Twyla Tharp:
"Come Fly Away"
"The Hübbery"
Royal Danish Ballet
November 2014
The Royal Danish Ballet is having an unusually busy November. Not only do they perform the “La Sylphide”/”Etudes” combo. “Twyla Tharp’s “Come Fly Away” and the Corpus “47 years in Tricot” from last season both got a second run. Then ad “The Hübbery”, a popup, a ballet book fair and the “Brunch & Ballet” Saturday class, a two day work shop with Israeli choreographer Idan Sharabi and the anniversary show of the children’s Kompanie B. And then there is the ongoing process of integrating 13 new dancers from at least 8 countries in the company.
It is a tall order and sometimes it shows.
Sinatra Revisited
Last season, Twyla Tharp’s “Come Fly Away” had 22 performances at RDB. As the company only did 6 “Napoli’s, 8 “Manon”s and 8 “La Bayadére in the season, it seem either like an overkill or a desperate measure to broaden the audience base. This season the Sinatraganza is back, but mercifully only for 8 performances. There are a few new cast members who bring new qualities to the ballet.
The two casts have managed to put their own stamp on the production, but even the strongest dancers cannot save the work from its structural problems. Building a full evening program on a singer’s persona and repertoire do not create a coherent ballet. Nor does all of Sinatra hits is suited for a dance treatment. I am sure Twyla Tharp has realized that but in this concept “My Way” must be the finale, however undanceble it proves to be.
The Frank Sinatra songbook is a wide collection of songs from many different sources and decades, but covering only a small number of topics. That in many ways is the biggest problem in building a full evening dance performance on them. Twyla Tharp has bundled them in groups for each of the four couples, where one couple, (Benita Bünger and newcomer to the production Alexander Bozinoff as first cast/ Caroline Baldwin and Ulrik Birkkjær as second cast) is awarded all the “new love” numbers. Unfortunately that means that they more or less do the same pas de deux four times over.
Likewise Amy Watson and Jonathan Chmelensky/Hilary Gusswiler and Benjamin Buza have a series of re-ignitments meetings. Marcin Kupinski/Nicolai Hansen is unlucky in love but settles for the Annie Ado character danced by Lena Maria Gruber/Alba Nadal over and over again. Only one couple, Femke Mølbach Slot/Alexandra Lo Sardo and Gregory Dean/Tim Matiakis can be said to have a development in their volatile relationship. They also have the best numbers.
It is mainly in this last pairings that the quality between the two teams manifested itself. Prior to “Come Fly Away” Gregory Dean was known as a stylish partner and Femke Mølbach Slot as an ingénue. This ballet totally changed the concept of them as dancers. Mølbach Slot and Dean changed everything about themselves. He found aggression and hurt, she found madness and sensuality.
Their success was not as much based on the best choreography in the ballet, but because both dancers really understand how to mix ballet technique with show dance flair and they understand how to use gravity. They both also goes all in acting their far from 100% positive role models. In many ways the most difficult character to like, but the ones you end up liking the best.
Alexandra Lo Sardo has amassed an impressive list of leading role in less than a year. Teresina, Manon and the Sylph etc. But in this work, she cannot get the nuances that Mølbach Sloth delivers. She can be bitchy, but not vulnerable.
Tim Matiakis is a short dancer, but given the fact that two of his key pas de deux was choreographed on Mikhail Baryshnikov, it should not be a hindrance, but he comes over as reticent and lacking in confidence so the pair is not a dominant factor in this cast.
In first cast Jonathan Chmelensky has taken over, what is known as the Sinatra character, from Alban Lendorf, and invests his strong technic and his dramatic skills in the role. That includes jumps and turns in the air where you cannot comprehend how he can land head up. There is only thing marring his performance. His lack of gravity. He is not alone in this cast. Marcin Kupinski and Alexander Bozinoff are also lighter than light classical dancers and struggles to get in the show dance style.
Chmelensky partners Amy Watson who uses all her leading lady skills to create an Ava Gardner type diva. But unfortunately the change from pointe shoes to pumps is not flattering for her lines. Her opposite number, new cast Hilary Gusswiler has so long lines that it even enhances the dancing, and plenty of mojo and star appeal. Good to see her back where she belongs - in a leading role. She is partnered by an excellent Benjamin Buza, who also oozes old time Hollywood glamour and has the flair and style needed.
