Royal Danish Ballet on Summer Tour

[Syrene Hvid]

Saturday, the RDB danced their final summer tour performance this year at Ofelia Beach next to the Playhouse. This marked their first performance of the new season which will officially begin with Swan Lake in September.

 

I'd never been to an event at Ofelia Beach before, although I was introduced to the Playhouse when I saw Shaken Mirror there last season. Due to some unforseen circumstances, we arrived very late and had to make do with standing, although we did get ourselves located relatively close to the stage and with a good view of everything.

 

The program included a PDD from Coppélia (Holly Dorger and Sebastian Haynes), a PDD from Romeo and Juliet (originally Andreas Kaas and Ida Praetorius, but Kaas was out sick, so Gregory Dean danced in his place), a duet from Cacti (originally Kizzy Matiakis and Jón Axel Fransson, but Fransson was out due to injury, I was very sad to hear that he'd broken his foot and really hope he makes a speedy recovery, Swan Lake just won't be the same without him - as it was, Haynes danced in his place), the grande PDD from Don Quixote and the bridesmaid variations (J'aime Crandall and Jonathan Chmelensky, Ida Praetorius and Wilma Giglio), PDD from Swan Lake (Holly Dorger and Ulrik Birkkjær), duet from Come Fly Away (Wilma Giglio and Gregory Dean) and finally the pas de six/tarantel from Napoli (everybody). Usually there's also a duet called Minus 7 on the programme (with Matiakis and Fransson), but due to Fransson's injury, it was omitted. Very sad about that, because I absolutely love it. Ah well.

 

I really enjoyed the program this time around as well. I saw it when they were on tour in Sønderborg in start June, but standing up was more comfortable (despite my sore legs, at least I wasn't in pointe shoes) and seeing it a second time, I was able to notice things I hadn't the first time around. Some parts were better Saturday than in Sønderborg and some parts had been better in Sønderborg, so it was an altogether different experience, also with the many switch-arounds for the various segments.

 

Coppélia has some ridiculously cute music and Dorger and Haynes were also ridiculously cute while dancing it, especially Dorger. Her variation (I think it was from Act 3, I'm not overly familiar with Coppélia and the programme doesn't say, but when I look it up, I think that's the one) was really great. If she was given more time to rehearse and maybe dance the role in its entirety, it would be a sight for sore eyes. I especially enjoyed the way she used her legs in the first half of the variation and then everything from the middle and to the finish was just gold. Pure gold. This girl has such a sweet demeanour and it just fits this choreography so well. She'd be a natural choice, if Coppélia lies in the cards for future seasons.

 

Haynes was also quite phenomenal, though. He's one of my absolute favourite, go-to male dancers with the RDB right now (make him a soloist already!) and the solos from Coppélia really fit all his strengths, underlined his amazing jumps, his long, beautiful lines and this very charming expression he can have where he just seems to connect with the audience directly, you feel touched when standing as an audience member, like he's specifically targeting you with all his umph. I first noticed this when he danced one of the demi-soloist men in Theme and Variations and the bigger a role he's in, the more obvious it becomes. Haynes is just such a natural talent. 

 

Their partnering was good from the beginning, but became truly great by the end, the finale was just jaw-dropping and it did earn them this huge applause, too. Dorger and him were really good at not making their smiles seem empty, they exchanged glances and they were meaningful glances, little details that I think can sometimes be lost with more bravura-like choreography, yet are extremely important, at least for me to truly appreciate it. I also realised that I really wouldn't mind seeing Dorger and Haynes dance something full-length together, I really enjoy the way Birkkjær and Dorger seem to be partnered a lot and wouldn't have it differently, but maybe in more modern/contemporary things, Haynes could do wonderful things with Dorger and the other way around.

 

After the Coppélia PDD, Dean and Praetorius danced the bedroom PDD from Neumeier's Romeo and Juliet. You could tell that Dean was a last-minute replacement, but they got through it all safe and sound, it was mostly in terms of chemistry that it didn't work all the way. Personally I think the bedroom PDD always loses some when taken out of context, it just doesn't work as well outside of the full ballet and it showed Saturday, too. Although Dean and Praetorius have danced Romeo and Juliet together before, it's a while ago and they were both spoiled last season with partners that really fit their portrayals, Dean with J'aime Crandall and Praetorius with Kaas. Praetorius has a very youthful, innocent, young Juliet where Dean's Romeo is darker and more mature (something that made his bedroom PDD with Crandall really feel like a piece of art) and whereas this worked when they danced opposite Kaas and Crandall, opposite each other their characters just weren't on wavelength, which was a shame, because they're individually so amazing at these roles. However, there were actually little moments where this sort of inbalance added to the choreography and created something bittersweet and fitting. In the beginning of the PDD when Dean walks towards the door to leave, Praetorius gets up after him and runs up, draping herself over his back and pushing him forward into a beautiful pose, something about this particular moment just rang very true and when Dean dropped his cape, it seemed like a natural consequence of their interaction, not just a choreographic necessity.

