BALLET REVIEW: PARIS OPERA BALLET’S “ROMEO ET JULIETTE” 

Last night I had the honor of watching Dorothée Gilbert and Hugo Marchand perform Romeo and Juliet at the Opera Bastille, with choreography and staging by Rudolf Nureyev. By the time I purchased my tickets at the end of February, the entire March and early April run was nearly sold out. This is clearly a production that Paris adores. 

The sets and staging are sumptuous and dramatic. Nureyev was inspired by “West Side Story” and it shows. One can feel the drama and tension between the Capulets and the Montagues. The fight scenes are long, intricately choreographed, and Nureyev uses every person on stage. 

This R+J focuses on Romeo. When he enters the stage, it’s a grand solo entrance. There’s foreshadowing about his being born under a cursed star, with appearances by dice rollers and the untimely death of a beggar. Had I not read show notes in advance, these references would have been lost to me. He gets small solo sections here and there, expanding more upon the Romeo role than in the MacMillan version. 

When Juliet first appears, she’s barely able to be identified. She’s dancing in a group of her friends and wearing a nearly identical costume as everyone else. Rosaline had so much dancing time at the intro that my friend seeing the show for the first time, thought that Rosaline was Juliet at first! 

Finally after we see Romeo and his friends having a merry time, Romeo and Juliet meet at the ball of the Capulets. This piece of music happens to be one of my favorites, and Nureyev does the Capulet party ensemble grand justice. I have never been a fan of “filler” corps dance scenes, but the Nureyev R+J ones are grandiose and fill the music.

Here is the moment for Romeo and Juliet to meet, fall in love, and embark on their grand and cursed journey in love. The music swells, the lovers dance, and... nothing. I felt nothing. I kept waiting for the movements to match the music in grandeur, desire, desperation and longing, but there was nothing. Technically, not a hair was out of place for our Romeo and Juliet, but emotionally, I did not feel the mad magnetic attraction between them. 

Nureyev spends so much time paying homage to other details of the original story and opening up the exposition of the Capulets vs the Montagues, that by the time our lovers meet, decide to marry, get separated, and die together, it all seems rather rushed. It’s as though he had to put in these plot points because it is the story that everyone knows.

Perhaps I am biased from watching the pas de deux from MacMillan’s version so many times - but you could really feel all stages of the evolution of their relationships: from falling in love (the balcony pdd), to the pain of separation (Juliet’s bedroom pdd), to the final drama and realisation of each other’s deaths (the crypt scene pdd). 

Tybalt - Audric Bezard and Mercutio - Allister Madin brought life to their roles and owned the stage. Allister was in particular a fan favorite that night. 

Dorothee Gilbert is of course a fine étoile of the Paris Opera Ballet. I have watched her R+J PDD on YouTube many times. In the video up close, you can see all of the small nuances that make her performance so wonderful. But sitting back in the audience, even still in the parterre, some details were lost. 

I feel the role of Juliet gets shortchanged. She goes from spritely maiden dancing with her cousin, to teenager in love, to petulant teenager defying parents, to... being visited by ghosts and choosing magical potions. While Romeo has stage-time, I don’t feel invested in his development either. I’m not rooting for him. To be blunt -  I felt he was bland. Tybalt and Mercutio stole a bit of the show from him. 

In all honesty, the MacMillan R+J pdd’s are my favorite ballet pieces of all time. So, it would be difficult to watch something new for the first time and have it measure up. Nureyev has given the Opera de Paris a grand and dramatic Romeo & Juliette that is their own (but why does the Opera de Paris advertise it with contemporary photos...?). It is his vision come to life, one that will delight viewers both new and knowledgable to ballet. 

But maybe, if I ever want to be moved to tears like I did when I watched Alessandra Ferri perform Juliet’s bedroom pdd, I will need to head across the pond or the Atlantic to watch my beloved MacMillan version... 

Photos via Paris Opera Ballet / Julien Benhamou

Marcelo Gomes and Veronika Part perform the White Swan pdd in YAGP's "Ballet's Greatest Hits"

In December 2012, there was a Kickstarter campaign to fund the filming of a ballet DVD/theatrical release of the YAGP gala. 

Now it's available for rent/purchase on iTunes and amazon. (Hint: You don't have to purchase the $19.99 HD version on iTunes, click the price button for a dropdown to just purchase the $14.99 standard version). 

For whatever reason in the final version, the segment of La Bayadere with Isabella Boylston & Joseph Phillips got cut because of musical licensing reasons? And they also cut out the Pas de Duke performance of the Ailey dancers :( 

Onto the DVD: Marcelo Gomes & Veronika Part (ABT) oozed elegance in the white swan PDD. You can tell that women always love partnering with Marcelo, and Veronika is one of the most under-utilized principals at ABT. Her costume could've been better (floppy tutu!) but her and Marcelo can do no wrong. She has long, languid lines and is always super expressive. 