The company longest serving male principal, 29 year old Ulrik Birkkjær seems a bit too mature for his turn as the juvenile lead. Birkkjær has had a busy fall season as Armand in “The Lady of the Camellias”, James in “La Sylphide” and Soloist in “Etudes”. He has even fitted a “Swan Lake” in Los Angeles in his schedule as well as he will be heading a group tour to London and New York in January. It looked a bit like he could not find back to his fine naïve boy from last year.
Lena Maria Grüber, the fine classical stylist, proves a surprisingly good choice as the fall back girl. She really nails the Fosse copycat number.
The audience enjoys the performance, but it is remains a flawed work, build more on cliché than on craft.
Old Hands at Deck
They are back, a little wiser and a little older: The five RDB characters dancers, who celebrated their unique skillsets in “247 Years in Tricot” last year. Lis Jeppesen reprised her touching solo performance by Anne Marie Wessel based on a monologue about a life from birth to death.
The rest of the gang had a field day in the work; they have choreographed themselves under the tutelage of theatre director Staffan Waldemar Holm. It not only present the skill and personality of the four dancers, Eva Kloborg, Mette Bødtcher, Poul Erik Hesselkilde and Mogens Boesen, but also the RDB of yesteryears, not only through the dancers but also by showing film snippet of each dancers contribution. The RDB has really been through a lot of strange ballets as well as masterpieces.
But these dancers are still as much a part of the RDB as they are of the past. The five featured dancers are on stage in “Lady of the Camellias” and in “La Sylphide” and probably also in “A Folk Tale” later this year.
Anger Management
The first of this season’s “The Hübbery” is focusing on the theme of anger. Nikolaj Hübbe uses this opportunity to rehash a pas de deux from “Lady of the Camellias” with upcoming stars Ida Praetorius and Andreas Kaas. And it shows how much they have developed as performers in a few months. Regarding Kaas, he also showed his remarkable progress earlier the same day as Gurn in “La Sylphide” and in “Etudes” as one of the most used male dancers. Together with Sebastian Haynes (Madge in “La Sylphide”) and Jon Axel Fransson in”Etudes” as a fellow Gurn, he forms an impressive trio, who can go very far.
The theme allowed also a sneak peek of the upcoming run on “A Folk’s Tale” with the troll Birthe’s famous anger solo, and the scene surrounding her. It will be back as the Christmas family performance, this time on the more suited Old Stage. Alba Nadal made a good impression as Birthe and Hilary Gusswiler as Hilda, the changeling, taken from the castle to live with the trolls.
Choreographer Lotte Sigh had made a short work, “Dancing with Anger “for Sebastian Kloborg, now back at RSB after two year in Gauthier Dance in Stuttgart and Eliabe D’Abadia. It proved a piece of good modern style dancing.
And finally Femke Mølbach Slot and Gregory Dean reprised - guess what? - “That Life” from “Come Fly Away”, once again showing what the two dancers can do with this pas de deux. Earlier in the day Dean had also reprised his beautiful and intense James in “La Sylphide” and I am still hoping the Mølbach Slot would get another vehicle to sparkle in. Why not put all the temper to good use as Birthe in “A Folk Tale”?
Photos by Costin Radu (Come Fly Away) and Per Morten Abrahamsen (A Folks Tale" (Copyright (c) Royal Danish Ballet)
1: Ensemble "Come Fly Away"
2: Femke Mølbach Slot & Gregory Dean
3: Alexandra Lo Sardo and Tim Matiakis
4: Hilary Gusswiler as Hilde in "A Folks Tale"
Promotion videos of the ballets can be seen here:
http://kglteater.dk/whats-on/performances/saeson-2014-2015/ballet/come-fly-away
http://kglteater.dk/whats-on/performances/saeson-2014-2015/ballet/sylfiden-og-etudes
http://kglteater.dk/whats-on/performances/saeson-2014-2015/ballet/et-folkesagn
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