Dance
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thannandrea Pomo
The end of a season is the right time for celebrations. Last week, the Royal Ballet School presented a memorable Jubilee per- formance in honour of Dame Ninette de Valois, which included several guest appearances of dancers from both the Royal Ballet and the Birmingham Royal Ballet.
Compared with that, the mixed bill with which the Royal Ballet bids farewell to the Royal Opera House, on the eve of the the- atre's temporary closure, might look disap- pointing for those who expected a special occasion. None of the four items on the programme belongs to the British reper- toire and only one, the long awaited Talis- man pas de deux, constitutes a novelty for the Covent Garden audience. Still, this non-Anglo-centric, non-celebratory pro- gramme is an interesting one that can be seen as a compendium of the company's stylistic eclecticism.
When I reviewed the Royal Ballet's pre- mière of Twyla Tharp's Push Come to Shove last February, I lamented the lack of stylistic awareness in the performance. Five months later I have to admit that the com- pany seems to have absorbed fully the essence of Tharp's choreographic canons. The ballet, however, remains a problematic one for a wealth of different reasons. Cre- ated in 1976 as a showcase for Mikhail Baryshnikov and the dancers of the Ameri- can Ballet Theatre, Push Come to Shove is a typical product of the American dance culture of the mid-Seventies. It is not sur- prising, therefore, that most of its choreo- graphic in-jokes fall flat and the entire work looks rather dated, if not slightly tired. Yet, one cannot help praising Tet- suya Kumakawa, Darcey Bussell, Sarah Wildor, Belinda Hatley and Michael Nunn for being able to provide a superb personal reading of the principal roles that goes far beyond a merely appropriate technical ren- dition.
William Forsythe's Steptext looks dated too, mainly because of the various theatri- cal effects — lights that go up and down, music that stops and starts — which under- score the entire work. Shocking and inten- tionally provocative as they might have been in 1985, these effects have had their day and do not cause any kind of reaction among today's viewers. Still, they do not detract entirely from a full appreciation of the powerful choreographic layout which remains outstanding, thus providing the four interpreters, Deborah Bull, William Trevitt, Michael Nunn and Peter Abegglen, with a perfect vehicle for their stunning artistic and interpretative skills.
The programme takes off only in its sec- ond half. The Talisman pas de deux belongs to that host of 19th-century duets — com- monly referred to as 'gala pas de deux' performed independently from their origi- nal context which, in most cases did not stand the test of time. As such, this is an utterly enjoyable surviving example of that good old tad taste' which inevitably brings the house down. Miyako Yoshida and Irek Mukhamedov look perfect in the roles of Ella, daughter of the fairy queen Titania, and Hurricane, god of the wind, for they tackle the choreography with panache and stylistic accuracy. Despite the oddity of some balletic conventions such as the vari- ous mime gestures performed, as required by the text, with unusual flamboyancy the dance never becomes cheap parody or mere circus. On the contrary, this duet evokes refined images of a bygone era, populated by idolised ballerinas and unre- alistic heroes dancing to catchy tunes. In other words, this is pure escapism at its best.
After such a display of virtuoso feats and old-fashioned ballet tricks, Balanchine's Symphony in C provides the perfect ending to the programme. Although there are still some minor stylistic flaws as far as the 'I am the oldest inhabitant, I've had a face lift. corps de ballet is concerned — particularly in the use of the upper body, which does not look Balanchinian at all — this choreo- graphic masterwork displays the first-rate quality of the company. Christina McDer- mott, Stuart Cassidy, Rachel Whitbread, Nicola Roberts and Jonathan Cope deserve a special mention for their unique approach to such a challenging work.
Despite what some embittered tradition- alists might think, this programme is, after all, a true celebration, and a celebration of the company's artistic talents in particular. No wonder that the posters of the advertis- ing campaign for the autumn season invite the viewer to follow the various dancers to the Labatt Apollo in Hammersmith. Artists like these are worth following anywhere.
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