Broken. Motionhouse

A colleague had to give up tickets for Broken thanks to a work trip. Although contemporary is not really my thing I always like to try new things so headed off to opening night with a friend who is a fan of all things contemporary.

First up the 'music' or as we both agreed noise. It simply felt computer generated and didn't really drive the production forward. But put that aside the production was a series of disjointed scenes. Each scene incorporated nature breaking down from rock structures to volcanoes to caves to an earthquake, the difficulty being that it felt like the scenes were trying to tell a story but just didn't.

In each section the dancers worked with the amazing animations using poles and straps to add an extra dimension to the gymnastic movement. However, at times I felt the dancers distracted from the animations which seemed to move with the sound track instead of against it. The movements seemed jerky and although clearly required strength and skill, you could see the workings rather a smooth movement which would have drawn you in. There was often too much going on at any one time to allow you to focus or take it in and an over reliance on repetition became dull. I also found the exaggerated turn-in difficult and at times a  unattractive angle, although I accept they weren't striving for turn out to me it felt awkward.

All being said there were some good moments particularly the segment where the guys wore head lamps and the girls came in and out of the backdrop. We were also incredibly impressed at the precision the dancers used when interacting with the backdrop and animations. They seemed to hit the right spot every time, right on cue which really made a difference. Others in the audience seemed to love it with whooping and cheering but our overarching opinion was that it hadn't been a wasted evening but we probably wouldn't put this at the top of our watch list again.

Mr Wonderful: a celebration of dance

It's been a while since I was here but last night I went to Sadler's Well to see Mr Wonderful, an evening of dance in celebration of the life of dancer Jonathan Ollivier and I was inspired to write again.

I'm often cautious about new ballet, I struggle with the more abstract contemporary pieces. However, this evening had a programme and cast you couldn't miss and was truly a showcase of the wonderful world of dance as well as celebration of male dancers.

Matthew Bourne hosted the evening with warmth and humour. Holding the variety of pieces together he drew us through Ollivier's life in dance. Opening with an excerpt from Bourne's Sleeping Beauty you soon saw the theatrical nature of the night ahead. So highlights?

Mr Wonderful was revived after 25 years a fun humorous piece and hard to believe the dancers put it back together with just 2 rehearsals.

Rambert School's Gypsy Souls, a whirling group of gypsies took over the stage and brought a smile to our faces. Hats off to the dancers who lost his bandana and proceeded to dance with it in his hand, not missing a beat.

Given how often I listen to Paganini it is no surprise to find Marcelo Gomes and Charles Yang's piece next in my list. Gomes and Yang sparked off each other, leading each other on to the end, the dancing and playing both outstanding. I'll be watching The Royal Ballet's Rhapsody through different eyes next week.

I had never heard of the Michael Clark Company before this evening. They brought Bowie and Ballet together with strong striped blazers and a man on pointe shoes. The company brought attitude and I will be booking to see more from them.

Ollivier was a great mentor, inspiring many young dancers and especially boys. It was touching to have the boys from Re:Bourne join the programme to perform Tidal. The ebb and flow of the company bringing the sea to life.

To be honest the whole night was a highlight but the evening went out on high with excerpts from Bourne's Swan Lake. The men brought strength and grace to the lake with powerful performances, I'm sure there was a bit of black Swan in all of them. In a touching finish the cast crept back on the stage to watch a film of Ollivier performing The Swan ending with cast audience in a well deserved standing ovation.

There's always something about a gala, seeing smaller pieces less often performed and all the best bits of the bigger ballets. This gala had something else. A spirit and a joy that brought the ballet to life and made sure I'll be heading back to the barre and to see more from the companies on stage.

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Cassandra

So it's been a long time since I posted here. I wrote up my last Royal Opera House visit for work, do have a read here and let me know your thoughts: http://www.auroracomms.com/communications/ballet/.

Rodin, Eifman Ballet, Coliseum

I went to this ballet with anticipation but no real expectations. Sitting in the stalls, I was able to take in the beauty of the Coliseum as a theatre. I was excited at the prospect of seeing a company that is new to me, my first Russian ballet company.

I bought a programme but didn't read it until after the performance, so I based my understanding of the story on the Metro article from this morning. This was a ballet to watch from the stalls, or at least the front row of the lower circle, the faces are key. There wasn't a pointe shoe in sight and this was refreshing, allowing the dancers to move soundlessly. Sitting close to the stage you could see every tiny movement and their technique was amazing.

It was an emotional rollercoaster, tears welled up and I laughed. I loved the blend of ballet and something verging on musical theatre, bringing light and shadow to the piece. However, I missed live music, the Coliseum sound system sounded tinny, but I got my ear in eventually. The score blended seamlessly with the dancers into a great artistic piece.

