West Australian Ballet: Ballet at the Quarry -
Quarry Amphitheatre; 8 February -
Dance audiences in Perth have been spoiled for choice in the 2014 Perth International Arts Festival programme and it was gratifying to observe that West Australian Ballet under artistic director Aurelién Scannella more than holds its own in a high quality international 'challenge' of dance excellence and choreographic inventiveness.
Presenting a mix to satisfy all comers, West Australian Ballet's "Quarry" season offers dancers in top form in a slick programme of comedy, tragedy, satire, the first performance of a new work by an Australian choreographer, and also music by Tom Waits, Radiohead, Mozart, Richard Strauss, and even a snippet of Whitney Houston. Relaxing in a magical, limestone quarry setting with a stage backdrop of eucalyptus trees and the bright lights of Perth on a balmy night, what's not to like about that?
Choreographer Lucas Jervies, boldly and clearly without superstition, has named his new work Epic Fail and it opened the programme. The piece features six couples (ladies on pointe) in spangles, sparkles and sequins with large numbers planted on their backs. Four clip board-holding judges with 'this is very serious and I am very important' expressions on their faces appear, and also a lone concerned 'mother,' clad top to toe in lolly pink (Robert Mills 'en travesti'). In fifteen very entertaining minutes Jervies cleverly draws upon the worst excesses of YAGP (Youth America Grand Prix), So You Think You Can Dance and Strictly Ballroom with lots of artificial smiles and plenty of the contentious 'crotch flashing' positions, (or 'Hello Boys' in Roy and HG's gymnastic commentary), while characters vie for the ostentatious, glittering trophy on display.
It would be undemocratic to single out individuals as the whole company winningly dug deep into their characters' very different, mainly flawed-under-pressure personalities, and all excelled in Jervies' fast-paced, tongue firmly-in-cheek exposé. Elizabeth Gadsby must have had great fun coming up with the tasteless costumes and Jervies' Epic Fail succeeded epically on all levels.
Israeli choreographer Itzik Galili's Mono Lisa then brought the picnicking audience back to earth with seven minutes of slickly performed, exceptional dance. Set to the mechanical sounds of a typewriter, Florence Leroux-Coleno (on pointe) and Matthew Lehmann negotiated their way through this tricky piece with deceptive ease. Described as a 'spin on a push-me/pull-me relationship', it was a perfect fit for both dancers as Leroux-Coleno's sinuous, hyper-extensions and extreme flexibility and Lehmann's flowing insouciance and rock solid partnering enthralled the Quarry crowd.
The Sofa, also choreographed by Itzik Galili, to Tom Waits' fabulously raspy rendition of 'Nobody,' featured Claire Hill, Christian Luck and Alessio Scognamiglio in a brilliant and astonishingly physical and mind-bogglingly gymnastic five minute, slightly off-centre 'ménage à trois' set on and around a large yellow sofa. Hilariously funny with a few surprises, the audience, unsurprisingly, loved it.
After interval, the light-hearted mood changed abruptly as Edward Clug's Radio and Juliet, premièred in 2005 by the Slovenian company Ballet Maribor, and set to Radiohead's alternative electronic rock sounds and songs, provided perfect Festival fare to entertain, impress and intrigue audiences and stimulate much post-performance discussion and opinion. The work can be seen as a deconstruction of the Romeo and Juliet story and allows the audience to find their own interpretation and make their own connections.
The lyrics appear to guide the structure of the work. Presented as a series of flashbacks and some filmed sequences, an un-named female's relationships with six males, two of whom die, is explored in a unique choreographic style of quasi-classical legs and feet, and irregular arm and upper body movements - accentuated by the unbuttoned flapping jackets of the suited, shirtless men and often synchronised.
The result is 55 minutes of top-class drama and superb performances by the corseted female (an outstanding Brooke Widdison Jacobs) and a brilliant ensemble of Jiri Jelinek, Matthew Lehmann, Tim Harford, Christian Luck, Daniel Roberts and Liam Green. Green, in his first season as a Young Artist, is ably deserving of his place alongside the three principals, two soloists and the talented Tim Harford, newly joined from the Australian Ballet in the cast.
With an extra performance of "Ballet at the Quarry" already added due to demand for tickets, West Australian Ballet has definitely started 2014 on a high.
- Margaret Mercer