A Masculine Ending

Jean-Lucien Massot's Farewell Performance:

George Balanchine: "Agon" & "Symphony in 3 Movements"

Petr Zuska: "Les Bras de Mer"

John Cranko: "Onegin Segment"

The Royal Danish Ballet

May 5, 2012

The RDB gave a stunning performance as they bid farewell to one of their longests serving and most versatile dancers, Jean-Lucien Massot . The programme showcased Massot's qualities as a partner in modern and classic ballet and highlighted his strong dramatic skills.

Massot is the Sean Connery of the RDB, not only in appearance but also by the development of his career from leading man to character dancer. He had even several years ago been the lead in a rather bad James Bond-themed ballet by Aage Thordal-Christensen and dancer Morten Eggert  has coined the phrase that Massot is the most masculine dancer in the company. His farewell performance did a very good job in showing various use of the celebrated masculinity.

Frenchman Jean-Lucien Massot joined the RDB almost twenty years ago as part of the group of dancers from Berlin Opera who was brough in by Peter Schaufuss, when appointed Ballet Master in Copenhagen. Schaufuss' tenure lasted only one season, but Massot stayed on and created a broad base of roles in the repertoire. His strong technique and good partnering placed him in the danseur noble employ, where he danced the full suite of princes, but with time it became evident that his real talent was as a character dancer and especially in the last part of his career he build an impressive list of outstanding interpretations in role like "the Concert", "A Folks Tale", "The Cage" and my favorite as Bottom in John Neumeier's "A Midsummer Nights Dream" in which he showcased his strong personality and great  sense of humour. I have never seen this role danced better and I have fond memories on how his stayed in character through the curtain calls and thanked his fellow rustics in a style not unlike Sir Laurence Olivier.

The fact that Massot starred in three out of four ballets on his last performance tells how good his shape and skill-set remained in the last phase of his career. His first outing was in the Pas de Deux in "Agon" where he and partner J'aime Crandall makes a strong case for doing the pas de deux as a combat between the sexes. In Petr Zuska's: "Les Bas de Mer" he was happily paired with his frequent partner Gitte Lindstrøm, who is now back in top form after a prolonged absence. In "Les Bras...", effectively a pas de quatre for a man, a woman, a chair and a table, they take a relationship through all possible stages with tenderness, despair and love. In the last ballet, the final scene from "Onegin", Jean-Lucien Massot and Gudrun Bojesen, who had never danced this ballet together before, brought the tragic love story - and Massot's dancing career - to a glorious final.

The curtain calls were many and Massot could not be in doubt of the love and respect from the public and his colleques. Ten of the ballerinas who has danced with him through out his career presented him with roses before Nicolaj Hübbe presented him with a large bouquet. Massot's career is a testament not only on how a foreign dancer can conquer the Danish repertoire and audience but also how a dancers career life can expand and impress in all phases.

Looking forward

But as one career comes full circle others are starting up. Following the lay offs earlier this year, it was feared that the financial cuts would have the unwanted side effect that there would not be finance to hire the large aspirants group graduating this spring. Luckily there proved to be room to sign six dancers Ida Pretorius, Stephanie Møller, Astrid Elbo, Bettina Bunger, Andreas Kaas and Luke Schaufuss, while two aspirants Victoria Falck-Smidth and Magnus Cristophersen have been prolonged as aspirants for one extra year. The three remaining boys passed there exams but must look for employment elsewhere.

The young dancers especially Ida Pretorious and Stephanie Møller has already danced leading roles, and much can be espected from this class.

The Ballet School under Niels Balle leadership have turned the tide and over several seasons produced not only talented dancers and potential stars, but dancers who seems well prepared for the performing elements, like Alstrid Elbo who not only build a strong character in Ester Lee Wilkinson's "the Neglected Spring" but also mad a strong impression as the chambermaid in "Lady of the Camellias."  It will be interesting to follow the group develop and hopefully have as long and exciting careers like Jean-Lucien Massot.

  

 Photos:

Jean-Lucien Massot and J'aime Crandall in Agon

Jean-Lucien Masot and Gudrun Bojesen i a Midsummer Night's Dream

Thomas Lund and Ida Prætorius in The Lesson

Stephanie Møller and Sebastian Kloborg in Agon