 

Cacti was also very different from usual, with Haynes stepping in. I really love this duet, it's funny and sharp in its dancing, but I did miss Fransson a bit. Matiakis' very vivid mimicry didn't seem quite as in tune with Haynes' more dark and edgy interpretation of the male role. It wasn't by any means a bad performance, it was just different. Different things worked than between Matiakis and Fransson where the humour and absurdity dominated. Between Haynes and Matiakis what seemed to really work was the sense of gender differences and sex politics. Haynes was very much the man in the relationship, Matiakis very much the woman and they stood opposite each other, battling it out. Suddenly the running joke of "I've got you - not" took a darker turn and felt more like a reflection of the relationship between the sexes than a simple joke. It was really interesting to watch.

 

The highlight of the day was the Don Q segment that followed with Chmelensky as Basilio and Crandall as Kitri. Individually these two are my favourite interpreters of the role that we saw of the three casts last season and it was such a joy to see the together on stage, even in just an excerpt. Especially Saturday, they were just phenomenal, they'd really brought their A-game. Chemelensky's Basilio was on fire and full of that Spanish attitude with sharp head-throws backwards and dancing that just sparkled in the sun. His jumps are amazing, very high and very powerful. His lines are to die for. After his solo, I could tell, I really wasn't the only one who thought he was amazing. Likewise, Crandall is really one of the best Kitris out there. She has the nuances, the attitude, the technique to really master the role and she does. Her fan solo was full of detailed musicality, those little movements with her feet, the tempo at the finish where she turns faster and faster across the floor. Wow. And with Kitri, Crandall really shows off her inner actress. She defines the character with a red, smiling, slightly sharp lip and heavy-lidded looks. She is such a sight to behold. The two of them together was almost (almost) too much of a good thing, their finale was amazing with movements that both matched and yet underlined the differences between them, I can't really describe it any better. It was magical.

 

Giglio and Praetorius were the bridesmaids where especially Praetorius stood out. Wow, she danced with so much confidence and heat in that variation. As a dancer, Praetorius is really light and fast and these qualities really came out. She was stunning. Whenever she dances like this, she's really a star. She emits a sort of light that makes it impossible to look away and when I looked at her, I couldn't find a single reason to want to do so. Such speed, such precision, such enthusiasm, it was raw talent and raw in the best of senses. Giglio, on the other hand, didn't have the best day and danced very cautiously. I've seen her on fire, when she danced Kate in Come Fly Away in Sønderborg and this was very different. The Spanish look really does wonders for her, though, and she's such a beautiful dancer, but this didn't show it off as well as I'd have hoped.

 

I actually don't remember what came after this, because the omittion of Minus 7 made everything a jumble. I think it was the White Swan PDD and I'll talk about that one first in any case, because I remember it best.

 

Usually I feel the same way about the White Swan PDD that I do about the bedroom PDD from Romeo and Juliet. It loses something in being taken out of its story. It easily feels hollow as a stand-alone piece. However, with Dorger as Odette and Birkkjær as the Prince, I'm willing to forget this opinion of mine for the good ten minutes the PDD lasts, because they make it an absolutely wonderful statement, like a trailer to the ballet.

 

Odette is one of those iconic ballet heroines that so many ballerinas have tried their talents on. I personally think that she is often danced as too much wing and too little person, but Dorger has really found a way to portray the Swan Queen as a woman also and opposite Birkkjær's Prince, it becomes a beautiful testimony to hope and love. I enjoy it equally every time I see them. Saturday they really won with their interaction, there were so many beautiful moments of contact, where they locked eyes and didn't look away throughout entire sequences of motion. Birkkjær spun her around with both softness and sharpness and she snapped back to look him right in the eyes every time. It was extremely powerful and poignant. Dorger herself just has a way of moving that's so musical, soft and thoughtful, but always with intent. She doesn't just dance, she paints a character with every movement. I'll be a bit biased here and say that out of every single Odette I've seen (granted, I've not seen all and not even that many, but I have seen a fair share), Dorger is my favourite and I find her a world-class interpreter of the role. She's amazing, even more amazing in the arms of Birkkjær.

