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La Bayadère at the Paris Opera Ballet

La Bayadère
Paris Opera Ballet
Palais Garnier
Paris
29 May 2010 

by Marc Haegeman
copyright 2010 by Marc Haegeman  

Mindful of the centenary of Marius Petipa’s death, the Paris Opera programmed a revival of “La Bayadère” in Rudolf Nureyev’s well-known version. Nureyev’s opus ultimum, “La Bayadère” suffered less from his interferences with the choreographic schemes and dramatic concept inherited from the St. Petersburg background and has always been one of the more convincing items in his Parisian legacy. Having been mounted for most of the previous runs at the spacious Opéra Bastille the ballet was now brought back again to the stage of the Palais Garnier, where it had been premiered back in November 1992. The more intimate feel of the Garnier secures a different experience, drawing you even more into the production yet without diminishing the splendor and theatrical impact of Ezio Frigerio’s striking scenic design or Franca Squarciapino’s eye-catching costumes. I just wish they were better lit and especially the Shades Act less overexposed than it was now.

The Royal Ballet of Flanders' 40th anniversary season

by Marc Haegeman
copyright 2010 by Marc Haegeman

The Royal Ballet of Flanders celebrated its 40th anniversary this season. Within the local cultural state of affairs this is nothing short of a miraculous event which has to be welcomed with as much relief as joy. For Belgium’s only academically trained professional ballet company, these four decades have been neither easy nor obvious and more often than not healthy artistic aspirations were overshadowed by a chronic lack of funds. And they still are. The arrival of Australian Kathryn Bennetts as artistic director in 2005 resulted in a change in approach. Serious efforts to upscale production standards and profile did definitely contribute to put the company on the map – if, perversely, perhaps with more success abroad than locally. One of the main issues, however, remains the development of a repertory. In dropping everything anterior to 2005 Bennetts bravely made this responsibility totally hers. Yet the current season wasn’t in any way different from the preceding ones, in that it didn’t give us any real indication where the company is heading to and in what way it is going to survive the next 10 years. While solid productions of "The Sleeping Beauty" and "Swan Lake" were recently acquired, the emphasis lies clearly on performing the beloved Forsythe – to compare this season Flanders will have danced 12 performances of "Artifact" and 12 of "Impressing the Czar" against 8 of the new "Swan Lake" – and the newly added pieces don’t always inspire the same amount of confidence for the future.

Dancers' Night: "The Evolution of Ballet" in Belgium

The Evolution of ballet – Royal Ballet of Flanders
Theater ‘t Eilandje, Antwerp, Belgium
October 2009

by Marc Haegeman
copyright 2009 by Marc Haegeman

What a brilliant idea of the Royal Ballet of Flanders to include a special programme focusing on the history of ballet. It’s no secret that in Belgium classical ballet remains largely uncharted territory for the general public and although the company is celebrating its fortieth anniversary this season, a ballet-minded or informed audience is about as rare in this country as intercommunal agreement. 

The formula for “The Evolution of ballet” is as simple as it is efficient. Guided by a speaker, ballet master Gideon Louw, the audience was introduced to a series of dance fragments performed by members of the company, starting with "La Sylphide" and going by way of the greats Petipa, Balanchine, and Forsythe to the present day. A film projection spotlighted on the Ballets Russes, celebrating their 100th anniversary this year – and, as we learned, visitors to Antwerp in 1922.

"Artifact"- Next episode of the Flemish Forsythe saga

"Artifact" - Next episode of the Flemish Forsythe saga
Royal Ballet of Flanders
Flemish Opera
Antwerp, Belgium
22 May 2009

by Marc Haegeman
copyright 2009 by Marc Haegeman

 I suppose it's impossible to find anybody interested in dance these days who has never heard or seen anything of William Forsythe. His presence and influence in the last two or three decades is so significant, one surely must have been living on a different planet to have missed it all. And yet when I attended the revival by the Royal Ballet of Flanders of “Artifact”, the first piece Forsythe originally created for his Frankfurt company back in 1984, I couldn’t help thinking that total unfamiliarity with the man and his work might have been the most profitable situation in order to enjoy the evening.

Farewell of a Giant

Farewell of a giant - Manuel Legris, never less than a hundred percent.
Onegin
Paris Opera Ballet,
Palais Garnier
Paris
15 May 2009

by Marc Haegeman
copyright 2009 by Marc Haegeman

On May 15 Manuel Legris danced his official farewell with the Paris Opera Ballet. For more than twenty years Legris has been one of the company’s most brilliant and acclaimed étoiles. An artist of incomparable commitment, energy, generosity, and versatility, he was the last étoile of the Nureyev-era remaining at the Opera. Nominated by Rudolf Nureyev while still only a 22-year young sujet following a performance of "Raymonda" on tour at the Met in 1986, Legris has as most Parisian dancers of his generation been strongly marked by his towering personality and credos. A performance by Legris was always an exchange, with his partners, and with the audience. He was never on stage for anything less than a hundred percent. He danced all the great classics in the repertory and a lot more, virtually every major contemporary choreographer created works on him, and since 1996 he has his own touring group “Manuel Legris et ses étoiles”, allowing younger dancers to try out new roles or work with choreographers. His retirement closes a chapter in the history of the Paris Opera.

