Monday, May 15

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The Australian Ballet presents "Jewels."

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 For the AB’s opening night, the audience witnessed the crème de la crème of company talent – both seasoned and emerging. In "Emeralds", the principal couples comprising Sharni Spencer and Callum Linnane, alongside Imogen Chapman and Maxim Zenin, offered mature and elegant interpretations of the French style. Set to the haunting classical melodies of Gabriel Faure, "Emeralds" is known for its stylistic difficulty, requiring a subtlety that can easily approach iciness. The dancers tackled this challenge well and will undoubtedly continue developing their assuredness throughout the season. Also fantastic was the pas de trois of Larissa Kiyoto-Ward, Katherine Sonnekus and Drew Hedditch, who brought exuberance to their performance of complex choreography and style. It is exciting to see Hallberg highlight these young company dancers, and their jubilant determination embodied the Balanchine essence.

 

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The Royal New Zealand Ballet presents "Romeo and Juliet."

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This is a period production, to Prokofiev's lushly romantic score, but one with contemporary choreographic flair, choreographed by Andrea Schermoly fresh from her residency with Louisville Ballet in the US (which is directed by Australian Robert Curran). It is great to see a young female choreographer interpret this time-worn tale of romance, and she takes some unexpected turns. Schermoly enlivens the tale with emboldened moves from Juliet (Katherine Minor) who, despite her graceful frame and gesture, carries much of the strength of the performance. The vibrancy of Juliet’s repertoire and character in this production rivals that of others, including the John Cranko version, recently performed by the Australian Ballet. Perhaps it is the intimacy and scale of a ballet company like RNZB that makes for success with the dramaturgy of this emotive ballet.