BY David Stoyle FOR FR2DAY.COM
Monaco once again stages a tremendous array of ballet for the December season 2011. With the Bolshoi, the Vienna National Opera Ballet, and of course the ballet of Monte Carlo, the performers are top notch and the program is an eclectic range of energy and grace. There's protest from South Africa, romance and drama from Swan Lake, Hip Hop, Canadian grace, Oliver Twist, classical poetry with a very modern interpretation, and Norwegian mystery to enchant us.
Pick of the
series is the gala night on December 17th when the
Bolshoi soloists and the Monte Carlo ballet stars meet to perform dances from
Swan Lake. A composition by
Jean-Christophe Maillot inspired by "
Swan Lake", and called "
Lac" will be the performance running up to New Year. It's a meeting point of beauty, grace, tradition and modernity, and it's all the more likely to be sold out after so many people enjoyed the movie "
Black Swan" - let's hope the finale isn't quite the same.
The
Viennese National Opera Ballet is performing "
Homage to Jerome Robbins": the famous choreographer who created "
West Side Story". They'll be dancing
Glass Pieces (1983),
In
the Night (1970), and
The Concert (1956), each one written for and about the City of New York. Accompanied by the
Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, the first part is written by
Philip Glass, so expect lots of layered melodies repeating themselves in a trance-like style. And that's the way the dance is too - small motifs repeating and building. The other two dances are to music by
Chopin: "In the Night" takes four
Nocturnes and turns them into a
piano dance, while "The Concert" is a
comic piece of parodies - see if you can work out who they are joking about!
Malou Airaudo and the
Compagnie Renégade are performing "
Irgendwo" - a fusion of hip-hop and contemporary dance. Airaudo came to prominence when dancing for
Pina Bausch.
A special moment will be the performance of "
Creation", by
Crystal Pite, in which the
Kidd Pivot Dance Company will be performing with each dancer replicated in a
life-size model and in another dancer
doubling them. It's a reflection on the meaning of creation and art, and it's something wonderful to behold.
South African
Robyn Orlin brings a piece with the title: "
Have you hugged, kissed and respected your brown Venus today?" It focuses on the horrific tale of the black woman brought to
France in the
eighteenth century and exhibited as a freak before becoming a prostitute and dying young.
Orlin challenges us to consider whether
attitudes today have really advanced that much.
Virgilio Sieni's "The Nature of Things" is an adaptation of a poem by
Lucretius over 2,000 years ago. Lucretius wrote about how nature is not composed purely of atoms, that there is a
fluctuating spirituality that drives our souls through the stages of life. In this dance, a group of
male dancers propel the ballerina through her stages of life as she swaps masks and is lifted, floated, and guided across the stage.
Charles Dickens probably never imagined a production of his
Oliver Twist performed in Monaco. But that's what is going to happen when
Josette Baiz brings a troup of young dancers between the ages of 8 and 15 to perform here. It's a
grim view of child cruelty, but there is always a ray of light reminding us of hope.
Ina Christel Johanssen brings the
Norwegian National Company of Contemporary Dance to perform "
3 o'clock in the afternoon" - a work filled with
energy and angst as her accomplished charges try to work out which way they should go.
The full program is:
Saturday 10th December 2011: Homage to Jerome Robbins: Glass Pieces, In the Night, The Concert.
Vienna National Opera Ballet, Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
8.30 PM Grimaldi Forum
Sunday 11th December 2011: Homage to Jerome Robbins: Glass Pieces, In the Night, The Concert.
Vienna National Opera Ballet, Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
8.30 PM Grimaldi Forum
Monday 12th December 2011: Creation, Crystal Pite, Kidd Pavot Company
8.30 PM Opera de Monte Carlo
Tuesday 13th December 2011: "Have you hugged, kissed and respected your brown Venus today?": Robyn Orun,
8.30 PM Grimaldi Forum
Wednesday 14th December 2011: "La Natura Delle Cose" Virgilio Sieni
8.30 PM Opera de Monte Carlo
Thursday 15th December 2011: "Oliver Twist", Josette Baiz, Groupe Grenade,
8.30 PM Grimaldi Forum
Friday 16th December 2011: "3 o'clock in the afternoon", Ina Christel Johanssen
8.30 PM Opera de Monte Carlo
Saturday 17th December 2011: Gala evening around "Swan Lake": Bolshoi Soloists and Ballet de Monte Carlo
8.30 PM Grimaldi Forum
27-31 December 2011: "Lac" a creation based on Swan Lake by J-C Maillot
8.30 PM Grimaldi Forum
All images © Ballets de Monte-Carlo/Monaco Dance Forum