 

In "That's Life" from Come Fly Away, which they'd danced amazingly well at Sønderborg, Giglio and Dean didn't manage to capture quite the same zest. If they ever stage this ballet again, I'd love to see these two dance the entire ballet together, because Giglio has everything that would make Kate pop and Dean is such a swag Hank, I'd love to see what their Sønderborg performance could look like full-length.

 

Finally the programme finished with the pas de six/tarantel from Napoli. I've seen this excerpt from Napoli a dozen times by now (though, never the full ballet live) and I can honestly say that I've never seen it danced as beautifully as it was here. It was so full of life, spontaneous joy, so soaked in happiness that it just saved my day. All the ladies danced in perfect sync throughout and all the dancers interacted with such unpretentious friendliness toward each other that it truly felt like a party that we'd all been invited to. Of the variations, once again Praetorius just stood out and danced with a sunny, easy, breezy air about her that was just so lovely. Among the men especially Chmelensky just kicked the air with his leaps. Birkkjær had some amazingly fast turns and Marcin Kupinski performed his variation with a lovely blend of his soft James-ness and his fiery Basilio-ness, both shows just how far he's come as a dancer. Everyone did great, however, and we walked away from Ofelia Beach afterwards with the Napoli tunes stuck in our heads.

[Helene]

Thank you so much for your detailed description!  

 

I love this company, and I get to see them so rarely

[bingham]

As always, your reviews makes us feel like we are there. Thank you.

[Syrene Hvid]

I wasn't sure whether to start a new thread for this or if I could continue here, although the performance wasn't strictly part of the summer ballet tour. But as the programme of the "Hübbe and the RDB at Aarhus Festival" was the exact same as for summer ballet, with some introductions and commentary by Hübbe himself in between excerpts, I think it's safe to say that the performance was an extension of the summer tour. If this is considered wrong, please feel free to delete/move this comment.

 

Yesterday I had the immense pleasure of attending the mixed bill performance of the RDB as part of the annual summer festival in Denmark's second-largest city, Aarhus (where I live). The commentary of Hübbe was at times funny, at times educational, at times a swipe at the approach to culture in broader society and politics, but continuously he was very engaging to listen to and he has really grown into a fine speaker over the years that I've followed the company.

 

Otherwise it was the same program as at Ofelia Beach, starting out with Coppélia and ending with Napoli.

 

Maybe due to the breaks in between every other section, I noticed that the structure of the programme, the order in which these segments were shown, were one of contrasts. First the joyful Coppélia opposite the tragic drama of Romeo and Juliet's bed chamber PDD. Next the modern touch of Cacti contrasted with the classic bravura of Don Quixote, whereas the classic Swan Lake's gentle romance stood out starkly against the pure sexiness of Come Fly Away's showdance and the other way around as well. As such each individual excerpt of dance was turned on its head either in the choreography that followed or the one that came before, thus fitting the theme of the Aarhus Festival which is "Upside Down" this year. It was very cleverly done.

 

The entire affair started out on a happy note with Coppélia. I don't know whether it was the fact that I didn't have to stand or sit on the ground, but was instead in my beloved, soft theatre seat - or whether the dancers were just totally on point yesterday, starting out with Holly Dorger and Sebastian Haynes in Coppélia, but whatever the answer might be, it was a treat. Especially Dorger just shone like a star yesterday. In the Coppélia variation (and Hübbe answered my question, unknowingly of me having asked it - it was the PDD from third act!) she went beyond just cute smiles or just strong dancing skills, she added so much character to the movements that although it was just one PDD, when Haynes and her finished, it actually felt like a micro-showing of an entire story. They were storytellers in their partnering and Dorger especially also stayed strongly in character in her solo parts. She was really nothing less than a joy to look at. Haynes came through in the turns and in his partnering, the last half of the PDD especially was very nicely danced with wonderful, soft but full poses. He and Dorger have a great connection and I still wouldn't mind seeing them dance something full-length together, wouldn't mind it being Coppélia either...

