Lunedi Lunacy and was all set to post it then realized it would be funnier if the source was there for comparison.

In 1905 Mikail Folkine choreographed a small piece for Anna Pavlova which was to become her trademark: The Dying Swan. It has been passed down as a show piece for generations of ballerinas, each one adding her own layer to the original. It is still considered to be one of the major test pieces before any dancer can be truly considered a Prima ballerina assoluta.

Back in 1959 the incredible impresario Sol Hurok brought the Bolshoi Ballet to North America. It was the first major cultural crack in the Iron Curtain. They came to Toronto which in those days didn't have a major theatre so performances took place in Maple Leaf Gardens - the home hockey rink of the Toronto Team. The Gardens was the site of many cultural events at the time - the Metropolitan Opera played there every spring, the Royal Ballet danced there and I saw Maria Callas in concert there. A stage was erected at one end of the arena, baffling hung and seating installed on the rink surface. I could never afford the seats on the floor so my vantage point was always from high up in the Grey section where binoculars were a must. That spring of 1959 I trained them on the dancers from Moscow for two performances and saw (?) the great Galina Ulanova as Giselle one evening and the incomparable Maya Plisetskaya in Swan Lake the next afternoon. I saw Plisetskaya on only one other occasion several years later when Toronto finally had a theatre and the Bolshoi brought a mixed programme to the stage. She was dancing that signature piece and there was no question that she was a Prima Ballerina Assoluta!




Another dance company that also dropped in - well more like crashed in - for the occasional visit was the Ballet Trockadero de Monte Carlo - the Trocs. This group of drag dancers has been taking the piss out of classical dance for years. And as anyone knows you can't properly take the piss out of something unless you are a master of it - and these guys are all fine classically trained dancers.

Each of their Primi Ballerini has performed their own unique version of the Fokine-Pavlova classic. My first experience was seeing the remarkable Ida Nevasayneva swan to her death to great acclaim. Here one of their more recent dancers, Maya Thickenthighya, has put her own spin on the demise of the Cygnus ballerinus. And believe it or not I've seen curtain calls exactly like that - but they were serious!



While searching for information on the Dying Swan I came across this article in the Independent. Dame Nanette de Valois had spent her early years as a dancer with Pavlova and it appears notated her performances. It follows the passing on of a dance from one generation of dancer to another.

27 settembre - San Vincenzo de'Paoli