European Companies

Béjart in Abundance

December 2, 2015 0 Comments

“Suite Barocco”, “Syncope”, “Liebe und Tod” (“Love and Death”), “Le Mandarin Merveilleux”
Béjart Ballet Lausanne
Stuttgart State Opera
Stuttgart, Germany
November 27, 2015

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2015 by Ilona Landgraf

As Stuttgart Ballet tours Korea and Japan, the guesting of the Béjart Ballet Lausanne on the last weekend in November was a welcome extra dose of dance for the aficionados in the Stuttgart audience. The troupe presented a mixed bill of four pieces. Three of them had been choreographed by Maurice Béjart, one was created by Gil Roman, the company’s artistic director since Béjart’s death in 2007.

Béjart’s “Suite Barocco”, a piece from 1997 to vocal Baroque music, has no clear storyline. (more…)

An Indomitable Woman

November 26, 2015 0 Comments

“Charlotte Salomon: Death and the Painter”
Ballett im Revier
Musiktheater im Revier
Gelsenkirchen, Germany
November 20, 2015

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2015 by Ilona Landgraf

It is just Bridget Breiner’s third season at the helm of the Ballett im Revier in Gelsenkirchen. But for the second time she has already been awarded the German theater prize “Faust” for best choreography. Breiner, who started her career as a dancer with the Bavarian State Ballet, later joined the Semperoper Ballet Dresden before dancing several years as principal with Stuttgart Ballet. In 2012 she took over as artistic director of the Ballett im Revier following Bernd Schindowski who had held the post for more than thirty years.

Getting the “Faust” twice is quite an achievement as Breiner’s company is small: around fifteen dancers including guests. “Ruß”, Breiner’s version of the Cinderella story, was the first work awarded in 2013. Just recently her latest work, “Charlotte Salomon: Death and the Painter”, received its laurels as well. (more…)

A Sweeping Goodbye

November 17, 2015 2 Comments

“Manon”
Semperoper Ballet
Semperoper
Dresden, Germany
November 11, 2015

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2015 by Ilona Landgraf

One could make things easier when it comes to the end of a dance career. A favorite piece which the audience likes should make for a decent leave-taking. Jiří Bubeníček is of another caliber. After nine years with Semperoper Ballet Dresden he tackled a debut for his farewell, Des Grieux in Kenneth MacMillan’s “Manon”. Moreover, he asked a ballerina, with whom he had never danced before, to be his Manon: Royal Ballet’s principal Melissa Hamilton, who will stay with the Semperoper company for the whole season.

“Go for it!” is one of Bubeníček’s principles. Exactly this is what he did. In fact, what the whole company did. Aaron S.Watkin, the company’s artistic director, aimed to use “Manon” to explore yet another style with his already versatile company. It was enthusiastically received. No wonder. All ingredients merged splendidly presenting “Manon” as a gripping narrative. (more…)

Give it Another Shot

November 9, 2015 0 Comments

“Greyhounds”
Theaterhaus Stuttgart
Stuttgart, Germany
November 04, 2015

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2015 by Ilona Landgraf

The four dancers of Egon Madsen’s “Greyhounds” compare their careers to long-distance journeys with various stopovers. Although this is not quite correct. Only two protagonists are indeed gray-haired veterans of the dance floor, Marianne Kruuse and Madsen himself. Both are in their seventies. The quartet’s other two, Julia Krämer and Thomas Lempertz, bid their farewell to Stuttgart Ballet’s stage only around ten years ago: Krämer was principal, Lempertz first soloist. The current get-together of the four at the Theaterhaus Stuttgart was initiated by Madsen, a formative dancer of Stuttgart Ballet under Cranko’s reign.

From 1981 on, he was director of Frankfurt Ballet followed by directorships in Stockholm, Florence, and at the Nederlands Dans Theater III (NDT III). Madsen’s affinity to dance never stopped. He is closely connected with Stuttgart’s Gauthier Dance Company and a respected figure in the city’s dance scene. (more…)

A Star Enters Another Orbit

November 3, 2015 1 Comment

Jiří Bubeníček
Dresden, Germany
October, 2015

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2015 by Ilona Landgraf

In about one week Semperoper Ballet Dresden will lose one of its mainstays, a formative figure of the company, the idol of the Saxon audience, Principal Jiří Bubeníček, who will bid farewell to the Semperoper stage on November 11th as Des Grieux in Kenneth MacMillan’s “Manon”. In 2009, already a longtime internationally recognized choreographer, he mentioned in an interview on the occasion of a new creation for New York City Ballet that he would have to decide soon whether to focus on dancing or on choreographing. Since then he has managed the balancing act between giving top-notch performances and creating even more ballets.

