Balanchine & Strawinsky
Apollon
Agon
Symphony in Three movement
The Royal Danish Ballet
April 27 & 28, 2012
With more than 25 ballets in the repertoire history of Royal Danish Ballet, Balanchine is a key choreographer for the company. Ad the proximately 20 ballets by Robbins and Martins, and the strong NYCB link emerges. It does not stop there. Plus-10 Danish dancers have been engaged by NYCB, some in very central positions and Stanley Williams, a key figure in NYCB and School of American Ballet, is an alumni of the RDB school and a principal dancer and teacher at RDB. Today RDB also have a handfull of SAB-alumnies, including principal dancer Amy Watson. Both companies are headed by a Danish principal who has spent most of his career in NYCB. Next season's highligt includes productions by two RDB/NYCB alumnies, a work by Ratmansky, who have been a principal in one and a key choreographer for both companies and a guest apperance by NYCB. And yet the two companies seems so different. RDB is probably the strongest dramatic company worldwide as demonstrated recently in "The Lady of the Camellias" and NYCB hold the title for abstract ballets.
But it is the duality that has made RDB's take on Balanchine so interesting, expecially in the works where Balanchine toys with heritage repertoire like "La Sonnambula", "Donicetti Variations", "Serenade", "Ballet Imperial" and "Symphony in C". If there is a hint of drama, romance or character or even a tiara, the RDB will almost automatically destillate any possible connotation to color and strenghen the impression.
When Nikolaj Hübbe took over he naturally staged a full Balanchine evening and a Bournonville-Balanchine combo with "Serenade", "La Sonambule" and "Symphony in C" and then added "Symphony in three Movements", probably to introduce the company to the other side of the Balanchine repertoire, the faster, more modern and totally abstract ballets. At that time the work was a challenge. Today it is a piece of cake.
The answer to how this have been possible in less than four years requires no more than a look at the rooster. Hübbe has rejuvinated the company, taking the established stars into new territory and identified and developed a strong and confident team of young dancers, home grown and imported.
When looking at the middle ballet "Agon" the main female part is shared by 30 year old J'aime Crandall, who joined RDB as a corps dancer four years ago and last year became a principal and Stephanie Chen Gundorph Møller who is not out of the aspirant class yet. These castings shows Hübbe's force to identify and develop talents and dare to cast outside the box, type- and age wise. "Agon" has been in the RDB-repertoire since 1988, mostly as a vehicle for Silja Schandorff and Mette-Ida Kirk, the two leading long lined lyrical ballerinas. Seeing the small and fast Crandall is partly seing a mini Wendy Whelan, but most importantly seing how anti-type casting can rejunivate a ballet. Crandall is partnered by Jean Lucien Massot, whose career will end in less than a week when he reaches the pension age. His performance in Agon emphazices his skills as a partner and his masculin force. He will leave on the top of his game.
If Crandall is a good case for breaking emploi, Stephanie Chen Gundorph Møller, states the opposite case for the lyrical ballerina ins a very promising debut. She was partnered by Sebastian Kloborg, who showed impressive skills and presence in developing the supporting male role to a more active and stronger part. The second female role is this time danced by two principals who might as well have been cast for the pas de deux: Amy Watson and Susanne Grinder. Both did well, Watson a bit sharper and modern in her take. Casting Gregory Dean and Ulrik Birkkjær as the cavaliers is a luxury paid off by strengening the impact of this section where especially Dean's fine lines added extra qualty.
In the first Pas de Trois Alban Lendorf shined in the first cast and Jon Axel Fransson in second cast showed that he can handle Balanchine as well as anything else. He can do anything it seems with genuine flair and conviction.
Playing with Heritage
There are few companies that can boast of having a longer performance history of a major Balanchine work than NYCB. Royal Danish Ballet's relationship with "Apollon" started in 1931, when Balanchine directed six ballets during his one season engagement at RDB. The production was not long lived but in 1957 Balanchine did a new production in Copenhagen with Hening Kronstam as Apollon. That version was kept in Copenhagen and Kronstam himself taught the role to the young Nikolaj Hübbe. The Copenhagen version kept many of 1957 traits like the introduction where Apollon is born and cocooned and the final rise to the Olympus on a staircase. Since then the Copenhagen performance have merged into the NYCB one. Gone are the full title, decor, the birth scene etc.in the quest to destillate "Apollon" into a more abstract work.
I can understand the reason to accept and implement the changes that Balanchine himself made, but I am left with the feeling that somehow the destillation has continued beyond Balanchine's own editing. During a public access rehersal it was interesting to see that Hübbe and Richard Tanner had rather different versions of Apollon's solo.
I have in previous articles discussed some of the changes implemented in performance practise after Balanchine in "Symphony in C" and in "La Sonnambula" and I do feel some of the same mechanisms taking place here. NYCB has started packeing and marketing Balanchine works by colours. It may only be a fun marketing idea, but it carries the hint of not understanding and respecting the full scale and variety of the works. "Agon" and "Strawinsky Violin Concerto" are not interchangeble or two versions of the same commodity. And allthough "Apollon" is the mother of Balanchine's abstract ballet, there is no reason to force the connection any harder.
This line of thought hit me harder at the first performance than at the second, which was more in tune with the key qualities of the work. Seeing first cast created a great inbalance in the work. Marcin Kupinski failed to dominate the work as Apollon should and the muses was far from being a team. The main reason is that - and it must be considered a luxury problem - is that Hilary Guswiler, who dances a wonderful Terpsichore is much more talented and have much more stage presence than her team so the balance tips. She is also much taller than the two other muses. As it was we got a great goddess Tersipchore with a cavalier instead of a god and a muse.
In second cast Alban Lendorf brought all his key skills to the stage. Alban Lendorf's classical vocabulary is so refined that seing him dance anything is uplifting and it helps him create a stong impression even in a role, obviously not choreographed for his bodytype. Caroline Baldwin, who first showed her Tersiphore in an outtake at Hübberiet with Kupinski, is physcally a good match for Lendorf but cannot match his stage presence.
Regarding the other muses I have to say that these two part should also be danced by ballerinas who can control them and be as much on pair with Terpsishore as possible. This production reduces them to bit players and overdoe the mime part in there role. It makes the ballet stronger when Terpsischore win a more even competition.
When Balanchine himself staged "Apollon" in Copenhagen in 1957, the two muses were danced by Kirsten Simone and Kirsten Petersen, who at that time were leading company ballerinas whereas Terpsischore was danced by upcoming Mette Mollerup. And this principle has been RDB practise up till now. Baldwin, Nadal and Holly Jean Dorger are physically well matched as opposed to the first team but all three roles should be cast on Guswiler's level. The production will need some recasts and some re-thinking to get it on the level it deserves which possitively is a level the company easily can match.
It is strange but also satisfactoy to be able to conclude that in this match, the RDB changed the expected home victory (Apollon) into an away win with great performances in the more abstract works. Mine and yours merged into ours.
View performance trailer here
http://video.kglteater.dk/video/4912521/balanchine-stravinsky-trailer
Photos:
1. Hilary Guswiler, Camilla Ruelykke Holst, Alba Nadal and Marcin Kupinski in "Apollon"
2. Corps de ballet in "Symphony in Three movements"
3. J'aime Crandal and Jean Lucien Massot in "Agon"
4. Stephanie Chen Gundorph Møller and Sebastian Kloborg in "Agon"
5. Hilary Guswiler and Marcin Kupinski in "Apollon"
6. Alnan Lendorf with Alba Nadal, Caroline Baldwin and Holly Jean Dorger in Apollon
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