The Bolshoi Ballet finds a new Spartacus.

"Spartacus"
Bolshoi Ballet
Royal Theatre Carré
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
25 July 2008

by Marc Haegeman
copyright 2008 by Marc Haegeman

By chance audiences in Amsterdam's Royal Carré Theater were able to attend two debuts in one of the Bolshoi Ballet's most legendary roles, Yuri Grigorovich's “Spartacus.” First came Ivan Vasiliev, the company's 19-year old wunderkind, who had so far only danced the 1st Act in a special performance in Moscow a few weeks earlier, followed the next day by the much lesser known corps de ballet artist Egor Khromushin, whose debut had to be advanced because of an injured Dmitry Belogolovtsev.

The Mariinsky Ballet in Salford

The Mariinsky Ballet
“Gala programme”, “Don Quixote”
The Lowry
Salford, UK
May 15-17, 2008

by Marc Haegeman
copyright 2008 by Marc Haegeman

Has there ever been a time when the Mariinsky Ballet on tour didn’t look like a company under pressure? That must be ages ago. For years observers have been excusing the absence of truly memorable company performances with the explanation that the dancers are jetlagged, tired and overworked, or covering their disappointment with references to the good old schooling, tradition, and style. But nonetheless, as we know, the Mariinsky is still the Mariinsky, and as in every great company there is always a hidden gem to be found, a flash of brilliance, a second breath, even when the general impression left by these tours is often one of sad artistic neglect.

Balanchine-Nureyev-Forsythe at Paris Opera

Balanchine-Nureyev-Forsythe
Paris Opera Ballet
Opéra Bastille
Paris, France
5 April 2008

by Marc Haegeman
copyright 2008 Marc Haegeman

With its latest triple bill simply called ‘Balanchine/Nureev/Forsythe’ the Paris Opera Ballet invited us to rediscover the styles of three major figures of 20th century ballet, each in his own way expanding and transforming the classical legacy of Marius Petipa. To illustrate this, the company revived George Balanchine’s “The Four Temperaments”, a short suite of extracts from Rudolf Nureyev’s full-length “Raymonda”, created for the Opera in 1983, and “Artifact Suite” from William Forsythe, distilled from his evening length 1984 “Artifact.” Not the most balanced choice of works perhaps for such an ambitious programme, but one which had at least the merit to say something about the present state of the company itself, if not about the personalities and their respective styles it wanted us to compare.

New York City Ballet in London

New York City Ballet
Balanchine and Robbins programmes
Coliseum Theatre
London, England
March 15-16, 2008

by Marc Haegeman
copyright 2008 by Marc Haegeman

Besides its treasure-trove of ballets, the most fascinating thing about New York City Ballet for European dance lovers is that the company looks so completely different from anything we are used to seeing here. The full troupe last visited London a quarter of a century ago, but even if it had been only five years it wouldn’t have made much difference. It still takes time to adjust to the different aesthetics and accents, but in the end the experience proves, if not always revelatory, at least absolutely refreshing. However, even when taken on its own terms, there’s no denying that in the mere three performances I caught at the London Coliseum, City Ballet left an uneven impression, depending very much of the leading casts. Or, to continue the delightful British analogy overheard in the theatre, this “exotic bird” not only has “striking colours”, it can also sing pretty much out of tune. Part of the problem was that there were very few ballerinas present who could act as linchpins. Maria Kowroski, Jenifer Ringer and Jennie Somogyi didn’t make it to London. We did have Wendy Whelan and Darci Kistler, although frankly, casting the latter in “Serenade” didn’t seem such a good idea at this point. Yet most of the other female principals look like kids, perky little teenagers, but not ballerinas. The only exception is Ashley Bouder, who is, with her star magnetism, her stunning technique and musicality, her communicative pleasure of performing, a tremendously gifted artist you would want to see over and over again. The men generally made a slick impression, but they too are young and you wouldn’t want to trust them very far with anything outside of their own repertory.

"The Nutcracker" in Paris

“The Nutcracker”
Paris Opera Ballet
Opéra Bastille
Paris, France
December 8, 2007

by Marc Haegeman
copyright 2007 by Marc Haegeman

Rudolf Nureyev never made it easy for himself or his dancers. The only thing that awaits Clara in his production of the “Nutcracker”, revived by the Paris Opera Ballet this December, is some fiendishly difficult choreography. The performance I saw at the Opéra Bastille on December 8 wasn’t one you wanted to reward with sweets and colourful presents, even if in a period once again riddled with social conflicts, strikes and canceled performances at the Opera, one is prepared to cut the dancers some slack.