West Australian Ballet
BALLET AT THE QUARRY
The Quarry Amphitheatre, Perth
February
IN SPITE of thunderstorm warnings, it was a perfect evening for watching a performance at Perth’s Quarry Amphitheatre – balmy but not stifling. Pleasingly, the West Australian Ballet’s (WAB) 2011 “Ballet at the Quarry” program was a particularly strong one. With just three short works followed by one longer, the program felt crisp and punchy.
WAB has a tradition of showcasing the work of emerging choreographers in its Quarry seasons. This year was no exception, opening with Saudade, by young choreographer David Jonathan, an ex-WA Ballet dancernow working at the Royal Ballet of Flanders. Neoclassical in style, Saudade is an ensemble work for 10 dancers. Many of the pas de deux have a bird-like feel, created by undulating arms and bodies, and accentuated here by the females’ pleated skirts, which seemed to allude to feathers. With no program notes and plenty of soft light on bare skin, this work is very focused on the dancers’ bodies. Although not particularly original in content, the piece is pleasant to watch and was beautifully articulated by the dancers. Performed with sensuous style, Claire Hill’s solo was a stand out.
Next, Ivan Cavallari’s Ombra Leggiera (Shadow Song) provided a moment of levity. The “song” is operatic, a recording of a piece by 19th century composer Giacomo Meyerbeer sung by Maria Callas. Two dancers, one the “shadow”, give an almost slapstick interpretation of the dramatic trills of the song. Clad in checked pants, Daryl Brandwood was clown-like, belying his po-face. Andre Santos, as the shadow, was a gallant side-kick, equally serious as he methodically worked his way through the Charlie-Chaplinesque routine.
As the sniggers from the audience confirmed, Ombra Leggiera is quirky good fun.
As anticipated, the highlight of the evening came next; Jirí Kylián’s Un Ballo. Created for seven couples and set to music by Ravel, Un Ballo feels like a celebration of the concept of pas de deux. Kylian’s choreography is liquid – the dancers flow through the space. The long black skirts worn by the female dancers billow as they are lifted, so that they appear to be floating over their partners, light as clouds. When the dancers pause in Kylian’s signature flexed-footed lifts with the women dangling upside down, the draped skirts make the poses look sculptural.
With much of the work performed as seven pas de deux in unison, there is no room for error in this work and the 14 dancers rose to the occasion with aplomb. Jayne Smeulders and David Mack’s opening pas de deux was an absolute treat: light, lithe and airy. Short yet sweet, Un Ballo left the audience longing for more.
The evening concluded with Uwe Scholz’s Seventh Symphony, created to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A Major. The presentation of this challenging, large ensemble work was slick and strong. Like Un Ballo, much of the choreography is in unison and the technical consistency demonstrated by the dancers was impressive. Particularly noteworthy was a trio consisting of Sarah Sutcliffe, Meg Parry and newcomer Anna Ishii, whose impish smiles and double and triple fouette rond de jambe en tournants charmed the audience.
Seventh Symphony had its premiere in 1991, and there is a dated feel to the work. This was not alleviated by the use of the original costume design, which sees the men in white high-necked unitards. Nonetheless, the clean lines and technically-demanding steps ensure that Seventh Symphony can still appeal to a contemporary audience, even if it does seem a little stiff and repetitive at times.
The 2011 “Ballet at the Quarry” program was a winner. Comparatively brief, it proved that less is more.
– NINA LEVY