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Scottish Ballet Mixed Bill

April 14, 2007 at 11:02 am · Filed under Uncategorized, ballet, choreographers, dancers, costumes, KATE, scotland, review, dancing, performance, scottish ballet, jarkko lehmus, modern dance, choreography, glasgow, contemporary dance, poster

| | Posted by Kate Bordwell
It is many years since I have been to see the Scottish Ballet, and I was a little sceptical about seeing them again when I arrived at Glasgow’s Theatre Royal on Wednesday night. Why? Because the last time I saw them, in their tired Nutcracker production, I did not enjoy myself as I should have done. The old company - we are talking about the late 1990s here - seemed tired, stressed, shambolic. It was a company in need of care and attention, of rejuvination.

The company I saw on Wednesday was a company transformed. Under the artistic direction of Ashley Page since 2002 the Scottish Ballet has become a kind of hybrid ensemble, with a range of dancers suited to different types of dance, a spectrum with classical ballet at one end and contemporary at the other.

The programme was as follows. Balanchine’s Agon opened, and in this we were able to see the almost impeccable techniques of classical dancers Claire Robertson, Eve Mutso and Erik Cavallari. It was wonderful to see the choreography performed so well, but also in such good humour - what stood out for me most about the Scottish Ballet is that on the whole they appeared to be enjoying themselves - and I think that in the case of Agon, which strikes me as a very difficult piece to pull off well, having fun whilst doing it is the icing on the cake!

After the first interval we saw Othello, by the Scottish Ballet’s founder, Peter Darrell. It was very melodramatic. There was a pause, and the curtain opened to a different drama; Room of Cooks by Ashley Page. This was a contemporary piece based upon a painting by Stephen Chambers and the action took place around a kitchen table, and was danced by Diana Loosmore, Jarkko Lehmus and Paul Liburd. (Kristin has already bigged up Lehmus, who is another dance blogger.) These three dancers were well suited to the style, and Loosmore has recently won an award for her own choreography.

The programme closed with a piece which was worth the price of the ticket all by itself: Krzysztof Pastor’s In Light & Shadow. This began with a serene pas de deux danced to the opening of Bach’s beautiful piano work The Goldberg Variations, and everything was gorgeous for five minutes. Then suddenly all the dancers (16?) appeared on the stage in wonderful and strange colourful costumes (two of which are pictured above) and the music changed to a vibrant Bach orchestral piece and I witnessed the most exuberant and joyful dancing I had seen in quite some time. It was in this we could see the variety of talents on display - from the strength of Lehmus and Liburd to the delicacy and precision of dancers such as Tomomi Sato and Sophie Martin. All were graceful - it was like being instructed in the many faces of grace and joy. A perfect piece for the diversity and range represented by the company’s dancers. I absolutely loved it and want to see it again soon.

Going Too Far?

February 21, 2007 at 12:08 am · Filed under SLOAN, dancers, food, scottish ballet, jarkko lehmus, soon ja lee, donating, fundraising, auction, issues

Posted by Sloan

Eve Mutso and Erik Cavallari of the Scottish Ballet, in George Balanchine’s Agon. Photograph by Andrew Ross.

The Scottish Ballet recently auctioned off, via ebay, a “dinner for two” with one of their soloist dancers (Either Soon Ja Lee, or the hilarious Jarkko Lehmus… check out his blog at ballet.co.uk) at Glasgow’s swanky Hallion Club .

I think if the dancers are fine with it (and you’ll read in Jarkko’s blog that he is), and it is done in a classy way (which it seems like this was), it’s probably a fun way for the dancer to feel like they are helping raise significant money for the company they love, and also getting to share conversation with someone who also shares a passion for dance. Any people that I have met, either at a gala dinner, a sponsored cocktail party, a special donor event, or even just in the lobby of a theater, I have always enjoyed chatting and trying to understand that person’s love of dance and where they are coming from. It’s so interesting to me.

Others may not agree, and I can see how this scenario could rub people the wrong way, especially when many people feel dancers do not always get the respect they deserve. But there are many people out there who have huge respect for dancers and for dance as an artform, and would love to be able to interact with the artists they admire. Any fundraising scenario is very similar to this situation, even if a bit less personal (galas, studio talks, cocktail parties, etc.), trying to bring the audience closer to the artists in a sophisticated and meaningful way. Heck, that is what we are trying to do here. What do you think, is auctioning a dinner date too far? Maybe it is.

The Scottish Ballet does a great job getting the word out about their company, aside from creative fundraising ideas (a myspace page, a fantastic email newsletter, and a great website). I hope the auction was successful!