Australian Ballet in The Dream

http://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/the-australian-ballet-in-the-dream-at-the-joan-sutherland-theatre-sydney-opera-house/ m An alternative title for this programme might be ‘Three Ashton Masterpieces’. Here were three landmark works by the great British choreographer Sir Frederick Ashton including the Australian Ballet premiere of ‘ Symphonic Variations’. First on the bill was the elegant, sculptural and, at times, very demanding ‘Monotones 11’ for a trio of dancers in very revealing long sleeved white unitards and bejewelled caps. It was full of Ashton’s trademark line, shimmering simplicity and refined abstraction, – distilled cool, pure movement. Satie’s languid yet passionate music pulses and ripples – are the dancers alien beings ? snow? feathers ? They float through the music in Ashton’s acrobatic , at times very difficult ,choreography. At times I caught allusions to his ‘Les Patineurs’ and also possibly Balanchine. The spirit of Dame Margot Fonteyn haunted ‘Symphonic Variations’ , a poem in movement for six dancers who never leave the stage. Franck’s lush music billows and floats and was brilliantly played by the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra under the dynamic baton of Nicollete Fraillon. Choreographically there are interlocking sculptural poses, razor sharp elongated arms, powerful moments of controlled stillness and sudden explosively powerful jumps. Again ,there were hints of Ashton’s ‘Les Patineurs’ . The minimalist yellowy-grey set with wavy lines by Sophie Fedorovitch was stark and simple as were the costumes, – white Grecian style tunics for the women. The men were also in white. The six dancers I saw were technically superb The choreography at times, perhaps, now appears a little dated and definitely ‘of its time’. Brett Chynoweth delivered an amazing challenging solo full of jumps and petit batterie. This is still a landmark, fascinating piece. The great crowd pleaser after interval was THE DREAM , Ashton’s lavish distillation of Shakespeare’s play, focused on Oberon and Titania. The piece is set in the early Victorian era to the glorious Mendelssohn music and choreographically there are hints of Ashton’s ‘La Fille Mal Gardee’ . The woodland glade set was delightful , the huge corps of fairies elegant and mysterious in green. Kevin Jackson , strong , powerful and commanding with amazing jumps and elevation, channelled his inner Sir Robert Helpmann as Oberon. Madeleine Eastoe was delightful as Titania, the fairy Queen, wickedly sparkling and imperious. Their pas de deux were sensational, especially the extended reconciliation one. As Bottom , Joseph Chapman was splendid , performing with great gusto and comic timing, dealing with the difficult pointe work ( yes this is one of the very roles with pointe work for men) terrifically. Chengwu Go as Puck was dazzling, quicksilver and with astonishing jumps as mischievous Puck .The quartet of quarrelling human lovers were very well performed. An Ashton feast, a delightful way to end the evening and the packed audience roared its approval . Running time 2 hours 15 (approx) one interval The Australian Ballet in THE DREAM runs at the Sydney Opera House between the 29th April and the 16th May 2015 For more about The Australian Ballet in The Dream, visit https://www.australianballet.com.au/whats_on/event_detail?noloc=true&prodid=6755