Caesariatus Posted November 6, 2016 Share Posted November 6, 2016 (edited) I saw Le Corsaire today (Sat. 5 Nov. matinee). It was great. It's one of those fun, lively ballets, without any moments of transcendental feeling, but a lot of lively action and beauty. I thought all of the major roles were done very well, but most especially Junxiong Zhao as Conrad, the male lead. He combined athleticism and energy with elegance and precision in a way that's seldom seen. I rarely come away from a ballet thinking about the male dancers, but he was an exception. He's now my favorite male dancer. The female lead, Medora, was danced very well by Ashley Ellis. She's one of those dancers who makes it look like dancing ballet steps is the most natural thing to do. She and Zhao had good chemistry between them as well; the pdd when they first get to the pirates' cave was a joy to watch. When I wrote about the Mahler ballet I saw at BB last year I mentioned that Dusty Button was "incredibly graceful". She was again today dancing Gulnara. However, I don't feel that that's the best role for her. I would love to see her in a more romantic role some day. The costumes and sets were well done as well. One thing they did which might come across as gimmicky but actually worked well was to put a curtain with a large oval scrim set in it in front of the scene to start each act. You would see part of the set through the scrim for a short while and then it would rise revealing the scene. All in all, I had a great time. And so did a lot of other people, apparently; the house was full, and very appreciative. Edited November 7, 2016 by Caesariatus s/through the set/through the scrim Link to comment
Recommended Posts