United Kingdom English Nationwide Ballet’s Swan Lake in-the-round: Dancers of English Nationwide Ballet, English Nationwide Ballet Philharmonic / Gavin Sutherland (conductor). Filmed (directed by Peter Jones) on the Royal Albert Corridor, London, 22.6.2024. (JPr)
Dancers included:
Odette / Odile – Sangeun Lee
Prince Siegfried – Gareth Haw
Rothbart – James Streeter
Queen – Jane Haworth
Tutor – Michael Coleman
Lead Swans – Treasured Adams, Minju Kang, Anna Nevzorova, Anna-Babette Winkler
Creatives:
Music – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Choreography and Path – Derek Deane
Design – Peter Farmer
Lighting design – Howard Harrison
Earlier than truly seeing this ‘in-the-round’ Swan Lake on the Royal Albert Corridor some years in the past all I knew a few ballet efficiency reminiscent of this was from the opening episode of BBC 4’s 2011 fly-on-the-wall documentary concerning the English Nationwide Ballet referred to as Agony & Ecstasy. It centered on rehearsals for Swan Lake on the Albert Corridor and was notorious for the choreographer, Derek Deane, performing up for the cameras and out-Horwooding even the good pantomime villain of dance, Craig Revel of that surname. Curiously, ENB can be seen on Sky Arts this Christmas in a brand new sequence, Nutcracker: Backstage with English Nationwide Ballet. It would present how a much-anticipated new manufacturing by creative director Aaron S Watkin and Olivier Award-winning choreographer Arielle Smith – premiering in Southampton in late November – will get to the stage.
Described as ‘a supersized reimagining of Swan Lake carried out within the centre of the world, with audiences surrounding the stage’, it was first seen on the Albert Corridor in 1997; since then it has been an enormous success, each when revived within the UK and in addition placed on all through the world. Even on movie it takes a short time to get used to the shortage of surroundings if in comparison with the model of Deane’s Swan Lake seen on the London Coliseum and on tour with its chocolate box-like setting additionally designed by Peter Farmer. There isn’t any actual sense of a fortress courtyard for Act I (an expanded Prologue) and some purple drapes and chandeliers is all we get for the Act III Nice Corridor setting. This go away an enormous area to be stuffed by voluminous quantities of dry ice for the Act II and IV ‘otherworldly’ moonlit lakeside scenes, although there are tree silhouettes noticed behind the motion.
A lot of the environment we get is from Howard Harrison’s lighting which seems surprisingly refined for such a giant efficiency area. Nevertheless, the dappled flooring would solely be appreciated by these larger within the Albert Corridor or because of director Peter Jones’s overhead digital camera pictures, although the lightning results which accompany Rothbart, the evil sorcerer, stays very spectacular.
The orchestra are of their regular place beneath the Grand Organ – although larger up – and this leaves an unlimited space which Deane has to fill with dancers and motion. it extra intently than ever on movie he does go away fairly a bit to the viewers’s understanding of the story. In its ‘regular model’ which Deane created, originally he reveals Rothbart bewitching Princess Odette – for causes unknown – into turning into a swan by day and returning her again to human type at evening. Maybe this isn’t wanted a lot ‘usually’ however would even have been helpful ‘in-the-round’ to boost the storytelling. Until I missed it, Odette doesn’t (now?) recap her background to Prince Siegfried as we additionally often see.
So, we’re straight into Prince Siegfried’s birthday celebrations: townsfolk and the women and gents of the court docket enter down the steps by the viewers and a few russet and olive costumes counsel Romeo and Juliet quite than Swan Lake. If they don’t seem to be sufficient, there are additionally tumblers and jugglers. As ever Act I goes on far too lengthy regardless of the exuberant contribution of the scholars of Tring Park College for the Performing Arts and Michael Coleman – now 84 years younger – bustling about as Siegfried’s tutor. (Within the late Nineteen Eighties I noticed Coleman as a member of The Royal Ballet within the ballet’s Neapolitan Dance at Covent Backyard.) The whole lot is doubled up in numbers or extra with a pas de trois turning into a pas de douze! Siegfried enters, leaps a number of instances after which does little or no for the remaining half-hour of the act. Initially, Gareth Haw could be very smiley – as nearly all of the dancers are – till he turns into morose after being instructed by the Queen (a suitably regal Jane Haworth) he should marry.
