By BRUCE DENNILL
Joburg Ballet: Dreamscapes / Artistic Director: Dane Hurst / Roodepoort Theatre, Roodepoort
Presenting two new original, contemporary ballets in a theatre that’s somewhat off the beaten path for mainstream Johannesburg audiences is a gamble that has richly paid off for Joburg Ballet, who welcomed a near capacity audience to Roodepoort Theatre quite late in this season’s run.
The programme for Dreamscapes, involves Les Sylphides, the one-act classical ballet set to the music of Chopin; Resonance, choreographed by Joburg Ballet’s Interim Artistic Director Dane Hurst; and The Underworld And Elsewhere, choreographed by celebrated former Joburg Ballet soloist Kitty Phetla. At nearly three hours long (including two intervals), it’s a notable feat of athleticism, particularly because the pace and complexity of the three acts differs so much.
Les Sylphides offers classic Romantic era elegance and beauty, with the ballerinas in gleaming white leotards and tulle skirts (or Romantic tutus – extra authenticity points for this piece). Much of the choreography involves dancers in symmetrical lines or patterns (plus long periods on pointe), with the flowing lines of their arms and skirts complemented by general good form in terms of arabesques and attitudes and the like. Alice Le Roux does gently graceful work during the Prelude; Darrah Hourrides and Savannah Ireland impress during the Waltz and Cristina Nakos – arguably the pick of the dancers over the course of the entire production – has striking presence during the Waltz.
Resonance begins with massed ensemble choreography to the guttural, staccato rhythms of music from Kyle Shepherd’s South African History !X album. With the ballerinas in multi-coloured costumes, the visual effect is also markedly different and Mario Gaglione (the standout male dancer in the contemporary pieces) takes confident lead at the front of the stage. A looseness in the synchronisation of the movement of the dancers is difficult to ignore, particularly after the relative precision of the classical ballet in Act One. The growing intensity of the work quickly balances that out, though, as the mood of Johannesburg’s historic underground jazz clubs is evoked with via breathy saxophones and recreations of the sort of confrontations and violence that could potentially take place between late-night carousers. In that context, racial tension and bullying make an unexpected and challenging appearance in a dance production, encouraging a different type of engagement and food for thought going into the second interval.
The Underworld And Elsewhere begins with the sound of water and the result of some hard work on the part of the smoke machine during the break. The costumes, designed by Kitty Phetla and Yolanda Roos, somehow suggest both the elementary and the futuristic, and several scenes give the company plenty of scope to expand the concept by representing oracles, the moon, and more. The highlight – and perhaps the climax of the whole show – is the pas de deux featuring principal dancers Monike Cristina and Bruno Miranda, which involves a powerful combination of ballet, contemporary dance flexibility and, er, glitter. The latter is surprisingly effective, adding an element of whimsy and magic to proceedings.
Over the course of the show, the mood and pacing is a little uneven and the lighting is often oddly gloomy, with dancers on the edges of the stage in relative darkness, but overall, the combination of eras and types of dance and the further extension of a growing company repertoire make Dreamscapes stimulating viewing.
