+and+Brandon+Ragland+(Paris)++in+Romeo+&+Juliet.+Photo-Louisville+Ballet.jpg) |
| Natalia Ashikhmina (Juliet) and Brandon Ragland (Paris) in Romeo & Juliet. Photo – Louisville Ballet. |
Romeo &
Juliet
Music
by Sergei Prokofiev
Choreography
by Alun Jones & Helen Starr
A review by Kathi E.B.
Ellis.
Entire
contents are copyright © 2013 Kathi E.B. Ellis. All rights reserved.
Romeo & Juliet has been one of the most enduring
of love stories since Shakespeare introduced the star-crossed lovers in the
1590s. And I confess that I come to this performance by way of stage
productions, including an excellent adaptation by Moses Goldberg for Stage One (about
a decade ago) and West Side Story
(coming to Louisville audiences as part of this season’s PNC Broadway in
Louisville series), as well as familiarity with the Cranko and McMillan ballet
versions from growing up in England. According to the program, it is more than
a decade since the Louisville Ballet danced this Romeo & Juliet, choreographed (ca. 1980s) by former Louisville
Ballet Artistic Director Alun Jones.
This
Romeo & Juliet, set to
Prokofiev’s sprawling 1935 score, is visually sumptuous, including the costumes,
which Mr. Jones also designed (with John Truscott). The set is a unit set (designed
by Wally Coburg) with high arches starkly framing the action and two banks of
steps affording sweeping entrances. Changes of location are accomplished with,
for the most part, moving elements that are flown in. Some of the set changes
were lengthy, and I wondered if they were filling out the music, until there
was one in which the audience sat in the dark and in silence. Because of the
fluidity of set pieces, it would be preferable to allow the audience to witness
the transitions, staying connected to the action, rather than “dropping out” in
semi-blackouts.
At
the Saturday matinee the role of Juliet was danced by Erica De La O and the role
of Romeo by Douglas Ruiz. Ms. De La O embraced the range of Juliet from young,
carefree teen through falling in love with Romeo, onto the realization of their
parting and her decision to die with him. It has been a joy to see Ms. De La O
deepen her interpretation of dramatic roles, and her Juliet is light and lissome
in the early scenes and becomes more stark and sinewy as the fear of Romeo’s
departure sinks in. Mr. Ruiz’s Romeo came into its own by the balcony scene. Romeo’s
early scenes rely on traditional mime to set up the romance with Rosaline; and even
the playfulness between him, Mercutio (Kristopher Wojtera) and Benvolio (Kazuki
Ichihashi) seemed studied and mannered rather than lusty and filled with
braggadocio. Yet by the balcony scene, Mr. Ruiz’s energy and lyricism came to
the fore, and the dawn scene with Ms. De La O was heartbreaking in the couple’s
desire to eke out more minutes together. His final act solo with the dead
Juliet is powerful and disturbing, as Romeo cannot let her go, continuing to
dance with her as if she were still alive.
The
ballet version of Romeo & Juliet
creates scenes that are unfamiliar to those whose reference point is
Shakespeare’s version. Prokofiev has composed extended divertissements for the
citizens of Verona including, in Mr. Jones’s version, several for children who
span the range from athletic – a lot of tumbling, to cute – a lot of skipping.
While it is always good to see junior dancers on stage (and the experience they
glean from being part of a professional production is invaluable), these motifs
lacked the energy necessary to create a bustling market or carnival. The same
is true of the act two wedding inserted into the carnival. While it is clear
that Mr. Jones is influenced by the Cranko and McMillan versions, these crowd
scenes have less focus than the busyness and specific activity of the earlier
creations. A divertissement most delightful is that of the traveling players
led by Amanda Diehl and Evgeni Dokoukine. Ms. Diehl always brings a bright,
joyous aspect to her dancing and here she illuminated the stage and, with her
partner, created a space for the sparkling divertissement by the corps of
traveling players. Ryan Stokes provides a moment of suspended breath with
impressive juggling routines at the carnival.
Paris
(Brandon Ragland) is also given a more extended role, including a pas de deux during
the ball with Juliet that is interrupted by Romeo. It was lovely to see the
gesture of “And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss” introduced during the Paris-Juliet
duet and then iterated between Romeo and Juliet, and not only during the ball
scene. At the ball, the formal dances had a richness and weight to them, which
echoes the long tradition of story ballets over more than two centuries. For me,
a highlight of any version of Romeo &
Juliet is the death of the Mercutio character. On Saturday afternoon, this
did not happen. Maybe I brought in the wrong expectations; maybe Mr. Wojtera is
miscast; maybe there is more emphasis on the conflict between Romeo and Tybalt (Eduard
Forehand) in this interpretation. Whatever the cause, I was aware of only the
play-acting during Mercutio’s death sequence and not the growing, unexpected,
difficult-to-mask realization that the pain is real and that death is a very
likely outcome. The fight choreography by former Louisville Ballet dancer Dale
Brannon is muscular and effective.
An
impressive element of this production is the addition of 45 performers drawn from
the community to the regular roster of the Louisville Ballet’s professional
corps and Trainee Company. That many of these extras have performed many times
with the Ballet is a tribute to the role of the company in our community, and
we can hope that the children will grow into other productions and characters
as they mature as dancers. Nonetheless, there were times when the stage felt
weighted down by the sheer number of bodies, creating more of a museum piece,
an homage to the traditional story ballets, rather than a dynamic, living
story. And yet the current dancers of the Louisville Ballet have passion and
dynamism, which they display in contemporary and classical pieces. Just as West
Side Story electrified our expectations of Shakespeare, maybe it’s time for
the next generation of choreographers to shake up our expectations of
Prokofiev’s complex score.
Note: At the other
performances, Juliet was played by Natalia Ashikhmina, Romeo by Ben Needham-Wood,
Tybalt by Phillip Velinov.
March
1-2, 2013
Louisville
Ballet
Whitney
Hall, Kentucky Center
501
West Main Street
Louisville,
KY 40202
502-584-7777
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