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| The Victorian State Ballet in "Swan Lake" |
Direction & Concept – Martin & Michelle Sierra
Lighting Design, backdrops, sets & props – Martin
Sierra, Victorian State Balle -Scenic Studios.
Choreography – Michelle Sierra with Act 2 & 4 based on
the traditional Petipa.
Canberra Theatre April 4th & 5th
2025.
Opening night performance on April 4 reviewed by BILL
STEPHENS.
Established in 2015 as Victoria’s prime ballet organisation
under the Artistic Directorship of Martin Sierra, The Victorian State Ballet
has built up an impressive repertoire of full-length ballets.
For its three-performance season in Canberra, as part of its
2025 national tour, Victorian State Ballet chose its production of “Swan
Lake” following its performances of "Beauty and the Beast" in 2024..
Originally choreographed by Marius Petipa, and first
performed in 1877, “Swan Lake” tells the story of a young prince who falls in
love with a swan called Odette, who he discovers was previously a princess who
had been turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer called Rothbart.
Over the years “Swan Lake” has become regarded as the ultimate
classical ballet, and an essential in the repertoire of every worthwhile ballet
company. Countless choreographers have devised their own versions of Petipa’s
choreography, usually retaining crucial elements of the story, but
incorporating adjustments to accommodate the talents of their dancers and the facilities
available.
While there no longer remains a definitive Petipa version of
“Swan Lake”, most productions generally retain elements of the original Petipa
choreography for the white scenes as passed down through the memories of
dancers who have performed it.
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| The Dance of the Cygnets performed by dancers of the Victorian State Ballet. |
This is the case with this version performed by the
Victorian State Ballet, for which acts 1 & 3 have been newly choreographed
by Michelle Sierra, with acts 2 & 4, (the white scenes), based on the traditional
Petipa choreography as remastered by Sierra, responding to a concept
devised by herself and Artistic Director, Martin Sierra.
The result is a large, impressive production, well-danced by
the company, and enthusiastically received by the Canberra audience.
Outstanding features of this production include the prettily
costumed group dances, particularly the Waltz for the friends of Prince Siegfried
in Act 1, the dance for the princesses and the national dances in Act 3, for
which Sierra has devised a succession of eye-pleasing groupings, and the Petipa-based
white scenes, all of which were danced with admirable attention to detail and
mood by the dancers.
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| Elise Jacques and partner in "Swan Lake" |
Company principals Elise Jacques, in the dual roles as Odette/Odile, and Benjamin Harris, as Prince Siegfried, danced their roles efficiently but with only the slightest indications of any emotional connection with each other. That was until midway through Act 3, when with the entrance of Rothbart (Tristan Gross) and his two black swan attendants (Maggie de Koning & Alexia Simpson), sparks began to fly.
Elise Jacques,
obviously relishing portraying the fiery Odile over the colourless Odette, raised
both the temperature and the energy level of the Prince and the Magician with
her spitfire interpretation and dancing.
Although impressed by the magnificent backdrops, the
freshness and glamour of most of the costumes, the overall diligence of the
dancers, and the quality and sound volume of the recording of Tchaikovsky’s score,
despite some rough edits; aspects of the concept and storytelling puzzled.
In Act 3, the identity of the white-costumed character with
whom the prince danced a few steps, before rejecting and turning to dance with the
eight princesses, puzzled.
Why Rothbart wore a mask in Act 11, a moustache in Act 111,
and was clean-shaven in Act 1V, puzzled.
Why in act 1V, Prince Siegfried was showered with feathers,
causing him to drop to the stage where the swans ripped off his doublet and herded
him, bare-chested, off stage, leaving Odette emoting alone onstage; puzzled.
A careful examination of the program disclosed that the
feather shower signified Siegfried's transformation into a swan, while their
love had reversed Odette’s curse, thereby restoring her to human form.
Never having encountered this ending before, it proved a distracting ending to an otherwise enjoyable production.
Images provided by Victorian State Ballet.
This review also published in AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW. www.artsreview.com.au
