Boisterous Ballet

I used to go to the ballet as a teen. Loved it.   It's great to be back at the Ballet season from time to time and I'm curious at my new response to the ballet.

Having worked in partner dance for years now, I think I look upon ballet with new eyes. The pick-up-the-girl-to-wonder-around-showing-her-girly-bits aspect has had me covering my eyes and almost blushing.  I think in dance these days I'm used to the hint of leg as a skirt swishes and swing aerials that are so fast you see the movement and energy but not always the full bodily form.

So I was delighted to see a very lush production of The Merry Widow with the Australian Ballet at the Arts Centre in Melbourne. The costumes were simply amazing; the sets stunning; the direction excellent and the character acting was simply perfect. The dancers conveyed wonderfully the spirit and energy of the story in movement and facial expressions without going to far in the ham steaks.... Really, this production was just sumptuous and wonderfully fresh.


However I was a little puzzled at the actual dancing.  A number of principals seemed quite a bit off balance (yes, aside from the supposed-to-be-drunk sequences) and some rather desperate lunging hand grabs were had to get the partner connection for the next lift. Phew; they only just made that connection in time. Did that really just happen?   Stage props seemed to fall out of hair and hands, scattering the stage with dangerous obstacles and were also flung - one onto the the orchestra net and one glass bounced off the set back across the stage.

During the time the final scene an ice bucket went was hit by our prima donnas leg and went flying, bucket, bottle, stand and all.  I just could not help but burst out with a rather horrified gafaw. Imagine.. its the final bit; they're united at last and expressing love and joy, making it look light and bright and beautiful and then... BOOM she boots the bottle out of the ice bucket and across the stage and there is much clanging as the stand the bottle and bucket go in all directions and the table wobbles crazily. Sorry. I couldn't help it.

It really was a wonderful production. Perhaps after years of minimalist sets we all need to get used to a more busy stage.  I look forward to the next in the subscription series with immense joy and raised eyebrow interest.