For more than 40 years, Scottish Ballet has been one of the most vibrant and interesting companies on the UK dance scene. It is a ballet company born of a well considered vision and the desire to prove that there can be good ballet without grandiose spectacle. Indeed, for many years it has been notable for its almost ‘chamber’-like choreographic repertoire, which has included intelligent adaptations of the great classics. Now a new chapter is about to start, as Christopher Hampson takes over the company’s artistic directorship, succeeding Ashley Page and an impressively illustrious roster of equally enlightened directors.
Like many in the dance business, I have long admired the way the company has constantly positioned and marketed itself, successfully tackling an artistically eclectic range of genres and styles, but without ever going beyond its artistic limits. Add to that its good artists and excellent dancers, and you will have a clear idea of why Scottish Ballet has long occupied a very special place in the hearts of ballet-goers and critics alike.
It was with all this in mind that I went to see its double bill at Sadler’s Wells. Unfortunately, my expectations were not entirely matched by what I saw. Programme-wise, the coupling of Jorma Elo’s Kings 2 Ends with Kenneth MacMillan’s Song of the Earth is not exactly a felicitous one. Elo is an internationally known and respected artist, but his widely renowned creativity does not come fully across in this 2011 creation.
Divided into two sections, Kings 2 Ends is meant to juxtapose choreography set to music by Steve Reich with dancing accompanied by a Mozart concerto. Intriguing as it may sound, the match is not as seamless and theatrically effective as one would like it to be. There are some nice movement ideas in the first section and at the beginning of the second, but, once the Mozart part is under way, these become repetitive in the extreme. Alas, the second part strives, rather unsuccessfully, to be comic, too. Humour in ballet is a delicate thing, and needs to be handled with great care. Which is not what Elo did. His in-jokes — and one hopes they were in-jokes — are but a pale imitation of the great ones seen in works such as Push Comes to Shove by Twyla Tharp or Symphony in D by Jiri Kylian.
On the opening night the dancers did not look entirely at ease with the quirky choreographic demands of this new ballet. Which was odd, as this was not the first time they had danced this programme. Technical untidiness and lack of control reigned throughout and made one wonder whether this, in the end, is an appropriate choice for the company.
Luckily, things improved in Kenneth MacMillan’s Song of the Earth, to the well-known ‘Das Lied von der Erde’ by Gustav Mahler. This metaphor-riven, episodically structured, though not exactly narrative dance-drama might have dated here and there. But it remains an outstanding signpost in the history of 20th-century ballet. The haunting presence of the Messenger of Death, a half-masked, impassioned character, is chillingly timeless, and Christopher Harrison understood perfectly both the dramatic and the choreographic nuances of this role. Next to him, Sophie Martins and Erik Cavallari gave a perfect rendition of roles that remain associated, in the memory of many, with some of the greatest artists ever. I only wish the evening had been better structured.
Comments