LaVentana and Kermesse -- new productions

[Alexandra]

Eva Kistrup wrote a review for her blog:

http://danceviewtimes.typepad.com/eva_kistrup/2013/05/handling-heritage.html#more

Anne, Jane, anyone else, did you go?

[Anne]

I'm on my way - but unfortunatley not until the last day it plays!

[Natalia]

Thanks for the heads-up, Alexandra. I am absolutely thrilled to read that the 2004/05 El-Cheapo Kermesse has been ditched for a beautiful, realistic, luxurious production! Ventana also had a new production in 2005 - the one set before a huge Spanish painting but with the traditional steps and sequence of numbers. Too bad that Bojesen seems to have messed this one up. In sum, it appears that Kermesse improves but Ventana declines. Now we just need the restoration of the traditional-looking Napoli and Folk Tale before the next Bournonville Festival...whenever that may be.

[JMcN]

I think Jerome Kaplan is a very gifted set designer - he has done 2 magical sets for Northern Ballet - Ondine and Great Gatsby

[sandik]

His costumes for the Maillot Romeo and Juliette are quite stunning -- danceable as well as beautiful, but they were in such a specific style that I was really curious to see what he would do with the Ratmansky Don Q for the Dutch (which PNB danced last year) -- again, beautiful, danceable and very in keeping with the world the stager was creating.

[Jane Simpson]

Kaplan has set Kermessen in the 17th century and in his programme note thanks Rmbrandt, among others, for his 'invaluable help' - e.g. compare the woman's cap in this painting with the one worn by the housekeeper in the ballet as seen in the 4th photo in Eva's review.

The whole piece looks good but what I most loved were the skirts for some of the women's costumes - four in shades of dark blue for the corps in the first scene, the ones in shades of cream for the ladies in the garden scene - they are so perfectly cut and move so beautifully, and also make their wearers look fabulous. I'd guess it's partly thanks to the fabric he chooses - he also did Wheeldon's Sleeping Beauty for the RDB and I was allowed a brief tour of the costume shop just before its first night - the fabrics were all from Paris and were the most beautiful I've seen in my life - impossible not to keep stopping to stroke a sleeve or even just a little offcut.