Snow-White at the National Theater
The National Theater in Bucharest hosted a story this weekend. It was "Snow-White", as seen by the French choreographer of Albanian origin Angelin Preljocaj, and it seduced the local public, during all its all three performances. The ballet impressed the Romanian audience by its scenery, costumes, lighting and by the director's ingenious ideas.
Although the National does not have the best stage for ballet, and the first performance was late due to technical problems, the show went on for nearly two hours without any incidents.
In addition to what the poster had promised - a beautiful story, somewhat ignored by the classical ballet, a name such as Preljocaj, costumes by Jean Paul Gaultier and music by Gustav Mahler - the performances also showed gorgeous sets, ingenious light effects and an original direction.
The tale is perfectly linear, Preljocaj does not deviate too much from the Grimm Brothers story, he does neither invent nor suggest, just relates it in the manner of the nineteenth century romantic ballet. It's the plea for classic simplicity of a choreographer that is not at all far from the contemporary dance.
If the show brings no surprises as far as choreography, it's totally different in terms of sets (bearing the signature of Thierry Leproust) and direction. Preljocaj has imagined the arriving of the Seven Dwarfs on ropes, down the mountain and dancing in the air - a memorable scene - and the sequence in which the step-mother looks in the mirror seems either previously recorded or elaborated by means of complicated light techniques. In fact, on the opposite side, the step mother is perfectly doubled by another dancer, and the effect was remarkable.
Some of the choices that Jean Paul Gaultier made concerning costumes are said to be questionable. The most successful appearance is the step-mother, with a dark look (a combination of black and red), borrowed from Walt Disney's version. Gaultier's fans forgive him all his "sins" in the end, when Snow-White appears in a gorgeous bridal dress, during the wedding scene.
Photo and information from "Evenimentul Zilei"
Although the National does not have the best stage for ballet, and the first performance was late due to technical problems, the show went on for nearly two hours without any incidents.
In addition to what the poster had promised - a beautiful story, somewhat ignored by the classical ballet, a name such as Preljocaj, costumes by Jean Paul Gaultier and music by Gustav Mahler - the performances also showed gorgeous sets, ingenious light effects and an original direction.
The tale is perfectly linear, Preljocaj does not deviate too much from the Grimm Brothers story, he does neither invent nor suggest, just relates it in the manner of the nineteenth century romantic ballet. It's the plea for classic simplicity of a choreographer that is not at all far from the contemporary dance.
If the show brings no surprises as far as choreography, it's totally different in terms of sets (bearing the signature of Thierry Leproust) and direction. Preljocaj has imagined the arriving of the Seven Dwarfs on ropes, down the mountain and dancing in the air - a memorable scene - and the sequence in which the step-mother looks in the mirror seems either previously recorded or elaborated by means of complicated light techniques. In fact, on the opposite side, the step mother is perfectly doubled by another dancer, and the effect was remarkable.
Some of the choices that Jean Paul Gaultier made concerning costumes are said to be questionable. The most successful appearance is the step-mother, with a dark look (a combination of black and red), borrowed from Walt Disney's version. Gaultier's fans forgive him all his "sins" in the end, when Snow-White appears in a gorgeous bridal dress, during the wedding scene.
Photo and information from "Evenimentul Zilei"
2 comments:
Modern ballet, isn't it? It has a hidden strength and passion that sometimes is not understood by classical ballet lovers.
Did you see it?
Yes, modern ballet.
By the time I found out about it was sold out!
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