all Schaufuss Ballet reviews

The result was an abandoned appearance in Edinburgh and frenetic activity for Schaufuss trying to sort things in the US, select songs without copyright problems and rechoreograph where needed. It's a nightmare of a position and underlines the need for everybody to be much sharper commercially. It might be at odds with the artistic temperament, but it matters greatly and getting it wrong is potentially very costly to both the company and its audience. While Schaufuss rescued the show you can't get away from the fact that the reworking in great haste has not helped deliver a classic to London. And that's a great shame because many remember Schaufuss at ENB and what he achieved artistically and have long looked forward to welcoming him back to London to see how he, and the company that bears his name, is doing.

The King we saw open on Thursday is probably best thought of as a premiere - well over half the songs used originally were no longer available and those who have seen both say that an awful lot has changed, with a general implication of not much for the better. And to avoid upsetting the Presley estate (who seem to be known as Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc.) the programme notes that this is a story about an Elvis Presley impersonator... called Johnny and working in Blackpool.

The original King seems to have been particularly strong on emotion and while there are some strong moments still - as in his passing on, overall I felt not too moved. The story broadly follows chronologically but it doesn't seem particularly to flow, or build momentum and each song is often treated very differently. There is, though, a recurring girlfriend, best mate and a mother figure with some duets. But the choreography seemed unexceptional, save in some of the more showy group numbers and one always had at the back of one's mind that the dance we were seeing was probably not choreographed to the music actually being played. But there were some inspired moments like doing a tap number to Hound Dog and Tutti Frutti featuring a strutting corps all in odd swim suits as if for a beauty pageant.

The designs, by Steven Scott, were effective and nicely OTT when Elvis - sorry Johnny - got into his Los Vegas period. They also illustrated the pressure of life at the top by having much of the dance take place on a small stage within a stage lit from above by the biggest light box you ever saw. And it lowered all the way down to the stage covering dancers at times - an effective prop.

Juan Rodriguez played the Johnny role - a fine communicator and seemed to get under the skin of the younger 'Elvis' particularly. I also liked the Mother figure - tall but expressive and tender in the dancing - Caroline Petter I think. Lisa Probert played the girlfriend - sharp and with long extensions: all the more a shame that the choreography didn't whip me up more!

Overall this was not quite the triumphant return we might have all wished for. For those who like Elvis this is probably a 'special' they have to see but it certainly lacks the overall 'dansical' punch taht Schaufuss was after. 'The show must always go on' is a great maxim, but its the stuff of fairytales that such last minute needless adversity can create great success. Hopefully the next time Schaufuss returns - as he surely must - the planning will ensure we get to see the company doing its best work.