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Bolshoi BalletAugust 2007 London, Coliseum by San L |
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As posted on our Postings pages... This was very much an ensemble evening, and one of powerful physicality. In Class Concert, the strength and discipline of the dancers at the barre was awesome to behold. In Elsinore the dancers’ bodies were ‘bent and wrestled’ to the limit. In the Upper Room was all about bounce and energy. Class Concert was frustrating in that it provided all-too-short glimpses of the Bolshoi’s starriest stars (Antonicheva, Allash, Alexandrova etc) before snatching them away. Apart from that, it was extremely fun: why have one ballerina hopping en pointe when you can have three? Don’t do one jeté: cross the stage! At the same time! The Bolshoi’s students showed the highly competitive nature of the profession: all extremely good, and all still in school. The circus-y music helped to make the whole of Class Concert bright and big: an excellent start. Elsinore was an extremely negative piece – I could think of no positive associations with the choreography, mainly that of being trapped: entwining and encircling arms, much to-ing and fro-ing, much time spent on the ground – and prison-like bars at the back of the stage, behind which Dmitri Gudanov emerged to perform some vaguely Oriental arm movements. The choreography was very fluid and there were some impressive images. The dancers’ classical technique shone through occasionally which made me think that to some extent they were wasted in this (Lunkina! Alexandrova!). Gudanov gave a committed performance. Overall there was little variety in mood: the dark lighting and music bare of any warmth made for a rather miserable centre for the evening. In the Upper Room was also slightly disappointing but interesting all the same. The fog at the back was not always maintained, which spoiled some of the entrances and exits. The movement was very intense and fidget-y, and the pulsing energy was tremendous. Natalia Osipova and Ekaterina Shipulina led the cast with great vitality and attitude, with speedy Nina Kaptsova leading the ‘bomb squad’. To be fair to Mr Philip Glass, he must put a lot of thought into his musical ideas to make them extra-good, since they will then be repeated about 10,000 times. That said, the score (and ballet) sagged in the middle, which made the finale very exciting, but sapped the energy of the piece somewhat. I was not as affected as much as I had been led to believe from what I have read – I can certainly see the appeal of the piece. Perhaps repeated viewing would change my mind.
A mixed bill indeed.
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