 

In the wake of this joy followed the bed chamber PDD from Neumeier's Romeo and Juliet. With its much more tragic feel and intense drama, it really contrasted with Coppélia and gave me in the audience a feel of the emotional extremes that ballet can encompass. As it was, I still think that this PDD is difficult to watch out of context, but it was nonetheless danced beautifully last night with especially Andreas Kaas as Romeo impressing with amazing lifting, he basically threw Ida Praetorius' Juliet around like a feather, but a feather with weight. The most beautiful part of this PDD to me yesterday wasn't the otherwise strong presence of both dancers, but the pure art of Praetorius' body when moulded right. Over Kaas' shoulder, between his hands, over his knees she looked truly heavy with sorrow and grief. Her body in itself was moving by way of how Kaas swung her around and how their directions, movements, lines and gazes kept pointing in opposing directions. Very effective.

 

Here Hübbe came back and introduced the following two segments, Cacti and Don Quixote. Here he noted how Cacti was one of the dance world's "rare attempts" at self-irony. The explanation really opened me eyes to the real intention of the piece and maybe for that reason or again, maybe because the dancers were just on top of their game last night, watching Kizzy Matiakis and Sebastian Haynes throw each other around and then abruptly stop their movements was perfection. There was no lack of humour or chemistry, just a very impressive speed and lots of laughter. They really had the audience with this one, it seemed. Enormous applause. Myself, I really noted that Matiakis was in a zone yesterday and it especially showed here, her strong mimicry which usually reflects so well off of Jón Axel Fransson was here sucked in by Haynes and almost spat out with his more aggressive, but also - yes - really self-ironic approach to the role. There was a particular move where Matiakis had to stuck her head through a loop he formed with his arms that was very, very funny to look at. The same goes for the understated moment where Matiakis indicated the size of something with her hands ("This big") and he just strides past nonchalantly while the male voice of Riley reads: "I've seen bigger, I could show you sometime." It had the entire hall completely dying from laughter. There were also some kicks to the head that looked dangerously real... I love this piece. One day I need to see the entire thing.

 

Then came Don Quixote. There really were some standout performances tonight in this part. Jonathan Chmelensky almost pushed the roof off the building with his immense leaps and his dancing from PDD to variations to PDD was really strong. Especially in the last section of the PDD, after the second bridesmaid dance, his chemistry with Crandall was full of passion and some southern-spirit arrogance. Crandall delivered a beautiful fan solo, but struggled with the fouettes. The audience clapped her through the turns, while she had to jump back into it twice, not that it had any effect on the finale which was delivered with a great fierceness both from Chmelensky and Crandall. In the bridesmaid variations, Praetorius delivered hers very securely, but one of the great joys for me personally last night was to see Wilma Giglio again. It was almost like she'd read my mind on her performance last Saturday. Wow, she was on fire. She danced the variation with strength, attitude and a fierce expression, looking absolutely gorgeous in her red lipstick and with that little hairpiece. Very, very beautiful.

 

Another pause where Hübbe came in. He made a wonderful speech about the presence of foreign dancers in the company, really addressing the political winds of the current times that don't always seem too pleased with this. I loved a comment he made that if a dancer, even if trained somewhere else originally, now trains under the Danish aesthetics and adheres to the Danish way of training dance, being able to perform in the style of the company when it's called for, then they can call themselves Danish dancers, no question. It earned a tentative applause at first, but after a second or two, it picked up. No need to say that I was clapping like mad.

 

After this Dorger came back to perform the white swan PDD with Ulrik Birkkjær. These two were in Nairobi this week to perform this exact PDD at a gala and the extra work showed in the best of ways. It was the most amazing performance of this choreography I've seen yet. Birkkjær delivered a very warm, longing, but also strong prince who embraced and held Odette firmly. While Dorger as Odette came in full acting armour. The ranges of expressions she delivered was amazing, there was quite a lot of pain in her gaze, but also love, mature forgiveness and hope. So much hope. The lifts suddenly struck me as something close to awe-inspiring while the finish was so in tune with the music that it almost felt like Tchaikovsky's score had been embodied. I was amazed. I just watched speechless until I realised my breath was hitching. I'm a crier, admitted, but things need to really be insanely beautiful or insanely emotional to get me sobbing. Yesterday, Birkkjær and Holly were both. This match was made in Heaven, I tell you.

 

In the wake of this intensity, it was time for Come Fly Away. This showdance duet was a very nice way to wake up from the blues of Swan Lake and the floor was bathed in a heated orange-red light for contrasts. As soon as Gregory Dean and Wilma Giglio came out, I knew I was in for a treat. I wrote about being a bit disappointed last week - well, this week made up for that in spades. As soon as the music started, you could tell they were both on their game. Dean was extremely umph and masculine in his vest and demonstrated a smouldering aggression and complete intensity. Opposite of him stood Giglio and just umph'ed right back. She was fierce, she was unstoppable and certain of her moves looked like the mastery of the form of kicking Dean away, only to end up right back in his arms. The audience absolutely loved it and I did, too. I was so pleased to see Giglio not only back as I'd seen her in Sønderborg, but on a whole new level. Very deserved, they got the biggest applause of the evening. It was amazing and so well-deserved.

