...an unusual choice of bill. Unusual firstly as the work of two women choreographers, and secondly in that it gives audiences a rare chance to see ballets from the extremely interesting and creative period of the 1940’s and 1950’s, now sadly neglected.
Tag - Vincent Chaillet
The middle piece, O Zlozony/O Compsite, is a beautiful work by Trisha Brown, made for the company in 2004. Bizarely it always reminds me of Ashton's Monotones...
...Bart's a gifted and discerning artist, with a deep understanding of the Opera's heritage and style. Rather than trying to "recreate" the long-forgotten original choreography by Arthur St. Leon, Bart's made a new work that feels old, as if it had long been a warhorse of the Opera's repertory, subject to over a century of vagaries in taste and technique, yet emerging today all the richer for the...
The arrival of the wilis takes one’s breath away. Not only are they individually beautiful, with their soft port-de-bras and milky-white shoulders, but they are all eerily the same, in every way: same size, same build, same arms, same tilt of the head, same gaze, same feet.
With its exquisite staging, and most importantly with its understanding and respect of the Romantic ballet style, and whole-hearted dedication of the dancers to their roles, the Paris Opera Ballet demonstrated just how Giselle should be produced and performed.