Review of Akram Khan's Giselle
Oops, this is a bit of a long post, sorry. I've finished another dance piece (see gallery) and have 2 pieces waiting for some finishing touches but they may not get done until next month as I'm moving again! If it all gets signed off ok, I'll have a really big room to live in with plenty of space to make art and do workouts. It's also handy for a couple of local galleries in an area which started an Open Studios event last year. As I'm mostly doing a ruthless purge of my things (such a liberating feeling!) and packing up, I don't think I'll get much work done for a few weeks, but we'll see.
The image left (urgh, terrible focus, sorry), needs a new base. That one was an experiment but I've found a timber place in Scotland that sells packs of round or square chunks with nicely sanded edges which will be my new source for bases.
Meanwhile, I still made time to see another ballet. I'm no dance critic but here's my take on a thoroughly modern Giselle by English National Ballet. which is showing at some cinemas. I may have mentioned not being a fan of classical music having had to grow up with it, nor being keen on the fluffy dress type of classical choreography. This version is not like that. Not in the least, with it's dramatic, slightly threatening soundtrack and minimalist set. It seemed to take some of the audience by surprise judging from what I overheard. Cast was Tamara Rojo as Giselle, James Streeter as Albrecht (good guy) (I kept thinking he looked a bit like Matt Smith of Dr Who fame!), Jeffrey Cirio as Hilarion (bad guy), Fabian Reimar as a distinctly Derren Brown-ish looking Landlord (probably really bad guy) (with equally unnerving gaze) and Stina Quagebeur as Queen of the Wilis (really lean and drawn looking I thought, but very expressive face and suitably intimidating presence. Good or bad...depends whose side you're on I s'pose).
The new story is set in a kind of factory environment with the corps being outcast workers, but sticks with the good guy/bad guy fighting over the girl starting premise. Good guy woos the girl while trying to avoid going up against bad guy (no, I wouldn't have risked it either - he was properly intimidating) but eventually succumbs to the forces of 'class', spurns Giselle and slopes off with his posh girlfriend! This is ballet so Giselle inevitably goes mad with grief then seems to be bumped off by the landlord and his minions. She ends up in the space between life and death where she is visited by Hilarion who genuinely did like her in a way-too-possessive-aggressive sort of style but the wilis take revenge on behalf of Giselle and relentlessly stalk, torture and dispatch him cos he's a bad sort and was partly responsible for her death. The Queen tries to do the same to Albrecht when he pops in but after a bit of messing around, with Giselle trying to decide if she forgives him or not for betraying her like a wimp, does the nice thing, tells the dismayed Queen to butt out as she's in charge of his fate and lets him go. He leaves alive but with the agonising realisation that he has lost Giselle and has become an outcast himself from his own kind. The End.
Same plot then with a different setting. So how was it? I really enjoyed it. It was incredibly absorbing with the starkly driving soundtrack - a woman behind said she thought the music was horrible but while it wasn't exactly melodic (I wouldn't have it on a playlist) it was very effective with the choreography, conveying a dark mood and powerful emotional states. I was really focused throughout as there was so much to absorb.The choreography is kind of ballet meets Kathak which I knew a bit about from watching BBC Young Dancer and it added an unusual dimension to the movements. Hand positions were often stylised with various fingers to thumb or hands in full extension or sharp contraction. The corps de ballet played a big part in many set pieces with the leads and those often had moments which evoked a sense of Bollywood. No floating around in the background for these dancers - it was full on movement the whole time.
The outstanding performer for me was Jeffrey Cirio, ENB's Filipino-American guest artist, though his eye make-up made him look distinctly Korean to me. But wow, can this guy convey things with his eyes. When he gets right in Albrecht's face, with the curled lip, the look is pure threat, venom and 'don't mess with me' (but actually I dare you to cos I'll flatten you!) challenge. When he sees Giselle in between worlds there are moments where much softer emotions pour from his eyes before he returns to his pushy, abusive ways. Oo he was so good and his dancing is terrific. Huge spinning leaps and just pure intensity - he had the best choreography in my opinion.
If I had a couple of gripes, I'd say that the characters beyond the main three had precious little to do except swank regally around the stage in their elaborate costumes, looking snooty and 'we're in charge here'. No dancing required which seemed a bit of a waste, and there was a point in the later stages where I was thinking: 'sheesh did she just croak again?? It got a bit confusing in the 2nd half as I also thought Albrecht had killed himself in remorse earlier. Drama queens eh. Oh well, it was all most excellent and I'm happy to have seen it on the big screen as I think the facial expressiveness would have been lost on much of a theatre audience unless you had opera glasses. Lots and lots of thoughts on how I'd like my sculpture to capture things like this so a good evening.