Hee Seo (ABT) and Alejandro Virelles (Boston Ballet) did the Pdd from Alexei Ratmansky's The Nutcracker. Oh, so THAT'S what it's supposed to look like! I had seen Daniil Simkin and Sarah Lane perform it at BAM, but there were a couple of partnering glitches and Sarah's shoes were so loud on the BAM stage that it was a little distracting from her usual crystalline technique. Hee Seo is coming into her own, I saw her debut in Romeo & Juliet in Detroit a few years ago, and the performance was pretty but not a lasting one. Now she seems to have developed more confidence and smiley stage presence. Alejandro Virelles from Cuba has great energy and was the perfect cavalier, good find Boston Ballet!! 

Greta Hodgkinson from National Ballet of Canada (and sorry I am forgetting her partner's name) did the 2nd act Pdd of Giselle, with Stella Abrera (ABT) as Myrtha. Stella is another one of my favorite dancers who doesn't see enough stage time, and her Myrtha was controlled and ruthless, but I still don't love the role of Myrtha. It always seems to under-utilize the dancer who gets the role (see Marie-Agnes Gilot looking fierce and glowering while Aurelie Dupont gets to do all of the dancing in the POB version). 

Ashley Bouder and Daniel Ulbricht from NYCB did "Flames of Paris", which is outside of their usual Balanchine repertoire. Oof, again, the costumes! Not my favorite. Bouder's peasant costume looked more Giselle than French revolutionary. For Ashley this performance was nothing unusual but I'd never seen Daniel perform so it was a pleasant surprise. I've also seen Osipova & Vasiliev perform this at an ABT gala, and watched Catherin Hurlin & Shu Kunoichi perform it at the JKO school performance. 

Don Q closed out the DVD, with Taras Domitro and Maria Kochetkova (SFB) as Basilio and Kitri and Skylar Brandt (ABT) as a flower girl. Taras and Maria are on fire, they know their roles in Don Q inside and out. Kochetkova hits every step with perfect timing and her balances and turns are superb. Skylar Brandt is also spotless, she seems to flow effortlessly across the stage and really embodies the steps. 

Each performance excerpt has segments of interviews with other dances and choreographers such as Alexei Ratmansky, Alessandra Ferri, Misty Copeland, Denys & Mathieu Ganio, Nigel Lythgoe, Benjamin Millepied, and so forth, so it helps break up the monotony of the gala segments. 

"...it showcased the theatrical ardor and solid technique that Ms. Kirkland is passing on to a new generation."

Wish I could've seen this! All sold out :( 

2013 ABT Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House

Thanks to the 18-to-29 club, I saw three performances of ABT at the Met Opera House this year. Wish I had known about it earlier!

The 18-to-29 club is a pain to join (no online application, really??). You have to either fax or snail mail your application with a copy of your i.d. (and if you’re buying tickets for two, you need that person’s i.d. as well). There are also black-out dates for certain performances (usually no Sat evenings).

Orchestra seats are $30 (plus processing fees and all of those fun things). The 18-to-29 club seats are waaaay on the side, into partial view territory. When I saw Le Corsaire, I could not tell that Conrad and Medora had survived the shipwreck!

But, truth be told, there were always empty seats and we just scooched over as close as we could. It was nice to be able to see people’s faces for once, and not just be dots from the fourth partierre / balcony.

This year I saw…

1. Onegin Tatiana: Irina Dvorovenko, Onegin: Cory Stearns It was the matinee show, and I saw my future. It was a sea of elderly people with white hair. That will be me! Anyways, it was one of Irina’s last performances as this year she retired. Strange that she only had one performance, and it was right at the beginning! How bittersweet it must be to retire from the stage. I have been wanting to see Onegin for awhile, so it was a treat to see it. Lately I am more curious about neo-classical ballets like Onegin, Manon, and La Dame aux Camelias. Wish I could’ve seen more of Irina before she retired :( Cory Stearns was a very striking and handsome Onegin but he has some room to grow dramatically. Gemma Bond as Olga lit up whenever she danced with Onegin (maybe because her and Cory are dating in real life, haha). But this performance was all about Irina, who can really do no wrong. She is a fully-fleshed out dancer in many forms, and she can retire knowing she danced practically every role and then some. More than that, in interviews, she just seems like a really pleasant person and an old, caring soul (with a touch of glamour, of course). (final curtain call video)

