Cathy Marston:
”Lolita”
Bellevue Theatre
August 13, 2015
Cathy Marston’s “Lolita” may very well be the best ballet created for Alexander Kølpin´s Summer Ballet. The small ensemble of seven dancers including Royal Danish Ballet stars Ida Praetorius and Mads Blangstrup managed to transfer the great American novel to a new territory and create an exciting and well-choreographed ballet. There is, however, as in the novel, one big character error at play.
Former Royal Danish Principal Alexander Kølpin has for 25 years produced a summer ballet production, where Danish and foreign dancers and choreographers comes together and present new choreography. For many seasons, it was an outdoor event. However, for the last years the summer ballet has taken place at Bellevue Theatre, an early design by the great Danish architect Arne Jacobsen.
The summer stock theatre is the perfect venue for this New England tale. Big enough to host a simple but still complicated décor and small enough to let three dancers become a crowd. The props are expanded from the ceiling and are brought down or in several cases used in their mid-air position, most effectively in a scene where Humbert Humbert preys on Lolita in her expanded bed.
Going Royal
Alexander Kølpin has found his leading couple in his parent company. As a first year aspirant, Ida Praetorius had her debut as the pupil in Flemming Flindt’s ballet version of Ionesco’s “The Lesson”. For some of the performances, Mads Blangstrup lend his big dramatic potential to the sadistic teacher.
Since then, Ida Praetorius has experienced probably the fastest run in company history to full ballerina status with leading roles in among others “Romeo & Juliet”, “Lady of the Camellias” and “Swan Lake”.
Mads Blangstrup retired as principal dancer a year ago following an impressive career covering all leading male roles and most importantly bringing the dramatic content to the forefront. He still takes on the occasional mime role.
It is the coup and reason of this production to bring these two stars together again in a relevant piece. However, one artistic decision harms the production and the partnership. For more years than I care to remember, many choreographers and directors have tried to make Freudian split of characters by sharing the roles between two actors, singers or dancers in order to separate the outer and inner personality.
Blurred Lines
This strategy is also applied in this production, where Mads Blangstrup is delegated to be the nicer side of Humbert and Gildas Diquero his more base qualities. The positive side is it bring more dynamic to the dancing. However, the line are blurred.
For instance, it is Gildas Diquoro who marries Lolita’s mother. A move certainly not made by passion for the lady in question, but a ploy to give Humbert access to Lolita.
Separating the pedophile - and there can be no other defining word for Humbert – into acceptable normal and base behavior is sugarcoating the issue. One of the strong points of the novel is that Humbert is both a first rate intellectual and a pedophile predator. If another male role was needed, there is another major character in the novel, Clare Quilty, the writer of a school play and as nasty a pedophile as can be imagined. In the book, it is Quilty who organizes Lolita’s final escape and not from the purest Christian motives.
Both Humberts creates strong and nuanced performances, but the storytelling is messed by the character split. Mads Blangstrup superior acting skills wins the day.
Girl in Trouble
This is not the first complex girl in trouble, Ida Praetorius has portrayed and she goes to the task with plenty of guts. She managed to create a Lolita, who is a born surviewer, violated but with a strength that cannot be beaten.
One of the most problematic issue in creating a dramatic ballet is often the lack of a score. This production has the luxury of composer Jesper Mechlenburg, who has managed to create an effective and pleasing score, including a few - but luckily - not to many 1950 tunes.
Seeing a new dramatic ballet with a strong cast, a clear storytelling and effective scenery and music is a seldom occurrence. The company, producer and choreographer can congratulate themselves on a job, not just well done, but a work of quality that could be a mainstay.
Photos by Isak Hoffmeyer (Copyright(c))
1. Ida Praetorius, Mads Blangstrup and Gildas Diquero
2. Ida Praetorius and Mads Blangstrup
3. Arina Trostyanetskaya, Astrid Elbo and Joel Fritzon
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