Jiří’s twin brother Otto had already bid goodby to Hamburg Ballet’s stage at the end of last season. Both are a perfectly attuned team. Jiří choreographs, Otto is in charge of set and costumes; sometimes he also composes the music. Now, shortly after turning forty-one, the time has also come for Jiří to finally stop dancing full-time. His schedule book is packed with commissions for the next two years. So there won’t be time to put up his feet after the final bow. But that would not suit Bubeníček’s nature anyway. A man of action he loves to be busy. Running several projects at the same time isn’t unusual for him. (more…)

Anderson’s Jubilee Menu No. 1

November 2, 2015 0 Comments

“Kylián / Van Manen / Cranko”
Stuttgart Ballet
Stuttgart State Opera
Stuttgart, Germany
October 27, 2015

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2015 by Ilona Landgraf

Shortly before setting off on a tour to Korea and Japan Stuttgart Ballet premiered a mixed bill of four pieces by three choreographers. This season is Reid Anderson’s twentieth for which he chose his favorites. Combining choreography by Jiří Kylián, Hans van Manen – both long-term collaborators of the company – and John Cranko is a safe play, yet also a welcome treat. Especially as the company was in sunniest form. (more…)

Not Exactly a Happy Love Affair

October 31, 2015 0 Comments

“A Cinderella Story”
Hamburg Ballet – John Neumeier
Hamburg State Opera
Hamburg, Germany
October 23, 2015

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2015 by Ilona Landgraf

Indeed Cinderella gets golden shoes to dance in at the royal ball, but unlike in the Brothers Grimm’s or Charles Perrault’s fairy tale they are not the key element of John Neumeier’s “A Cinderella Story”. The 1992 production has been revived earlier this season. It is a version mainly referring to the Brothers Grimm text but also includes a few details from Perrault. Yet above all it is Neumeier’s own interpretation, his perspective on the story.

Neumeier avoided the bloody cruelties one finds in the written sources. The mean stepsisters neither chop off their toes or heels to fit into Cinderella’s shoes, nor are their eyes picked out as a punishment at the end. Instead Neumeier added a heavy dose of humor and exaggerated most characters with stark cliches, yet also allowed character traits to surface which put another complexion on some figures. (more…)

“I am always in love.”

October 18, 2015 0 Comments

Fabien Voranger
Dresden, Germany
October, 2015

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2015 by Ilona Landgraf

Love guided and catalyzed Fabien Voranger’s career in several decisive situations. Just aged ten, being infatuated with a young girl fueled his interest in ballet and led to his audition for the Ballet School of the Paris Opera; and, as it happens, he was accepted. Later, while he was in a scholarship study program at the Royal Ballet School in London his girlfriend was his major support during a reorientation forced by injury. Love almost made him follow a ballerina to Australia. His desire to express his art led to many moves but ultimately to success.
Now, at the age of thirty-four, his love is rooted in Dresden, where Voranger, meanwhile principal of Semperoper Ballet, lives with his wife, opera singer Antigone Papoulkas, and two sons. In early October we met there in a French bistro to talk about his career, his life and his vision of the art of ballet.

Voranger started to take ballet lessons around the age of six together with two of his his three sisters in his home village close to Aix-en-Provence in Southern France. (more…)

And Now?

October 2, 2015 0 Comments

“The Sleeping Beauty”
Ballet Company of Teatro alla Scala
Teatro alla Scala
Milan, Italy
September 26, 2015

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2015 by Ilona Landgraf

Six months after Alexei Ratmansky’s “The Sleeping Beauty” received its premiere in Costa Mesa, California, with American Ballet Theater, gracing the company’s 75th anniversary, European audiences now have the opportunity to enjoy the lavish production as well. It premiered on September 26 at the Teatro alla Scala, which shouldered the costs of the project with ABT.

Today’s traditionally known “Sleeping Beauty” is the result of adaptions and changes made since the piece’s premiere in St. Petersburg in 1890. (more…)

Thoroughly Reconfigured

September 7, 2015

“Raymonda”
The Royal Swedish Ballet
The Royal Opera House
Stockholm, Sweden
September 01, 2015

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2015 by Ilona Landgraf

When tackling a new version of “Raymonda”, the last grand ballet Marius Petipa created for the Maryinsky Theatre in 1898, revising the plot is a good idea. Its original libretto by Lidia Pashkova and Petipa, based on a medieval legend, features the noble lady Raymonda who nearly gets abducted by the lovestruck Saracen knight Abderakhman during a festivity but is saved just in time by her reputable fiancé, the knight Jean de Brienne. (more…)

Only a Fairytale?

