The Australian Ballet: Paquita and La Sylphide -
Arts Centre Melbourne, 29 August -
The Australian Ballet’s pairing of Paquita and La Sylphide worked well on the whole although you might query why it is necessary to pair anything with La Sylphide. However, Paquita does give many female dancers a chance for display and for that reason is often a favourite with ballet school performances. Viewed as a display piece this Paquita had some superb high points but also showed up some technical deficiencies with not all of the dancers being up to the challenges of Petipa’s virtuosic choreography, which possibly still remains the ultimate test of academic classicism.
Among the high points was Ako Kondo who shone particularly brightly in the third variation. Completely on top of the technical difficulties she was able to convey the sheer exuberance of grand allegro. Miwako Kubota impressed also with a more delicate strength and precision, but the undoubted star was Olivia Bell. Regal, stately and flawless, she is clearly still at the height of her powers, exhibiting the style and strength this abstract choreography demands, not least with her perfectly controlled turns. Orchestra Victoria was particularly responsive to Bell in her variation (though not in the fouettés later) allowing her to embroider the musical lines. Adam Bull partnered Bell well but struggled uncharacteristically on opening night with the technical demands.
La Sylphide was a delight from start to finish, showing that nothing (well, almost) beats a well-constructed story ballet. Madeleine Eastoe, as the Sylph, is a dancer who just keeps getting better. From the beginning her dancing transcended technique as she wove her magical web around the sleeping James, a picture perfect Daniel Gaudiello (who says men don’t look good in kilts!) The early Romantic style privileges jumps, lightness, ballon and gracefulness – something both principals had in plenty. Eastoe was all shimmering gossamer and effortless virtuosity – an intrusion of the air element into the world of humans who, unlike the sylphs, are earthbound and so not on pointe. Amoral yet innocent in her pursuit of James, she is all playfulness and mischief and mercurial changes of mood. This elemental otherworldliness makes her demise all the more moving – blinded and deprived of her wings, she can no longer quiver or take flight, and her limbs are all too weighted and of earth, an element she cannot survive in.
Daniel Gaudiello was superb as James – he is another dancer whose star quality increases with each new role. He gave a well-rounded portrayal of the conflicted James, prone to destructive outbursts and tempted by something beyond the human sphere he should belong to. His dancing in the difficult Bournonville style is very fine indeed – he possesses excellent clean batterie, great ballon, soft feet and an impeccable sense of style.
Andrew Wright did a very fine job of Gurn both in the dancing and the acting, with a priceless imitation of the Sylph, while Dana Stephenson was equally good as Effie, with neither of them overplaying their roles. The whole company seemed of one spirit in this ballet to make it a very satisfying and even performance with fine ensemble acting and dancing. The Scottish reel was a highlight in an explosion of gaiety. And watching La Sylphide was a reminder of just how beautiful the lower leg line can be.
Madge the witch has a pivotal role in the ballet, seeing through to the weaknesses of others and manipulating them like puppets. While I personally prefer a more sinister Madge, Colin Peasley’s portrayal was masterful. He was a commanding presence from Madge’s first entry to sit by the fire, and his acting seemed to infect the entire company. The fortune-telling scene was a delight while Madge’s threatening aspect was also allowed its place.
Madge is part of the intrusion of the supernatural and the unexplainable into the fabric of the human world. One of the reasons myths and fairy tales persist is because they are not reductionist and offer us no glib answers. They remain with us, teasing us, as does the image of the elusive yet mortal Sylph.
And Bournonville’s choreography remains with us as well, undiminished in its joie de vivre, its freshness, its elegance. As Bournonville himself said, “It is the mission of art in general, and the theatre in particular, to sharpen the thought, to elevate the mind, and to refresh the senses.” In this he still succeeds.
- Irina Kuzminsky