2. Ratmansky Premiere, Shostakovich. Dancers: Stella Abrera, Sascha Radetsky, Hee Seo, Sarah Lane, Yuriko Kajiya, Christine Shevchenko (subbing for an injured Gillian Murphy), Xiomara Reyes Hrm, this was… interesting. Ratmansky choreography has a lot of intricate partnering, it gives everyone something challenging to do (no corps members sitting idly as props or repeating the same boring motif). I’ve read all of the reviews and I’m still not sure what to make of some of it. Certainly a stimulating and intellectual night of ballet. Many heavy undertones of soviet oppression. People actually making themselves look like a sickle. Costume note: unitards are never flattering, no matter how amazing a dancer’s body is! Christine Shevchenko was fierce, dancing full-out in the first piece, and fearlessly leading the last piece in the same night (whew, must’ve been tiring!). She does Ratmansky choreography well. 3. Le Corsaire Medora: Paloma Herrera, Gulnare: Stella Abrera, Lankendam: Sascha Radetsky, Conrad: ?, Birbanto: Joseph S. Phillips, Ali: Ivan Vasiliev, Odalisques: Melanie Hamrick, Kristi Boone, and ____. As my friend put it, “Le Corsaire is like soul train for ballerinas." It’s pretty campy. But it’s fun! And if Stella was dancing of course I had to see her perform. The new sets are beautiful and resplendent. The whole cast was spot-on. Paloma looks like she could do this role in her sleep. Stella was sparkling with pure and clean technique as usual. It was cute to see her dance with Sascha as Birbanto. Joseph S. Phillips is great, hope to see more of him. The crowd roared for Vasiliev’s jumps. Can’t believe I don’t remember who Conrad is, but even though it’s the main male role, I find it to be the most boring out of all of the characters! Zhong-jing fang was totally giving face as the lead pirate lady, her mime was great, she is always a very expressive character dancer. Luciana Voltolini and Calvin Royal III were also very good in their pirate dance.

Pointe Shoe Rants/Reviews

Freeds:

Made in London, one of the most overwhelmingly popular shoe of the field, used practically exclusively at NYCB and a favorite among etoiles of the Paris Opera Ballet. 

Pros - really supple shank breaks in easily, molds to your foot and arch very nicely. Really flat bottom and profile of the shoe makes you feel very stable on flat. Wider platform of the box makes balancing easy. Very easy to roll-through pointe.

Cons - I've only tried the Classics, but I feel like these are the flimsiest, most painful shoes. If you have strong feet, you practically need a new shoe every day! They break in fast - a little TOO fast, and I could feel the floor with my big toe very easily. Quality varies a lot by maker, so it's very frustrating to find consistency. The toe box is very boxy, not a look I am fond of.  You can use jet-glue and other tricks to make the shoe last longer, and you can request specific makers, but it's just too much work for me. U-shaped vamp. 

Gaynor Mindens:

A bit controversial in the ballet world, these new-fangled pointe shoes use a new material to replace the traditional glue-and-paste-and-fabric combo of every other shoe. 

Pros - These things last practically forever. No glue that breaks down, no shank to break-in. They are super lightweight and quiet. They are engineered to reduce injury and be kind to your joints. There's built-in padding at the tip of the toe box, so some ballerinas wear it without any additional toe pads. Some ballerinas swear by these shoes and never go back to traditional ones. 

Cons - These shoes will never mold to the shape of your foot, so the biggest drawback is that they don't make the prettiest picture. I also found the shape of the shoe to not fit my feet, I kept getting big wrinkles and gaps in the arch because this shoe has a very flat profile. 

Grishko:

The preferred company of Russian ballet companies. Made in Russia. 

Pros - Well, I wear these shoes, so they are my favorite, and this review will be very biased, haha. I think looks-wise, they are the prettiest shoe. A bit paler peach, a bit more tapered with more of a V-vamp. Dancing-wise, they are the best! They offer the best support and are more durable than Freeds. Dancing in them just feels good. I love the 3/4 shank of the 2007's, and also the Triumphs are amazing because they're basically the Fouette with a 3/4 shank, and the last of the Fouette fits my foot much better than the 2007. I tried many models of Capezio / Bloch and then once I switched to Grishko I never went back. It's just a superior shoe. Also, I just slip on some toe pads and the Grishkos never give me any blisters, whereas something about the shape and make of Freeds, I always get blisters! 

Cons - They are a harder shoe, so sometimes they can be a bit noisy. They tried to fix this with their "pro" shanks, but the shoe felt different. In the newer models like the Triumph and the Miracle, I don't think noise is as much of an issue. Not as easy as a Freed to roll through pointe, but I much prefer the stability of these shoes for turns and balances. 

Conclusion:

At the end of the day, everyone's feet and bodies are different, so to each his own! Get professionally fitted and find what works for you. And if you've been wearing the same shoe for years, don't be afraid to try a new model every now and then.