July 31, 2015

“Sleeping Beauty”
Stuttgart Ballet
Stuttgart State Opera
Stuttgart, Germany
July 25, 2015

Stuttgart closes this season in high spirits with several performances of Maria Haydée’s “Sleeping Beauty”. The company has every reason to be in good mood. Recently, quite some intricate issues were resolved: after years of debate about financing, the first sod for the new Cranko School building was cut a few days ago. It is scheduled to be ready for the 2018/19 season. Renovation of the Stuttgart Opera House is also pending and, though it is not yet clear where the interim stage will be located during the projected five years of construction, the management, backed by the company’s team spirit, radiates confidence. Also a tricky personnel matter – who should succeed artistic director Reid Anderson? – was solved shortly before the end of the season. (more…)

Bringing Sparkle Back to the Homeland

July 23, 2015

“Les Ballets Bubeníček” (“L’Heure Bleue”, “The Piano”)
Nové Divadlo/ J.K. Tyl-Theater
Pilsen, Czech Republic
July 18, 2015

Pilsen, the Czech Republic’s fourth biggest town, is located in Bohemia between Prague and Germany’s Nuremberg. First and foremost it is known for its pils, a type of pale lager beer produced there since 1842. This year Pilsen is making headlines for another reason: in addition to Belgium’s Mons, it is one of Europe’s Cultural Capitals. More than six hundred cultural events, ranging from theater performances to concerts, art exhibitions and other events are offered. The project which started in January is more than a short-lived affair, promising instead to boost the town’s popularity and fuel local cultural life for a long time to come. (more…)

Grand Finale

July 17, 2015

“Nijinsky-Gala XLI”
Hamburg Ballet – John Neumeier
Hamburg State Opera
Hamburg, Germany
July 12, 2015

Traditionally Hamburg Ballet’s “Ballet Days” end with a Nijinsky-Gala and traditionally John Neumeier presents an extra large format, that is five hours or more. The programs of past galas did not necessarily refer directly to Nijinsky, but this year’s prominently did. Otto Bubeníček bid his farewell as Vaslav Nijinsky in an excerpt from Neumeier’s “’Le Pavillon d’Armide” which was the center piece of the three-part evening. It was in the “Spirit of the Romantic Period”, which was the common theme of the season’s repertory. The first part offered insights into eight different ballets, the final third part was made up of excerpts from five other ballets. Neumeier never presents small snippets, instead he tends to add another pas de deux rather than cutting one. Dancers from the Houston Ballet and the National Ballet of China broadened the spectrum. Other guests were the Bolshoi Ballet’s Svetlana Zakharova and Johan Kobborg who danced with Alina Cojocaru, a permanent guest of Hamburg Ballet. As usual Neumeier in person guided the audience through the program. (more…)

Missed Chances

July 7, 2015

“Peer Gynt”
Hamburg Ballet – John Neumeier
Hamburg State Opera
Hamburg, Germany
June 30, 2015

John Neumeier’s “Peer Gynt” saw the light of day in 1989. Now, twenty-six years later, he has put it thoroughly to the test with a reworked version opening Hamburg Ballet’s 41. Ballet Days, bringing back for two weeks a kaleidoscope of the season’s repertory culminating in a gala this year on July 12th.

Boiling down Henrik Ibsen’s five act play about Peer Gynt’s life into a ballet evening of tolerable duration is a master stroke per se. Neumeier cut it down to three acts plus an epilogue and managed to tell the Norwegian’s life’s journey within three hours divided by a break. The first half comprised of two acts deals with Peer’s birth and his relationship with his mother Aase, a peasant’s widow. Peer is a blowhard, a prowler and scalawag, one hardly on good terms with the neighboring peasantry. (more…)

The Seeming and the Real

June 27, 2015

“Artifact II / The Exiles / Zugvögel”
Bavarian State Ballet
National Theater
Munich, Germany
June 19, 2015

Munich’s National Theater was packed to the roof for the last performance of “Artifact II / The Exiles / Zugvögel”. The triple bill combines two older pieces – “Artifact II” by William Forsythe and “Zugvögel” by Jiří Kylián – with “The Exiles”, a newly acquired work by José Limón. It is the fourth work by Limón in the company’s repertory. Forsythe’s “Artifact II” is the second part of the full-evening, quadripartite “Artifact” which has been in the company’s repertory since 2009. “Zugvögel” (“Migrating Birds”) is a creation by Kylían which opened Munich’s ballet festival week in 2009. Performance rights of “Zugvögel” are reserved for the Bavarian State Ballet. (more…)