On their toes

Published on October 6, 2007

Ballet

Portugal's national ballet troupe - the Companhia Nacional de Bailado (CNB) - brought two very different tales of tragic love to the stage of Bangkok's "International Festival of Dance and Music" this week.

The first, performed at the weekend, was a new take on the classic "Swan Lake". The second, Tuesday's staging of "Pedro and Ines", attempted to unravel a web of deceit and murder within the Portuguese monarchy.

The CNB's version of "Swan Lake" was very different from the familiar and much-loved original choreography of the legendary Marius Petipa, and those expecting more classical moves may well have felt disappointed at first.

But as the performance evolved, anyone willing to keep his or her mind open to new artistic visions and dramatic interpretations came to accept that CNB's artistic director Mehmet Balkan had done a decent job in reworking the piece.

The original four-act ballet was shortened to two acts with a prologue. Although parts of Petipa's first and fourth acts were considerably cut, the dramatic story was still well told, and the entire second and third acts - the more important in terms both of the choreography and the narration of the love story between Siegfried and Odette - remained intact.

Unlike Petipa, however, Balkan believed it was important to explain why Odette and other young women were being cursed and turned into swans, and he modified the plot of the original ballet accordingly. In Petipa's version, Odette is transformed into a swan from the very beginning and does not meet her prince until the second act while Balkan's version starts with the premise that Siegfried and Odette are already in love.

Balkan also made some changes to the original choreography but wisely chose not to take these too far. Nonetheless, audience members familiar with the ballet were disappointed by the absence of Odette's "saut de chat" ["jumping in splits"] entrance. Balkan's more modern steps were pleasant to watch but were in a different league from those of Petipa.

Overall, the dancers showed very good physiques, technique and expression. The long-limbed Odette/Odile had impeccable balance en pointe but was unable to complete the famous 32 fouettee turns at the ball scene. Prince Siegfried displayed controlled pirouettes and showed off his fine elevation throughout. The four cygnets gave a robust performance and were rewarded with warm applause.

The use of live music was, as usual, a plus although a few glitches were heard at Sunday's matinee. In Act I, especially during the pas de trois in the first scene, the music seemed to be ahead of the dancers. But perhaps this is unavoidable when a ballet company, an orchestra and a conductor from completely different places are working together with very little rehearsal.

Two days after "Swan Lake", the company's presented its second programme for the festival, the contemporary repertoire "Pedro e Ines" by guest-choreographer Olga Roriz.

The Portuguese tragedy tells the story of Pedro, King Peter I of Portugal, and Ines, his wife's lady in waiting.

The ballet started impressively with Ines, dressed all in white, performing a series of very high battement devant (accented raising of the leg into the air at the front) but soon went downhill.

The advertised highlight - what the press release had described as a "huge water tank" - turned out to be a pool filled with ankle-deep water, and contributed little to the piece. The dancers used it to splash around occasionally and it served as the setting for one pas de deux, but certainly didn't merit star billing.

The choreography wasn't particularly enticing and prevented the obviously skilful dancers from showcasing the technical prowess they had displayed in "Swan Lake". Rather, it seemed that the men were throwing, dragging and carrying lifeless-looking women around the stage.

However, the sheer emotional power of the piece was some compensation for the disappointing choreography. The pas de deux of Pedro and Ines was full of passion, a theatrical treat.

Though CNB weren't successful in telling the tragic love story as a dance, the troupe was certainly able to achieve its dramatic goals.

Indeed, it was interesting to see two different genres of repertoire staged one after the other by the same company at the same festival. Although neither performance was perfect, each had its strengths.

And, after all, the individual success of these new stagings, one adapted and the other newly choreographed, should be seen within the context of  CNB's commitment to versatility, and the effort and enthusiasm of its choreographers in trying to keep the world of dance moving.

Trained in classical ballet for the past 13 years, Jasmine Baker will be reviewing da:ns 2007 at the Esplanade Singapore later this month for 'The Nation'.

Jasmine Baker

Special to The Nation