 

After an introduction of Bournonville and of Napoli, the last part could begin. Once more Napoli was a joy to watch. Everyone were in wonderful sync when dancing together and there were real stand-out variations. I personally really loved Praetorius' third female variation and Matiakis' fourth which she aced with precision and spectacular swiftness, but they all danced beautifully, there really wasn't anything to marr the image. It felt like something picture perfect, I really did feel like I was looking at one of those old, dusty postcards found between the pages of a book - a postcard of Napoli maybe less like it looked and more like the interpreter had wanted it to look. Pas de six'en was just that kind of pure beauty and then the tarantel, once again in contrast, followed to liven us up. In sprang Jonathan Chmelensky and Giglio and danced with a lot of fire and heat to get the party started. Andreas Kaas danced some stand-out solos and Giglio just continued her great partnering moments with Chmelensky. Chmelensky himself delivered leaps and jumps out of this world and the finale was a piece of art. Once more, I got teary-eyed, because it was just such an unspoiled beauty. It was really a very great performance, not just of Napoli, but of everything. I was very happy that I got to experience it.

[Anne]

I was there too last night and was delighted with most of what I saw,  though I must say I found it a bit hard to digest so many abrupt changes in style and expression. The programme is clearly made for open air performances for a broader audience. In a more professional venue with a paying audience this highlight-upon-highlight kind of programme becomes more problematic.

 

I cannot add much to your description, Syrene, but I'd like to mention a few things.

It was a special delight to see Praetorius as Juliet. I saw her some years ago when she had her debut as Juliet with Dean as her Romeo. Dean had more powers to camouflage the acrobatic demands of this pdd than has Kaas, but Neumeier's choreography will be a challenge to any young dancer. Juliet hardly touches the floor but clinges to him in an unending series of expressive positions. Praetorius has matured into mastery of this - everything she did communicated a meaning - whereas Kaas still struggles a bit. It looks, however, as if it is withing his reach. I was surprised, though, that I wasn't much in for Praetorius' performance in Bournonville act 3 of Napoli. It is hard to say exactly what I was missing, maybe some colour, or that she made some more personality shine through the steps, a little personal twist here or a tiny sway there - it was so very neutral, light and clean-cut.

 

And talking about Bournonville: It looks like the dancers have been allowed a less puritanistic approach to the steps, with many showy turns and leaps not absolutely in the style, but maybe it helps making Bournonville look less old fashioned to a new audience.

 

J'aime Crandall was sparkling in Don Quixote. This kind of repertoire suits her perfectly, and like our former principal Caroline Cavallo she delivers the most tricky steps and balances with a starballerina's calming selfassurance. Less suited to her is the elegiac beauty of The Swan Lake. Neither do I think Dorger perfect for it, being too meek to my taste, both in body language and type. I wonder if Praetorius has the expressive range for it yet, that will be interesting to follow (I can't remember whether she was cast as Odette/Odile last time they ran Swan Lake). Technically I'm sure she is already there.

 

The new dancer Wilma Giglio was a mixed experience. In Tharp's Come Fly Away she was absolutely right, but in the classical repertoire( Don Quixote and Bornonville) she looked oddly old fashioned - the way she holds her head and upper body and the angling of her arms and hands reminds me of some old footage from the thirties. I don't know how long she has been with the company, but it looks like it will take some more time before she melts in with the rest of the company and becomes the "Danish dancer" Hübbe talked about when he attacked the critiscism of having taken in too many Non-Danish dancers (see Syrene's resume above). But she certainly has some stage presence.

 

 

 

[KNA]

14 hours ago, Anne said:

I wonder if Praetorius has the expressive range for it yet, that will be interesting to follow (I can't remember whether she was cast as Odette/Odile last time they ran Swan Lake). Technically I'm sure she is already there.

 

Ida Praetorius danced Odette/Odile last year - we were lucky enough to catch her live on our third trip! I hope we'll get to see her this time as well, because while she struggled a bit technically last time, she made a really compelling, beautiful Odette. 

 

Edited to add: Great review, Simone, I agree with everything you wrote. As you already know. 

Edited August 29, 2016 by KNA
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