La Bayadere, Australian Ballet, Wednesday September 3rd 2014

La Bayadere, Australian Ballet, Wednesday September 3rd 2014

"La Bayadere" choreographed by Stanton Welch originally for the Houston Ballet has been recreated for the Australian Ballet.  Narrative ballets are the bread and butter for the Australian Ballet and provide opportunities for great sets and costumes.  Though, I am always sceptical that you get to see the best choreography and dance in some new versions of narrative ballets.

Costume designs by Peter Farmer are adequately glamorous while his scenic designs are very traditional ballet scenery comprising tabs, backcloths, scrims and the occasional piece of furniture.

Lighting design by Frances Croese was effective to highlight the dancers and create a sense of focus, space and location.

The story of "La Bayadere"  is convoluted and hard to follow. At least the ending is decisive.   It is one ballet that you really need to read the notes.  While the second act is easier to follow, it appears that you have the obligatory dream sequence to provide an opportunity for the ensemble of white tutus in the "Kingdom of the Shades" scene.

The "Kingdom of the Shades" has the most consistently high standard of dancing with the precision of the arabesque lines to the military fluidity of the  port de bras.  It was great to see no massive broken wrists among the 24 plus women.  It was the most pure version of this act I have seen in years.  Even with a few wobbles it allowed us to appreciate the strength, stamina and training of these fine dancers.

What intrigues me with the choreography is when Solo-Shade 1, 2 and 3 join the ensemble of girls down stage, we are then distracted by the two lines of 12 girls on the sides creating a blurred frame to the central dance by the Solo-Shades.  The pulse of 24 girls framing seemed to jar with the central dance.  I would love to imagine if we had an opportunity to focus on the three Solo-Shades framed by the stillness of the 24 girls.

I thought the men's dances were a little twee and comprised of sequences of enchainment from a classical ballet class.  Nothing too exacting for the dancers.  Danced well but lacked vigour, pep and excitement.

The women's dances were a little more exciting though some of the choreography seemed to jar with the music.  I thought that the clichéd Indian arm movements and gestures lacked any finish.  At times the traditional Indian arm movements were not sharp enough and far too quick for the music thus creating a blend of the bold and the blurred!

The pas de deux in Act One were messy and appeared awkward as they were full of tricks that had no flow and thus no polish.  The lifts were at times executed like throwing a sack of potatoes over your head.  This was not the fault of the dancers but the design of the entry into some lifts that had no  flow or connection.  While the Act Two pas de deux had better flow, transitions and musicality. 

The finale of the temple destruction scene was a miss-mash of theatrical corny devices and lacked focus and drama.  Compare this to the very camp but more dramatic destruction scene in the  "Samson and Delilah"  sequence in the Las Vegas production of "Jubilee" that has been running since about 1981.

Amber Scott as Nikiya, a temple dancer was sublime in this role with magnificent pure lines and elegant port de bras.  She was ably supported by Ty King-Wall as Solor, a warrior.  They danced well individually and together made the best of the choreography in the various pas de deuxs.  It was not until Act Two that we saw them really connect to create some magical dance full of emotion.

Ako Kondo as Gamzatti danced assuredly with some delicate fine pointe-work and steely stances. I have seen her dance better with more complex choreography and as I have earlier predicted she will be promoted to principal by the end of 2014.

Overall a very corny narrative ballet with a cleaner ending.  Though decidedly better as a narrative ballet than the recent "Romeo and Juliet" with choreography by Graeme Murphy that excelled this version of "La Bayadere."