La Belle Et La Bete, The Philip Glass Ensemble, Recital Hall, Melbourne Festival Friday October 7th 2016

La Belle Et La Bete, The Philip Glass Ensemble, Recital Hall, Melbourne Festival Friday October 7th 2016

"La Belle Et La Bete" with music by Philip Glass and played by The Philip Glass Ensemble accompanied the Jean Cocteau film of the same name.  The film's English title is "Beauty and the Beast".  "La Belle Et La Bete" was presented as an Australian exclusive at the Recital Hall, Melbourne Festival Friday October 7th 2016.

For those new to my blog I write about the holistic experience of attending the theatre. I buy my own tickets. So if you want a re-telling of the story please refer to the links for further information or for further insights.  Note, that I may provide different links for repeated main words or phrases.  I write for my memories of what I have seen, and is more of a stream of consciousness.

As a first the show began one minute after 7.00pm which is a record for the Melbourne Festival. Mind you the number of late comers was disturbing and some chose to be seated in vacant seats closer to the stage, rather than disturb so many people already settled.

The usual announcement was made prior to the show:  "Now is a good time to reach and turn off your phone"etc...  The gentlemen, next to us pretended to turn off his phone.  About half an hour into the film, this rude and ignorant man, (who sat next to us in E8) then had the audacity to check messages. Then he tried to take photos.  I leaned across my partner and signalled to turn it off as it hit my peripheral vision and was distracting me from reading the surtitles.  How rude are you mate!  My partner told me after the show that "MR E8" really spoiled the experience of the film and Philip Glass's music.  It is a shame that the announcements are not forceful enough and that the ushers do not throw them out.

I have seen the film before and this opera version by Philip Glass takes the film to a new level.  His music creates so many wonderful atmospheres and transports us into the forest, the castle and other locations.

The singing by the four superb singers was rich in tone and emotion. It was so beautiful to watch the singers watch the screen at times and their occasional head movement was respectful of their screen character.

The orchestra played this complex score with incredible concentration and respect for this masterful opera.  The score was played magnificently.

The costumes for the male singers looked a bit shabby with a jacket that did not match his trousers.

There are not enough men's toilets.  Heaven forbid the women usually have to endure lines.  The queue for the men's after the show was embarrassingly long.  We went next door to MTC as did a few other patrons.

Overall I gave this performance and total experience an 8.5/10.

20:21, Australian Ballet, State Theatre, Wednesday September 2nd 2015

20:21, Australian Ballet, State Theatre, Wednesday September 2nd 2015

The Australian Ballet have provided a superb night of dance with "20:21" showcasing three different choreographers.

"Symphony in Three Movements" by George Balanchine is a clever use of space, groupings and technique.  Music by Stravinsky screams for movement and ballet.

This ballet has a large ensemble of women who provide beautiful shapes that melt into a Mexican Wave of port de bras.  This would be more effective if some of the women held their core sufficiently to support the strong position of their arms to create the lyricism of the overall movement.

Another example was a young lady whose arms were flapping while most were held steadfast.  This became an issue when groups changed positions in opposite directions.  Due to her arms not being held created a slight collision as the dancer in the opposite direction was running headlong into the arms of this other dancer.  It is not a complaint but shows how difficult it is for 16 dancers to maintain port de bras positions, and to create seamless synchronisation.

I really enjoyed the ballet with its angular movements.  I must commend Natasha Kush who had intensely angular wrists that looked like Samson holding the pillars apart.  The final tick or kink in her foot when in attitude derrière detracts from her line and highlights the inconsistency with the other dancers.

The colour scheme for the costumes is flattering and provides the audience with an ease to watch the details of the choreography.

I look forward to this ballet being repeated in future seasons.

"Filligree and Shadow" is a new work by Resident Choreographer, Tim Harbour.  Set Design is by Kelvin Ho and mainly consists of a curved wall upstage which is striking.  There is not enough room for the dancer's entrances either side of this curved wall as the dancers appear to squeeze through the narrow gap.  This is particularly obvious with the broad shouldered men.

The Lighting Design by Benjamin Cisterne and highlights the shadows and and spotlights with dramatic effect.  While the lighting works, it feels discordant with the black costumes as you cannot see the choreography at times.  This is at its most frustrating when there is intricate moves in dark shadows upstage.  I wonder if a another colour costume with the shaded two tone tights would be more effective.

Choreographically there are some exciting phrases.  At other times there are two and three different phrases occurring and work when the lighting is conducive, but fail when in shadow as you cannot see properly.

Some of the partnering was confident and at times it appeared hesitant.  With more performances the dancer's confidence will grow - knowing that this is a great addition to the contemporary repertoire of the Australian Ballet.

The final work of the evening is one of my all-time favourite dance pieces, "In the Upper Room" to a score by Philip Glass.  What a wonderful celebration for Twyla Tharp who is celebrating her 50th year of creating dance.

I have been blessed to have seen this work five times prior to this viewing. Once by Twyla Tharp's company in Melbourne.

The Australian Ballet dance this ballet with zest, verve and gusto.  A last minute replacement with the the deletion of Chengwu Guo gave the performance a new edge.  For a replacement whether scheduled or not gives the audience food for thought:  Was it planned? Was Chengu injured?  Has the dancer worked with this cast before?  It created an adrenalin rush for me, and thank you for the excitement.

I do not care that there were a few slips and misjudged lifts as this is the pinnacle of aerobic dance. These dancers are masters of their craft and dance a near marathon.

The only thing that I did not witness was the funky looseness of Twyla Tharp.  I wanted a little more coolness or fun.  Though I do qualify this as they had a replacement dancer and no wonder they may have been a little on edge.

For this, my sixth viewing, I had tears in my eyes for the first time. I had tears of joy at the Bomb Squad who are the most perfect I have seen dance these roles.  Their purity of line and precise technique juxtaposed the funkier moves of the other dancers.  I think it was Ako Kondo and Miwako Kubota who excelled in these roles.  Thank you for my making my heart soar and my body have an out of body experience.  This has only occurred in about ten performances in 50 years of viewing theatre.

The Stompers who begin and create an atmosphere of anticipation with their playfulness, mirroring and retrogrades.  They also conclude the dance work with the same playfulness, mirroring and retrogrades.

Each viewing provides an opportunity to see new aspects of the piece.  I love Twyla Tharp's homage to so many genres of her training, including cheer leading and tap dancing.  I particularly love the "shuffles" and for the first time the tap "wings" stood out with accurate execution.

The final movement appears to be the whole ballet in fast forward.  It is as if we have the fast Forward Button and are controlling what we are viewing.  NO WITNESSING!  It is unforgettable perfection.

I am in awe of the dancers counting this complex music with its repetitive phrases.

I yearn for Triple Bills of this quality.  David McAllister has excelled with this superb Triple Bill that always provides more "dance" for your dollar!

Please bring back "Billy the Kid" by Aaron Copeland performed at the Palais Theatre in the late 1970s.

Overall 8.5/10