I was disconcerted at first by scenes from a mad house and I took a while to unpick Rose from Camille, reading the programme first would probably have helped on this point. I loved the moments when dancers became marble, sculpted into sometimes unbelievable shapes their discipline was incredible. I felt that by act two the process of creating a sculpture was lost and the poster piece, the Gates of Hell was skated over and lost. That said my colleague felt it was a natural evolution of the piece.

I was impressed by the simplicity of the sets and the way the corp blended in and out of the backdrop. The mental institute scene at the end dropped like a bombshell, much as I guess Camille may have felt, a surreal experience in the realism of a studio.

I felt the ending was abrupt I wanted more... But I'll be back to see the Eifman Ballet, their technique was incredible. I've read the programme, I caught the key points without it. I say beg, borrow or steal ticket but be sure you can see their faces.

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Some ROH trips and Rhapsody / Tetracyts Art of Fugue / Gloria

Having been to the Royal Opera House four weeks out of six this year I'm finally getting around to blogging. Two performances of Giselle have been my definite highlight Steven McRae gave a shining crisp performance of Albrecht dancing with Roberta Marquez. I couldn't miss Marianela Nunez and Thiago Soares in Giselle so I went back for an emotional matinee performance, reinforcing why I can't miss seeing a cast with this pairing at least once in a run. I went back to see Liam Scarlett's Hansel & Gretel again in the Linbury, I was excited to see James Hay dancing the role of Hansel and I wasn't let down. I had hoped to get a seat in the main arena but ended up back on the stage side seating where I sat last year. However, the staging had been changed for this second time out and now I can say that this is a ballet 'in the round' or at least with two sides. Other outstanding performances from Ryoichi Hirano dancing the role of the witch again, Donald Thom as the Sandman, not a bringer of dreams and Bennet Gartside as the father, a man at the end of his tether. 

We also headed to the Opera for my Grandparent's diamond wedding anniversary and my grandmother's 80th birthday. Carmen was the pick of the night and we ate in the Amphitheatre restaurant before and were very well looked after by the staff. Now it's safe to say that my grandmother and boyfriend's mother were the only people in our party of eight that were really genuinely excited to be at the opera, the rest of us were only sure that we would see some great performances. By the end of the evening we were converted, a truly fabulous evening with familiar melodies, lovely staging and beautiful performances. So my Royal Opera House budget is going to go out the window this year.

Most recently mum and I headed back for another Saturday matinee to see the latest triple bill. We picked our performance to see James Hay and Francesca Hayward debut in Ashton's Rhapsody and treated ourselves to front row of the orchestra stalls. Set to Rachmaninoff's Preludes on a Theme of Paganini with a backdrop that had note of a Turner the moment the curtain rose we were on tenterhooks. The whole piece is carried by the central couple and the man in particular and James was amazing straight out of the box. We hadn't seen Francesca dance before but she gave a stunning performances, incredibly light and as a pair they shared great chemistry and performed with a sparkle. But not to forget the strong team supporting them the six couples dancing as the corps were beautiful, not distracting from James and Francesca but complementing them beautifully. The whole cast deserved the rousing applause they received as the curtain came down. 

Next up was Wayne McGregor's new 'company' work for twelve dancers and the casting was impressive although a shame to see the piece relying on so many principals and not making the most of the company's full range of dancers. I read the programme and had read some interviews ahead of the performance so I knew a little about it but was confident in the work of McGregor not mention the dancers he had collected on stage. However, I was lost by the dark lighting, the mathematical patterns were a distraction and at times there was too much going on for the eye to take in. The flexibility of the cast was astounding as they bent into a number of shapes, however by the end I was waiting for the dancing to start and felt cold. The costumes were not my favourite, at times see through and on occasion ill fitting and I failed to see why on a dark stage with a black background it made sense to dress a dancer in an all black unitard. It was sad that due to injury and illness the performance couldn't take place in the afternoon, but i'm not sure I would go back to it again although I would love to see Rhapsody again.

Finally Macmillan's Gloria, no applause allowed during this performance, which for the most part the audience managed to abide by. Inspired by Vera Brittain's Testament of Youth this ballet depicts the futility of war. Edward Watson and Ryoichi Hirano formed a strong heart for this ballet set against a stark background which brought the desolation of a battle field clearly to mind. The men in muddy ripped uniforms and the girls in ghostly greys all with drawn hollowed faces danced a moving piece, supported by the Royal Opera Chorus with the soprano sung by Anush Hovhannisyan from the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme. I'd like to see this piece again.