Lastly, Haw will get to bounce a melancholic solo variation popularised by Rudolf Nureyev and that is the primary actual sense of drama that we get on this model. The long-limbed ENB Principal Haw has a suitably princely hauteur, stable method, studied management, clear landings and good partnering abilities. Although like Vadim Muntagirov earlier than him at ENB – whom he resembles – Haw’s dancing lacks the wow issue and he generally simply throws out his arms.
All Swan Lake actually wants is swans and a lake! So, in Act II all the pieces takes off (!) as James Streeter – the eye-catching ‘half-man, half-bird’ Rothbart – flaps his cape-like wings vigorously whereas dashing by the ‘mist’. This ‘in-the-round’ Act II is principally conventional however celebrated for Deane bringing the viewers as much as 60 tutu-ed swans to marvel at. (The geometrical choreography for the swans with its well-drilled concord might be appreciated because of Peter Jones’s camerawork from above, although it does appear to show all of it right into a Busby Berkeley musical movie of the Nineteen Thirties.) Odette’s spell can solely be damaged if a person vows to like her and no different and Siegfried makes that vow.
ENB Lead Principal Sangeun Lee – who together with Haw adopted Aaron S Watkin from the Semperoper Ballett in Dresden – confirmed she is a poetic Odette, and her arms are notably swish. She really embodies the pathos of her character’s plight and there’s a real frisson as she catches sight of Haw’s Siegfried for the primary time. Nevertheless, I see far more in Acts II and IV of a human Odette quite than a swan-like one. I used to be not fully satisfied both by the chemistry between Lee and Haw regardless of their earlier expertise of dancing collectively.
Act III includes the standard sequence of supposed worldwide dances, right here quite over-inflated, although Haruhi Otani and Rhys Antoni Yeomans catch the attention with their spirited Neapolitan Dance. Then got here the acquainted Black Swan pas de deux for Siegfried and Odile. When Rothbart and his imposter make their entrance together with two tumbling, bald, gargoyle-like hangers-on, there’s completely no sense of how he matches in with everybody else on the palace. Lee’s conniving, seductive grin tells us all we would have liked to find out about Odile’s deceit. Regardless of Lee and Haw having to cowl numerous floor the pas de deux brings out the very best in each of them. Lee’s fouettés are show-stopping regardless that a necessity to show to all sides of the auditorium provides to their large problem.
The emotional coronary heart of the story resides in Act IV as Siegfried begs for forgiveness from Odette for having been conned into swearing true like to Odile. The battle between good and evil reaches its climax as they unite to defeat Rothbart who in a real coup de théâtre flaps his final because the swans circle round and he disappears by the ground. All of the swan-maidens seem like launched from Rothbart’s enslavement and Odette and Siegfried kiss, embrace tenderly, and are destined to reside fortunately ever after. The ENB’s charming swans with their superbly comfortable arms, immaculate timing and exact footwork deserve nice credit score.
What I used to be listening to by my loudspeakers from the English Nationwide Ballet Philharmonic below Gavin Sutherland (now their Principal Visitor Conductor), while by no means revelatory, sounded as if it maintained ENB’s typical excessive musical requirements. Their account of Tchaikovsky’s wealthy rating helps preserve the drama – reminiscent of it’s – alive, in addition to accommodate all of the marshalled dancers.
When you have by no means seen this ‘in-the-round’ ballet spectacular you’ll by no means see it higher than right here on movie. It’s also the perfect first ballet for youthful ones. Derek Deane’s Swan Lake has been captured nearly completely, so even when it, I extremely suggest going to your native cinema and watching it once more.
Jim Pritchard
For extra about English Nationwide Ballet’s Swan Lake click on right here.
