Presented by BIG Live
Canberra Theatre Centre
August 2
Reviewed by Samara Purnell
I was chatting to someone in the foyer before BIG VI (Ballet International Gala), who was commenting on how much “rolling around on the floor” they had seen recently in dance productions of various kinds and how they missed “elevation”. Boy did they come to the right show!
This Australian company invites dancers from across Australia and the world to join their ranks to perform touring productions that (in the case of the Gala) showcase the “best bits” of classical ballets. The evening usually includes one or two contemporary pieces by their star dancers too.
The production began its medley of perfect partnership pairings with Summertime, danced by the director of BIG, Joel Burke, and Brisbane-born Abbey Hansen. They were accompanied by the BIG band, featuring singer Lily Burke.
Returning star Daniil Simkin partnered Alice McArthur in Le Corsaire where the lifts brought on goosebumps. McArthur also performed the solo from Giselle, giving her a demure, Edwardian-ghost appearance. This emotionally intense performance, with brilliant characterization and light footwork, felt like seeing Giselle through fresh eyes.
From goosebumps in Le Corsaire to tears in the absolutely exquisite Thais, set to Jules Massenet’s Meditation, where the chemistry and ease between Iana Salenko and husband Marion Walter was on display. This intimate pas de deux by the returning stars was composed of beautiful lifts and ended with Salenko, in a soft, golden satin dress, held above Walter’s head, like a dancer in a music box, as the spot-light faded.
Salenko danced to the heart-wrenching strains of Arvo Part’s Spiegel im Spiegel in Sola, a contemporary piece exploring schizophrenia, sadness and fragments of memories.
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| Iana Salenko in Sola. Image from Instagram @iana_salenko |
From the elegance of Makar Mikhalkin (Bolshoi Ballet) in Talisman and Romeo and Juliet to the youthful joy and male energy in Diana and Acteon (performed by Hansen and Ervin Zagidullin), each pas de deux had beautiful arm and leg lines, executed in perfect unison. The lifts were unusual, complex and graceful and the men’s leaps, jumps and splits were ridiculously good, eliciting gasps and “phwoahs” from the audience.
The second half began with an excerpt from BIG’s upcoming production of Dracula. Don Quixote perhaps should have closed the show (it was the penultimate number). Salenko, held in the air in one hand by Adamzhan Baktiyar, casual as you like, for an extraordinary amount of time, delighted the audience, who clapped them on in their solos and spins.
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| Iana Salenko and Adamzhan Baktiyar. Image from Instagram @iana_salenko |
A second contemporary piece concluded the show - Simkin’s Lohengrin. The drawcard of this work was the shape of his muscular body and the shapes his body made, along with his perfect balance.
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| Daniil Simkin. Image from official program |
As with former productions, there were no sets and minimal lighting design, with clunky black-outs in between as they reset for the small cast, performing multiple dances.
The hectic finale, with band included, used the same formula as previously. Control and poise gave way to complete abandon, with men hurtling themselves across the stage and lifting their partners above their heads. The size of the stage meant some nervous moments as some sequences ended almost in the wings and at times we worried they might fly right off the stage.
BIG Live is a chocolate box of ballet with all your favourites. It showcases wonderful dancers from here and abroad, with lovely casting of each role, in a night that sold out well in advance. No doubt people will be looking in the calendar for next year’s production. In the meantime, BIG Live will be presenting Dracula and The Nutcracker later this year.
