Dance2Go:
Nikolaj Hübbe:
”Weimar”
George Balanchine:
”Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux”
Akram Khan:
”Vertical Road”,
Royal Danish Ballet
The Old Stage
October 24, 2017
This season’s Bringing in a New and Younger Audience programme combines two successes from last season, ”Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux” and “Vertical Road” with a new work from Artistic Director Nikolaj Hübbe.
Like other Artistic Directors, Nikolaj Hübbe has over the years contributed to the repertoire, primarily with news versions of the standard repertoire like “Giselle”, “La Sylphide”, “Napoli”, “Swan Lake” and “La Bayadére”. His production of “Raymonda” will has its first night next month. For these productions, he has choreographed some solos and divertissements. However, he has not made much original choreography.
“Weimar” is the first big scale work by choreographer Nikolaj Hübbe, with 27 dancers. The aim of the ballet, as explained by character dancer Morten Eggert in the filmed intro, is a tale of the Europeans enjoying the freedom after the First World War only to find themselves lured into the dictatorships of the 1930ties. Eggert descripts his own role as the major domo, leading and luring the cast into the dark and evil future. It is easy to see a parallel to “Cabaret”.
Hübbe has chosen the music and lyrics of Kurt Weill and Bert
olt Brecht, the great team of left wing German theatre. Choosing the title “Weimar”, he indicates that Germany will be the location. However, he chooses the soundtrack as a combination of songs, sung in German, French and English. Thereby indicating that it is not the German reality, he shows but the European scene, where there really is no historic basic.
Keeping the secrets too tight
Nikolaj Hübbe has also stated that the project gave him the opportunity to choreograph for the female stars. Following the opening scene, Principal J´aime Crandall dances a solo, as a women in a room. She could literary be anybody. She dances to “Youkali”, a melody composed by Kurt Weill in 1934 , during his exile in France, as incidental music for the play Marie Galante. A story about a girl forced into prostitution. The song was first given lyrics in 1946 by Roger Fernay.
Checking the back-story of the song, you understand exactly what Nikolaj Hübbe and J’aime Crandall is doing, and only then does it makes sense. However, it did not on the first viewing. Neither could the audience get help from a printed programme, as none was produced. By cutting down on the marketing, RDB scores a home goal.
Serving the Ballerina
Luckily, the following segment, “Je ne T´aime Pas” for Susanne Grinder and three men make perfectly sense and displayed the tragic ballerina qualities of Susanne Grinder. It was probably the best part of the ballet. Nikolaj Hübbe has also created a showstopper, ”The Saga of Jenny” for Holly Jean Dorger, highlighting her speed and spins.
, Like “Youcali”, both “Je ne T´aime Pas” and “The Saga of Jenny” have not lyrics by Brecht, but by Maurice Magre and Ira
Gershwin. Apparently, Weill had no trouble of composing for what Brecht name the culinary theatre, which aim was to amuse. This could be part of the reason, why the Brechtian part of the ballet is the weaker part. Brecht was not into entertaining the audience. Even with strong dancers like Amy Watson, Caroline Baldwin, Marcin Kupinski and Jonathan Chmelensky, “Surabaya Johnny” could not get of the ground.
Nikolaj Hübbe has chosen the title “Weimar”, thereby indicating a focus on Germany in the period. However, he cannot stay within his own chosen boundaries. We are everywhere and nowhere. He could had chosen a more specific project and made a ballet version of "Cabaret". That might have worked.
Master Class in Choreography
Hübbe’s ballet do probably appear weaker and more unfocused because it is presented together with two well-structured works by topnotch choreographers, George Balanchine and Akram Khan.
Although the two choreographers are in different ends of the spectra, they do share an understanding of how to structure a ballet. They are both daring. With “Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux”, Balanchine breaks with the traditional adagio/solo/coda form and works with a number of fast sequences. Khan dares to makes a ballet with few but intensive movement patterns.
“Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux” are performed by strong young audience favorites Ida Praetorius and Andreas Kaas, who both brought a lot of charm and playfulness to a solid execution of the pas de deux. They pleases as well as impress.
In “Vertical Road”, Liam Redhead took over the role as the stranger from first cast Sebastian Haynes, presently dancing at Netherlands Dance Theatre. He did a good job, although he cannot match Haynes’ command of the stage. There were superb support from Tobias Praetorius, Alba Nadal and Astrid Elbo.
In the Spotlight
Astrid Elbo was the recipient of the Neel Resling Halpern Foundation awards together with Lukas Hartvig-Møller, former RDB student, now dancing with Danish Dance Theatre. That is not her only claim to recent fame. She is also starring in a leading role in the new Danish movie “Darling”. Astrid Elbo plays the part as a young dancer taking over the role as Giselle from an injured star. I hope that Elbo will get some solid chances at her real life company soon.
The Resling Halpern Family has also instated a grant for pupils at the RDB School.
Photo by Camilla Winther (Copyright (c) Royal Danish Ballet
1: Susanne Grinder
2: Jáime Crandall
3. Amy Watson & Jonathan Chmelensky
Archive photos by Costin Radu (Copyright(c) Royal Danish Ballet
- Ida Praetorius & Andreas Kaas
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