Eva Kistrup

A Magical Being

A Magical Being

Pernille Garde:

"Sorella - A Portrait"

November 24, 2017

 

 

It is seldom that a ballet dancer is celebrated by a ballet on her life in her own lifetime. Finnish/Danish ballerina Sorella Englund is among the selected few. After working with Sorella Englund, choreographer and director Pernille Garde got the inspiration to create a ballet on one of our most iconic dancer’s life. Garde has her background in the modern dance world, and her ballet uses many – and perhaps too many – standards from the modern scene, like random flashbacks and having four dancers, including a male dancer, portraying Sorella Englund.  

Third Time a Treat

 

Nikolaj Hübbe:

”Raymonda”

Royal Danish Ballet

The Old Stage

November 15 and 18, 2017

 

When Nikolaj Hübbe and Silja Schandorff casted their production of ”Swan Lake” they chose a mix of mature and younger ballerinas. Three years later with “Raymonda”, Nikolaj Hübbe place the younger ballerinas in the supporting roles and gives the title role to three ballerinas in their mid-thirties. While two of the ballerinas delivers performances on their usual level, the third – and the one who really struggled with the demands of “Swan Lake” -  scored what can only be described as an all-time career best.   

With a few more performances under their belt, the Royal Danish Ballet is finding their way around the many patterns in the choreography and now present the various divertissements and ensembles on a pleasing and secure level.

 

A Trip in the Time Machine

 

Nikolaj Hübbe:
”Raymonda”
Royal Danish Ballet
The Old Stage
November 11, 2017

As is his wont, Nikolaj Hübbe put “Raymonda” through a time machine, catapulting the story from the time of the crusaders to mid-18th century, The hero, the French crusader Jean de Brienne becomes Hungarian nobleman, Otto and the Saracen knight Abdul Rakhman becomes Abderam, a Spanish Moorian prince.

As in “Napoli” and other ballets where Hübbe had enjoyed the sport of time travelling, more is lost than won by the oeuvre.
In “Raymonda”, the changes are largely motivated by political correctness. However, by omitting key elements of the ballet, “Raymonda”, which has never been considered the best-plotted and coherent ballet, loses far more than it gains, and dramatically the ballet comes across as an incoherent and as a thin story. Kissing goodbye to the war theme hurt the love triangle. Changing the Saracen Sheik to a Spanish Moor, and placing him in a time, where the Moors has lost their place and influence in Spain makes absolutely no sense.

Still, it remains a beautiful production.