Jerome Robbins:
"The Concert"
"The Cage"
"Other Dances"
"West Side Story Suite"
Royal Danish Ballet
October 29 and 31 2011
Arlene Croce once wrote that Roland Petit was the greatest name in Ballet Entertainment, and then added: He is also the only name in Ballet Entertainment. A great joke but not true. Based on merit, ticket sales and quality levels the title of the greatest name in that category must go to Jerome Robbins. He is also one of the greatest name in ballet. And the only regret I have regarding Nikolaj Hübbe's choice of works for this programme is that the ballet side of Robbins is underrepresented. Maybe to avoid this specific pun, Hübbe has named his programme "Broadway - for one night" but never the less a better combination of works could have made a better case for both the Broadway angle and for Robbins as the master choreographer Hübbe rightly admire and prioritize in the RDB repertoire.
In his second season we finally got "Dances at a Gathering" , a work the Copenhagen audience has wished for since it creation. Hübbe showed it in combination with "West Side Story Suite", and it was generally concluded then that the two works did not really suit each other and the heavy marketing effort regarding "West Side Story" brought in an audience segment believing they would see the musical and had little patience sitting trough a long piano ballet first.
This may have been one of the reasons for not restaging that specific programme and instead present "West Side Story Suite" with more eatable stuff. After all the job description includes bringing in more and never audience.
Chopin funny
Cage man and women
"The Cage" was a successful entry in the Ballerina/Danseur noble programme two seasons back and now as well as then showed how well the company could deliver this 50ties icon of a work. Unfortunately "The Cage" survives more as a piece of history rather than as a classic. Generally the second cast was also stronger with J'aime Crandall as the outstanding determinator as the novice. Her high energy levels and her ability to mazimize bodyshapes draw every bit out of the material. She is a strong, fast and intelligent dancer who's only weakness is that she cannot do the conventionally "pretty" stuff, but shines in abstract works and have a strong gene for re-vitalization of choreography, as seen here and in "Etudes". As the queen insect Hilary Guswiler used her long limbs and high energy to turn herself into a most convincing killer spider, a role type one would have thought totally in conflict with her normally romantic ballerina persona.
Chopin serious
As the only real premiere in the programme Hübbe has chosen Robbins bagatelle for Makararova and Barysnikov " Other Dances" and I am afraid that the term bagatelle almost suits too well. One could be a bit nasty and say that it was chosen as a short resume of"the Dancing of a Gathering"' and that way keeping it in the programme. It survives mainly as a vehicle for Alban Lendorf, letting him show his general qualities without giving him new bones to chew on. For the lady, danced by J'aime Crandall there is even less to grow on as the role is choreographed rather flimsy and the semi-classical tone give less opportunity for the women to really shine.
"Other Dances" will show at least three casts and so far Thomas Lund and Alexandra Lo Sardo is waiting in the wings. Created on superstars, having seen two casts so far one tends to conclude that it really is superstar material, not because of it qualities but for its lacks of those. It is also made on small dancers which is part of the problem of the second tall cast Amy Watson and Andrew Bowman. Both dancers seems in a career limbo. Amy Watson dances a broader repertoire than any other dancer in the company, but over the last seasons her performance levels have dropped and casting her as widely as the queen in "The Cage", "Other Dances" and as the singing "Anita" in "West Side Story" in the time span of only two nights would be overstretching even a bigger talent. Watson has a strong presence on stage but it is as presently working overtime to compensate for messy and unclear dancing.
Andrew Bowman has always been a strong technical dancer with limited acting abilities, who had mainly had his career heights in roles needing his strong technique and partnering skills. He has always had trouble building a stage personae and he has not reached it in his maturity. If Andrew Bowman cannot communicate why he dances he is on thin eyes in a work like "Other Dances" which is so personality driven, even though you cannot fault his technical contents.
Comparing Bowman's performance with the works in the Robbins programme of Jean Lucien Massot and Mads Blangstup, his fellow princes of younger years, it is easy to conclude that the other two are much better in showing and defining the qualities of mature dancers. In this programme Blangstrup and Massot will share the roles of the husband in "The Concert", second intruder in "The Cage" and Bernardo in "West Side Story".Both are strong defining characters in their roles (Blangstrup has yet to reprise Bernado, which he has done previously), hilarous in "The Concert" and captivating in "The Cage".
However there are great differences between them. Massot seems to have come into his own as a character dancer.He was a somewhat bland dancer in his princely roles cast primarily on his technical merits, but he is now having the time of his life with lots of opportunities to use his humour and bobly personality. in "The Cage" he create a strong, sexual presence keeping in touch with the choreografic master plan. Mads Blangstrup on the other hand is although he is succeeding in a new employ is still very much defined by his original qualties. He can act good, evil and funny but he cannot, nor should he, shed his defining qualities as a brilliant danseur noble, Therefore does the Pas de deux in "The Cage" take on the qualities of a romantic pas de deux. It will be interesting to follow the development of these dancers and one may still hope that Bowman also finds a way to create more interesting content.
Crossing Borders
Finally "West Side Story Suite" concluded the evening. I am afraid that the works lives more on its connotations as the world greatest modern musical than on its balletic qualities. Sure the brilliant choreography shines but using ballet dancers instead of mucial artists does not really raise the quality because Robbins cleverly choreographed for what a musical performer could do. Adding ballet dancers do not really bring an ad-on and by removing most of the plot and most of the songs weaken the story and reduces the female lead Maria to a bit player. Where Robbins should have made the case for moving his masterpiece onto the ballet stage should have been in his additional choreography but the concluding segment is strangely unambitious and right out corny and sentimental and does not give the dancers any chance to really make the case for the ballet suite.
I suppose one should be pleased by yet another programme that show how well the RDB can dance, act and entertain. Generally the programme are well casted and so on, but in the back of my mind I feel that it is possible to make an even better case for Robbins and RDB by choosing other ballets. I know that finance is tight but the back catalog includes good productions of "Fancy Free", "Afternoon of a Faun" and "In the Night" which would have raised the bar and shown Robbins at his best. Including a late masterpiece like "Glass Pieces" would have added the extra quality of showing how innovative and forward looking Robbins was throughout his whole career.
Photoes:
1. Alexandra Lo Sardo and Marcin Kupinsky in "West Side Story"
2. "The Cage"
3. "J'aime Crandal and Alban Lendorf in "Other Dances"
4. "West Side Story"
Video trailers from RDB:
http://video.kglteater.dk/video/3744263/broadway-for-en-aften-trailer
http://kglteater.dk/Alle_forestillinger/11_12/Ballet/Broadway_for_en_aften.aspx
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