His Majesty’s Theatre
Saturday 17 May 2025
Review by Nina Levy
As anyone who was fortunate enough to spend time in the company of Lucette Aldous AC knows, the legendary prima ballerina had a wicked sense of humour.
So it’s no surprise that her take on Marius Petipa’s 1869 rom-com ballet Don Quixote comes with extra emphasis on the “com”.
While this is the third time that West Australian Ballet (WAB) has presented Aldous’s Don Quixote – which premiered in 2010 and returned in 2017 – it’s the first time that the production has been staged since Aldous passed away.
Nonetheless, this production feels infused not just with its maker’s humorous streak but also with her fiery magic as an artist. That’s a credit to the directing team – which includes Aldous’s daughter Floeur Alder as artistic advisor to WAB’s Craig Lord-Sole, Reika Sato and Leanne Stojmenov and guest Fiona Tonkin – and to the dancers.
In terms of story, Aldous’s version of Don Quixote doesn’t stray far from Petipa’s. We meet Don Quixote, a man lost in a fantasy world of medieval gallantry, before we are transported to a Spanish village, where we encounter Kitri and Basilio, young and in love. There’s a problem, however. Kitri’s father wants her to marry the gaudy but wealthy Gamache. Comical capers involving the delusional Don ensue and a happy ending is achieved.
As is traditional when WAB performs classical works, this season is accompanied by West Australian Symphony Orchestra. Under the capable baton of much-loved conductor Jessica Gethin, the orchestra gave a sensitive and evocative rendition of John Lanchbery’’s arrangement of Ludwig Minkus’s score on Saturday night.
For any pair of dancers playing the roles of Kitri and Basilio in this production, the bar is set high; Aldous danced the role of Kitri opposite Rudolf Nureyev in The Australian Ballet’s iconic 1973 film production of Nureyev’s Don Quixote, a bravura performance that can be viewed freely online.
In Saturday night’s cast Dayana Hardy Acuña and Julio Blanes rose magnificently to the challenge. As Kitrti, the petite Hardy Acuña seemed to channel Aldous’s feisty sparkle, while Blanes radiated charm and charisma as Basilio. Technically they also impressed, with highlights including Hardy Acuña’s crisp footwork and impeccable balances, especially in the work’s many arabesque promenades, and Blanes’s dynamic and athletic grande allegro, in particular his soaring jetés entrelacé and saut de basques in Act II’s grande pas de deux.
As a pair they proved a powerhouse, their pitch-perfect promenades and lifts drawing ecstatic applause from the audience. Blanes’s execution of Nureyev’s one-handed lift was a showstopper amongst many.
In the titular role of Don Quixote, Jesse Homes captured both the humour and vulnerability of the old man, while Lorenzo Lupi, as his sidekick Sancho Panza, delighted the audience with his airborne antics at the hands of the villagers.
When it comes to comedy, however, it was Adam Alzaim, as the foppish Gamache, who stole the limelight, embodying the absolute silliness of his character with a gorgeous ragdoll-like physicality.
Allan Lees’s sets, lit by Jon Buswell, have stood the test of time, and Act I Scene II’s luminous moon, ghostly windmills and striated light create an appropriately ominous backdrop for the bandit dance. As lead bandit on Saturday night Joshua Ballinger gave a powerful performance, wowing the audience with his lofty barrel jumps.
The appearance of tiny stars and haze to obscure the floor gently transforms this scene into Don Quixote’s dream world, where Kassidy Thompson was a stately Dryad Queen, Pamela Barnes a spritely cupid and Hardy Acuña an ethereal Dulcinea. It’s interesting to note, at this point, how just eight years can shift one’s perspective. Watching a scene that revolves around an old man fantasising about three young women feels uncomfortable, to say the least, in 2025. This isn’t an issue unique to Don Quixote, or even to classical ballet, but it is to be hoped that ways can be found to present canonical works whilst acknowledging such power imbalances.
That said, it felt joyous to see this production of Don Quixote back on stage, and to feel Aldous’s spirit, once again, inhabit the theatre.
Don Quixote continues at His Majesty’s Theatre until 31 May 2025.
-Nina Levy