Touring with Less $, But Still Good Dance

[Guest pengcat]

I saw the Royal Winnipeg Ballet's Magic Flute on the weekend and thought it was very innovative and a great example of what can be done to keep touring affordable. It used the Mozart opera - both music and libretto - as its base. This means the score is wonderful but the story is very difficult to follow. But this is still a highly entertaining and witty production and the stripped down sets become an asset not a flaw.

Clearly, touring has become almost prohibitively expensive for many companies. So it is a treat to see a how Mark Godden's production delivers the a good night of dance without it seeming cheap. In fact, this uncluttered production seemed to really show off the imaginative choreography. And the staging trick in the last scene had dance fans sitting on the edge of their seats, holding their breath.